At the beginning of this June, private teaching institutes opened their doors to sixth-grade students before the start of the new academic year, so student Miqdad Adel (17 years old) thought of buying a bicycle a week ago, to take him to and from the institute, which is one kilometer away from his home.
Years ago, dozens of bicycles were parked in front of teaching institutes or schools, as an easy means of transportation for students, but now this scene does not appear to be present, as even student Adel declined to come with his bicycle, which he bought a week ago.
Adel told Al Aalem Al Jadeed, “The weather is very hot. I tried to go to the lesson twice, but I got there sweating, especially since the lecture starts at ten-thirty.”
The bicycle, which the Iraqis call “the bicycle,” according to English, is no longer in better condition, as it has disappeared from the streets to some extent, compared to the motorcycle and other means of transportation, but it is not only the heat of the weather that has contributed to reducing the use of this environment friendly means.
The engineer specializing in city planning, Mohamed Al-Nasrawi, confirmed during an interview with Al Aalem Al Jadeed that “bicycle movement began to disappear in the streets due to the lack of space for them, and the lack of dedicated roads for driving this means of transportation, because the street is full of cars and motorcycles, and in the period The latter are tuk-tuk and semi-automatic vehicles.
He added, “Iraqi streets are random in design and implementation. There are no regular sidewalks or lines that take into account pedestrians, and not only are bicycle paths non-existent, but the streets also did not take into account the provision of paths for people with special needs, the elderly, and the blind. These are humanitarian services that may be more important than bicycle paths.”
Al-Nasrawi continues, “Personal experience with the bike has proven that it is difficult to practice this sport or hobby or use it as an environmentally friendly means of transportation. The times I used to ride the bike, I would return disappointed, dusty, and perhaps filled with mud and mud.”
The engineer wonders, “How does a bike move, amidst the chaos of the street? Car owners do not open any path for bikes, in addition to paving the wheels on the sides of the street in places other than the designated places. As for the sidewalks, in addition to not having paths, they may contain many violations, whether from “Homeowners in residential areas or vendors’ carts in commercial areas.”
The United Nations General Assembly designated June 3 as World Bicycle Day, in recognition of the unique characteristic of the bicycle and its versatility for more than two centuries. The commemoration of this international day comes as a recognition by the United Nations of the importance of the bicycle’s contribution to achieving the 17 goals it has set. With regard to sustainable development, the bicycle is considered “a simple, affordable, reliable, clean, sustainable, environmentally friendly and healthy means of transportation.”
In Iraq, a statement by the Iraqi Olympic Committee confirmed yesterday that Aqeel Muften, Chairman of the Committee, participated in a cycling competition in Baghdad, to celebrate this day, while promising to provide special support to the Cycling Federation in order to expand the base of the game and its spread significantly throughout Iraq, indicating that The rest of the members of the Olympic Committee are determined to return the sport of high achievement to its rightful status after a long slumber in which no Olympic achievement was achieved that is commensurate with Iraq’s population size and government support, especially during the era of Prime Minister Muhammad Shayea Al-Sudani, the primary supporter of Iraqi sport.
Historical sources narrate that the bicycle entered Iraq in 1906, and the Baghdadis called this bicycle the Iron Horse, and that was the time of the Ottoman governor Majid Bey, who ruled Baghdad from 1905 until 1906.
The bicycle is an easy means of transportation that only costs those who use it a loss of calories, and it also has great benefits on the environmental and human health side.
Iraq is ranked last on the Global Environmental Performance Index. In Baghdad, some of the causes of this pollution lie in the use of harmful means of transportation, as car exhausts constitute “more than 60 percent of the total air polluting emissions in Baghdad, as they consist of the resulting gaseous and particulate pollutants.” About internal combustion engines operating on gasoline and gasoline,” according to the Director of the Air Quality and Noise Monitoring and Evaluation Department at the Ministry of Environment, Ali Jaber Lafta.
Lafta added, “These emissions are becoming increasingly dangerous to public health due to the emissions of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur oxides that cause various respiratory diseases, in addition to the carcinogenic effect of volatile hydrocarbon pollutants and ultra-fine particles (less than 2.5 microns).”
In contrast to Iraq, statistics indicate that the number of bicycle users in the world is constantly increasing, as the number of daily users of bicycles reached between 35 to 40 million people per day in Europe alone, according to the National Health and Fitness Association.
In addition, Al-Nasrawi returns, demanding “allocating side paths for bicycles and allocating parking places for them as in other countries, and removing obstacles facing the movement of cyclists, because this gathering carries a noble humanitarian message, in addition to being a popular and enjoyable sport that most segments of society can practice.”
