We find ourselves in the same situation once a month. But for the past week, the storms – which can reach up to 50 metres high – have been coming one after another.Even in the best of times the air here is unbreathable, but when these sandstorms occur normal life becomes literally impossible. The government authorities have told elderly people and children not to leave their homes.I do everything I can to keep the sand from coming into the house by stuffing wet towels in the cracks around my doors and windows. But it’s useless. Every morning I clean my house and a few minutes later there is a layer of dust all over my furniture again. When I wash my face, it looks like I am wiping off mud.I have a shop, but for the past few days I haven’t had a single customer. I am barely working at the moment; I only open my store for a few hours each day.

Photo taken by Amirrmte and posted on Twitter.

Moreover, many people have been going to the hospital because of lung problems. Most people here get migraines. Some people also have eye problems – it is common for people’s eyes to leak all the time. Last year, I myself was hospitalised for respiratory problems. The doctors said they were sure that the air pollution was the cause. Our family doesn’t have a history of cancer but, in the past few years, several people have been diagnosed with it, and I wonder if the pollution is the cause.We are not asking for much. We just want air that we can breathe and a rapid response from the government. I don’t know what the answer is, but we have to do something if we are to continue living here. The problem is that the air quality issues don’t just come from the sand storms. They are also the result of nearby industries like petrol refineries.Our only defence against all this is a basic surgical mask. Recently authorities handed out masks for free in the streets. They have also offered free medical treatment for the storm’s victims once the storm has ended.