Mother of two students dies in self-immolation due to inability to afford stationery
On the evening of Wednesday, September 21, the wife of a Dehdasht municipality worker set herself on fire in her home and died from the severity of her injuries after being taken to the hospital. According to her husband, who has not received his salary for 5 months, the reason for her husband's act was financial difficulties and inability to pay for his children's education.
According to HRANA news agency, citing ISNA, on the evening of Wednesday, September 21, 1402, the wife of a Dehdasht municipality worker committed self-immolation due to financial difficulties.
According to the report, Mohammad Javad Erfani, a Dehdasht municipality worker, explained that he was unable to afford to buy his child's school supplies, which led to a verbal altercation with his wife. In the aftermath of the argument, the worker's wife set herself on fire, and upon witnessing the scene, he tried to extinguish her fire, which resulted in 30 percent burns and both of them eventually being taken to the hospital.
A 39-year-old Dehdasht municipality worker, who according to himself has 15 years of contract work experience in the transportation sector of Dehdasht municipality and his monthly salary is 5,800,000 Tomans, said: "I have not received a salary in the past 5 months, and if I had shown up for work even one day late, I would have been considered absenteeism."
Recalling that a few days before my wife's self-immolation incident, we gathered in front of the municipality to protest the non-payment of our salaries and demands, but no one came to our aid, he continued: "I have two sons and a daughter. My eldest son is in the first grade of middle school, the other is in the first grade of elementary school, and my daughter is three years old. In this situation, who is responsible for the heartbreak of my children?"
This Dehdasht municipality worker noted: "I am homeless and I lived alone in the office hall, which consisted of two rooms in poor condition. The summer of snakes and scorpions and the winter of cold had made life bitter for us."
Erfani, describing the incident of the night of his wife's self-immolation, stated: "Given that we were on the eve of the month of Mehr and the reopening of schools, I did not have money to buy stationery and school supplies for my children, and my wife, upset by this issue, committed self-immolation, and my life and home were destroyed. Now, problems and deprivation, on the one hand, the ruin of my life and the loss of my children's mother, on the other, have overwhelmed my life."
He continued: "My wife said; Where have we seen anyone working in an office but not being paid and not even being able to buy school supplies, pens, and notebooks for their children? She went to the yard and poured some of the oil that was there on herself and set herself on fire. I tried to put it out with one of my children, but I suffered burns on both hands, stomach, neck, and face, and my wife also had 80 percent burns. They sent my wife to Ahvaz Hospital and I to Yasuj Hospital, but of course my wife died due to the severity of the burns."
This Dehdasht municipality worker stated: "These problems and my wife's self-immolation occurred due to poverty, lack, and lack of money. On the first of Mehr, everyone holds their child's hand and happily goes to school, but we were left with no pens and notebooks for my children, and due to the pressure of this issue, my wife committed self-immolation."
Erfani emphasized: "Some of my colleagues, due to unpaid salaries and poverty, pawn their subsidy cards at the bakery so that they can borrow bread and take it home."
He stated: "There are other people in Dehdasht Municipality who are in a similar situation; the authorities should prevent such bitter incidents by paying salaries and addressing the problems of the municipality's employees and workers, and understand the municipality's forces, before another incident occurs."
The mayor of Dehdasht, the center of Kohgiluyeh County, claimed regarding the salaries of municipal workers and employees: "The workers and employees of Dehdasht Municipality have not received their salaries for about 4 months, and their salaries for one month will be paid on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week."
Regarding the cause of this problem, he added: "The indecisiveness of the Dehdasht City Council and the failure to hold commissions, etc., are among the most important reasons for this issue, and the problems of the City Council continue."
Tabesh Nejad stated: About 200 workers and employees of the Dehdasht Municipality are facing the same problem and situation.
Source: HRANA
