Iraqi villagers turn to firewood amid fuel shortage

The harsh and cold winter of Iraq's Kurdish region is forcing villagers around the area of Penjewin to cut down trees and burn firewood for warmth. The villagers say they do not get enough kerosene from the government to run their heaters, so they have resorted to firewood as an alternative. "This is a cold area that gets snowfall, and one barrel of kerosene is not good at all. It is not enough for anything, so we are forced to cut off trees," says villager Malla Mohammed Penjewini. He goes to the nearby mountains to cut down trees and gather logs to bring back home on a wagon. "When we get snowfall, the temperature drops significantly," Penjewini adds. Normally, the government gives out one barrel of kerosene per household at a subsidized price. But the villagers say that hasn't been happening for several years now. "Families get only one barrel and there has been nothing for several years (now)," says Rahman Hassan, another villager. The subsidized kerosene is sold at 40,000 Iraqi dinars ($27) per barrel, while elsewhere in the local market a barrel changes hands for 160,000 dinars ($110). But the villagers say they only chop down the trees because they are forced to, lamenting the effect it has on the environment. "It distorts the nature of the area and damages the environment," says Hassan. The hillsides and mountains around Penjewin are slowly losing what is left of the trees there. "More than 5,000 trees, aged between one to 100 years get cut down in Penjewin district every year. This is a big problem," says Bakhtiyar Ali, a member of a local environment organization.