Vote for song
Merge 104.8 | 14 July 2020
A video of lab assistant Mohammed Karim singing for COVID-19 patients at his hospital in the South of Iraq has gone viral online.
His beautiful voice and selection of Iraqi folk songs made him an overnight social media sensation.
The young Iraqi man has recently recovered from COVID-19 himself. “I know how it feels to be infected with the virus… I chose to sing to patients to change their mood and reduce anxiety, fear, and loneliness,” he said, speaking to Merge 104.8’s sister station Al Wisal.
He explained that people usually say that a diagnosis is half of the treatment, but with COVID-19, “diagnosis is all the treatment.”
“There is no vaccine to this disease. Your fight depends on your immune system, while the rest of medications given are to support the patient’s immune system,” he clarified.
“Immunity,” he said, “can be boosted through lightening one’s mood and staying positive.”
Talking about the challenges he faces during the course of his work, Mohammed said: “It’s not easy to sing or breathe while we’re dressed in full protective clothes with heavy masks and goggles — it suffocates us.”
However, he said that the most challenging part of his job is not being able to hug his children and play with them.
Responding to Mohammed’s viral video, famous Algerian author and novelist Ahlam Al Mostghanmi Tweeted that: “While others sing to make money while people are dying, he risks his life to give his patients plasma and a dose of love and hope. We all are singing with you.”
