Ali Fathollahi, Vice President of the Chovar County Council in Ilam Province in western Iran, highlighted issues such as unemployment, economic poverty, and lack of healthcare infrastructure in this county. He mentioned that in recent years, many cases of suicide have occurred due to livelihood problems, and in just one factory, six workers attempted suicide.
On November 4, the state-affiliated ILNA news agency reported in an article titled “Suicides in Ilam’s Most Industrialized City Due to Unemployment” that the poor in this city also lack access to safe drinking water.
In an interview with ILNA, the Vice President of the Chovar County Council discussed the county’s infrastructure problems, stating, “As an industrial city located near a petrochemical company, Chovar has the highest rates of poverty and unemployment and lacks even a park for public recreation.”
In recent years, there have been numerous reports of self-immolation and suicide among laid-off workers from the Chovar petrochemical company.
On October 7, a group of workers from Arghavan Gostar Petrochemical Company in Ilam held a protest in front of the Chovar County Justice Department in support of their detained colleagues.
During this protest, two people attempted self-immolation, one of whom was the father of one of the detained workers.
Fathollahi added that recently, dismissed workers staged a protest outside the petrochemical plant, but the Chovar prosecutor ordered the arrest of eight of them.
The growth of injustice, poverty, corruption, repression, and failure in Iran has put the mental health of society at serious risk.
Workers, in particular, have repeatedly staged protests over various issues, including unpaid wages, low pay, and layoffs.
Despite these protests, the government has not responded adequately and has often detained labor activists.
Contaminated Water
A member of Chovar’s city council, in another part of the interview, highlighted the poor water quality in Chovar, stating that residents use water from surrounding springs for drinking or travel to Ivan County, located 10 minutes away, to obtain clean water.
According to Fathollahi, those who lack transportation or are poor are forced to use this contaminated water for drinking, which causes digestive illnesses.
Fathollahi, noting that residents have repeatedly protested the water issue, stated that the Environmental Protection Agency, leveraging these public complaints, collects a fine from the Chovar petrochemical company. However, this does not resolve the problem: “The unpleasant odor of the water, especially in winter when petrochemical waste mixes with rainwater, becomes extremely disturbing.”
In June, the Statistical Center of Iran released a summary of the labor force survey, reporting that the unemployment rate in 2023 was 8.1%.
According to this report, the working-age population (15 years and older) in 2023 was approximately 64.55 million, of which 26.638 million were employed.
