Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

Spain: Patients must choose between eating or breathing

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Reuters
  • 19 Jan 2023 13:53
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

A new report by Reuters explains that the energy crisis could drive some patients in Spain and other European countries into poverty, leaving them with a stark choice: Breathing or eating.

  • x
  • Casais cries as he reads messages of concern over his wellbeing. (REUTERS)
    Casais cries as he reads messages of concern over his well-being. (Reuters)

The dire situation for families and households struggling to pay their energy bills has deteriorated as a result of increased prices and Europe's energy crisis.

A new report by Reuters sheds light on the case of Jose Maria Casais' whose monthly income of $2,916 from pension and disability payments should make him better off than most Spaniards, however, he is suffering due to high power prices.

Casais, a retired engineer residing in Barcelona, said as quoted by Reuters, that he is forced to dip into his funds every month since his energy expenditures have skyrocketed due to his dependency on an oxygen machine to treat his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He has been hooked up to an oxygen concentrator for up to 24 hours a day for the past two years, according to the report. 

Casais' electricity bill has nearly tripled since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which sparked an energy crisis in Europe due to Europe's reliance on Russian gas.

Spain's middle class has been plunged into poverty by the recession. According to an Oxfam survey, nearly 4% of Spanish households in the fourth income decile - a category traditionally seen as middle class - have spent more than half of their income on energy since prices rose last year.

Whereas before the energy crisis, nearly half of the Spanish households could save, Oxfam believes that barely three in ten can now.

The report added that Casais spends between $300 and $400 a month on electricity, which is roughly triple what he spent before the crisis, leaving little or nothing for other necessities following medical bills, which include a live-in caregiver. He has to start drawing on his money by the middle of the month, he said.

The oxygen concentrator he uses draws air through a compressor, eliminating nitrogen and filtering oxygen before delivering it to the patient. Depending on how difficult it is for Casais to breathe on any given day, he will remain linked for between 17 and 24 hours.

Not an isolated incident

Related News

CNBC unveils strategic plan to revitalize Syria energy sector with US

Syria to sign deal to import electricity from Turkey, minister says

“With this rise in electricity prices they have to decide between eating and breathing,”

 

Nicole Hass, APEPOC spokesperson said.

Casais is not an isolated case. COPD affects an estimated five million people in Spain, according to Dr. Sergi Pascual, pulmonology unit coordinator at Hospital del Mar in Barcelona.

According to the Spanish Association for Patients with COPD (APEPOC), it is the third leading cause of death worldwide, and the fourth in Spain.

Patients in other countries are also in distress. According to a survey of over 3,600 people with lung disorders conducted by the charity Asthma + Lung UK, one in every five Britons with asthma reported life-threatening attacks as they cut back on medicines, heating, and food due to the rising cost of living.

Other diseases, such as renal failure, need electricity-guzzling machinery to survive, according to two medical organizations that handle kidney illness.

Eating or breathing?

Casais stated that if he did not have his oxygen machine, he would have to be permanently hooked up to a machine in a hospital, losing his independence and costing the state more money.

According to Nicole Hass, a spokesperson for APEPOC, many electricity-dependent Spaniards face some difficult choices: "With the increase in electricity prices, families must choose between eating and breathing."

APEPOC urges Spain's municipal governments to subsidize all COPD patients' energy expenditures, regardless of income.

The report stressed that Casais has already changed his diet to save money. He now subsists on one-euro packs of processed beef and tuna tins, and is thinking about remortgaging his condo to cover his medical and energy bills.

The EU has been imposing unprecedented sanctions against Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine. As a result, when the EU rejected Russian energy, citizens suddenly faced food shortages and rising energy prices, not to mention the rise in the cost of living.

  • Energy crisis
  • Spain
  • Poverty
  • Sanctions on Russia
  • high power prices
  • EU

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS