Mysterious serial poisonings in Iranian schools may be psychogenic in origin. The hypothesis was expressed by American medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew in an article in the American magazine Psychology Today, dated March 5, writes the Iranian daily Kayhan.
Bartholomew drew a parallel between the poisonings in Iran and those registered in Afghanistan and the occupied West Bank in 2009-2016 and 1983, respectively.
Based on various studies of poisoning in Afghanistan, the author concluded that the affected girls suffered from “mass psychogenic illness”says the article. They “I attended schools challenging the Taliban (an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation), which increased the fear of retaliation”, specified in the text. Almost all of the Afghan girls who were poisoned recovered quickly and no toxins were found in the air, water or food, the author wrote.
The article also cited the results of investigations which found that psychological illness was the cause of the poisoning of almost a thousand Palestinian schoolgirls in the West Bank between March and April 1983.
“In recent history, there have been several documented cases where incidents of overt state terrorism have been shown to be psychogenic in origin.”says later in the text.
In all these cases, young Islamic women under extreme stress… fell ill with a mysterious condition usually attributed to a poisonous gas after one noticed an unusual odor. Which is more likely: that the students have been subjected to a chemical attack of which there is no evidence three and a half months later, or that they suffer from stress-induced psychogenic symptoms, a condition documented for thousands of years. And which young people are girls more exposed to extreme and prolonged stress?
Let’s remember that since November 2022, some Iranian students have been poisoned in schools. The outbreak started in Qom and later spread to other cities. Most of the poisoned students suffered from respiratory problems, nausea, fatigue and dizziness, some of them were hospitalized.
The newspaper writes that anti-Iranian media are spreading rumors and misinformation to cause public panic, trying to portray the Islamic Republic as insecure and opposed to women’s rights.
A similar statement was made on March 5 by Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, who on March 3 instructed the head of the Interior Ministry and the Intelligence Minister to conduct an early investigation and identify the causes of the poisoning.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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