العربية
Demands persist for the government of Bahrain to assume its responsibilities towards the citizens stranded in Iran, following the announcement made on Monday, March 16, 2020, about the death of the fifth citizen among the citizens stranded in Mashhad, Iran, which coincided with the announcement of the first death of a 65-year-old citizen within Bahrain, as a result of coronavirus.
Activists stressed that “there are no excuses for not speeding up with closing the file on stranded [citizens] in Iran”, especially in light of the medical challenges, and the renewed cases of death among the visitors stranded there.
The activist, Mohammad Hassan Al-‘Aradi, called for what he described as an “emergency plan to evacuate [citizens] stranded in Iran, and to return them to Bahrain”. As Al-‘Aradi expressed his “appreciation” for the efforts of the official parties, he also called on the “concerned authorities for finding alternative solutions, that are suitable and prompt, for the problem of the stranded [citizens] in Iran, that would guarantee their medical and psychological states”.
In light of the criticism directed to some official parties regarding the issue of the stranded [citizens], Abd An-Nabi Al-‘Akri, the activist, invited the national team for confronting coronavirus to assume this responsibility, and to work on retreating stranded [citizens], while adopting the medical regulations necessary for medical quarantine.
Leader in the National Democratic Action Society (Waad), Ibrahim Sharif, emphasized that “there are several rational proposals for solving the issue of the stranded [citizens]”, and stressed on the necessity of “taking an instant initiative of evacuating the elderly, and the patients with weak immunities, and of sending a medical team to evaluate other cases andschedule their return.
Journalist Maryam Al-Shuruqy promised to benefit from the complex of the International Hospital (currently abandoned), and others had suggested transforming it into a medical quarantine center, and specializing it for receiving citizens stranded in Iran, with the government contributing to the preparation of the center by the supervision of the national team.
Activists also called for making benefit of the national campaign for volunteering to face coronavirus, and to redirect the numbers of volunteer applications [filed in] for covering up a possible shortage in medical and nursing cadres, in favor of nursing and serving citizens who have been stranded abroad, after their return to the country.
Legal and national figures have also stressed that everyone needs to “assume responsibility during these critical times, and to abstain from all forms of negative speech, including politicization and bidding”.