Amid Pandemic, the World's Working Poor Hustle to Survive

In this April 13, 2020, photo, brothers Mohammed and Khalil Yousef pose in front of a pickup truck in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Wehdat in Jordan's capital of Amman. The brothers used to make a living as drivers working day to day, but work has stopped since Jordan ordered a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Omar Akour)
In this April 13, 2020, photo, brothers Mohammed and Khalil Yousef pose in front of a pickup truck in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Wehdat in Jordan's capital of Amman. The brothers used to make a living as drivers working day to day, but work has stopped since Jordan ordered a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Omar Akour)
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Amid Pandemic, the World's Working Poor Hustle to Survive

In this April 13, 2020, photo, brothers Mohammed and Khalil Yousef pose in front of a pickup truck in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Wehdat in Jordan's capital of Amman. The brothers used to make a living as drivers working day to day, but work has stopped since Jordan ordered a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Omar Akour)
In this April 13, 2020, photo, brothers Mohammed and Khalil Yousef pose in front of a pickup truck in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Wehdat in Jordan's capital of Amman. The brothers used to make a living as drivers working day to day, but work has stopped since Jordan ordered a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Omar Akour)

From India to Argentina, untold millions who were already struggling to get by on the economic margins have had their lives made even harder by pandemic lockdowns, layoffs, and the loss of a chance to earn from a hard day´s work.

The toll for families is hunger and poverty that are either newfound or even more grinding than before. Hunkering down at home to ride out the crisis isn´t an option for many, because securing the next meal means hustling to find a way to sell, clean, drive or otherwise work, despite the risk.

Here are six stories collected by the Associated Press from six corners of the world of people whose lives were upended by the same invisible menace.

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NAIROBI, KENYA

Judith Andeka has seen tough times before, but nothing like this.

The 33-year-old widow and mother of five used to earn $2.50 to $4 a day washing clothes in Nairobi´s Kibera, one of the world´s biggest slums. With people not going to work because of restrictions on movement, neighbors can´t afford her services.

She´s been forced to send her kids to live with relatives who are slightly better off: "I had no choice, because how do you tell a 2-year-old you have no food to give them?"

Each time she goes out looking for food or a chance to earn, she risks being robbed of the few belongings she owns in her shack. Her most prized possessions are a small gas burner and an old black-and-white TV.

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BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

Rosemary Páez Carabajal usually pushes a coffee cart on the streets of Argentina´s capital, but the lockdown forced her to stop. Páez Carabajal, her blacksmith husband who´s also out of work and their two children rent a single room in a two-story brick building for the equivalent of $119 a month.

Now the cart sits idle in the hall, and the home is stacked with textbooks as the couple try to home-school their lone school-age child, a 7-year-old son.

The coronavirus came at a time of already painful recession in Argentina, with more than a third of its 44 million residents in poverty, according to figures from late 2019.

"When the quarantine was coming," Páez Carabajal recalled, "I said: `We´re all screwed, us day-to-day vendors.´"

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JAKARTA, INDONESIA

When Budi Santosa lost his job as a cook in a Chinese fast food restaurant, the father of two toddlers became one of nearly 2 million who´ve been put out of work in Indonesia as a result of the pandemic. Restrictions to contain the virus also impacted the 32-year-old's side job where he earned extra cash moonlighting as a driver.

Santos hasn´t had much time to dwell on his misfortune because he has to think about essentials: food, rent and paying down the debt on his motorcycle. He now averages a little over $4 a day making deliveries.

"The government told us to stay at home," he said, "but if I stay home my wife and children will have no food to eat."

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CAIRO

When the government shuttered traditional coffee shops, or "ahwas" as they're famously called in the Middle East, it cost Hany Hassan his job. He had been earning just $5 a day, but at least it was enough to feed his family.

"It´s a very difficult situation ... We are financially ruined," the 40-year-old father of four said.

With no chance of finding another job in Cairo, he returned to his family and hometown in the province of Minya, south of Cairo. But chances of finding work are slim in the villages, too. He goes out daily looking for a job, but he´s come up empty-handed. He´s borrowed money to keep his family afloat.

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AMMAN, JORDAN

Jordan´s wide-reaching lockdown has hit hard in al-Wehdat, a crowded, impoverished refugee camp in the capital. Brothers Mohammed and Khalil Yousef used to scratch out a day-to-day existence as truck drivers hauling construction supplies and produce. Each earned between 10 and 20 dinars, or $14 to $28, a day.

Between them they have nine children, all under 16. In Khalil´s cement shack, the refrigerator is bare save for some tomatoes, onions, and a few bags of pita bread.

After being idled for weeks, they are now only partially getting back to work as some restrictions on drivers are eased.

Mohammed said residents usually help each other out in hard times, but borrowing from neighbors isn´t an option today. "The whole camp is without work now," he said. "Everyone is broke."

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LUCKNOW, INDIA

Mahesh and Gita Verma ran a flower stall outside a Hindu temple honoring the monkey god Hanuman in this northern Indian city. When authorities ordered a lockdown, they found themselves indefinitely sidelined just like others in the informal sector, which makes up 85% of India´s labor force.

The Vermas and their five children, ages 8 through 20, were already living hand to mouth before the coronavirus. Now they´ve restricted themselves to mainly potato-based dishes.

Mahesh borrowed money from friends to convert the flower stall into a milk and bread stand, a business exempt from the lockdown restrictions.

Still, "we cannot have food like we used to have," Gita said.



Iran Orders Material from China to Produce 800 Ballistic Missiles

A satellite image shows the smoke rising from the explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port, Bandar Abbas, Iran April 27, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
A satellite image shows the smoke rising from the explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port, Bandar Abbas, Iran April 27, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Orders Material from China to Produce 800 Ballistic Missiles

A satellite image shows the smoke rising from the explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port, Bandar Abbas, Iran April 27, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
A satellite image shows the smoke rising from the explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port, Bandar Abbas, Iran April 27, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic-missile ingredients from China, people familiar with the transaction told The Wall Street Journal, seeking to rebuild its military prowess as it discusses the future of its nuclear program with the US.

The report, which cited people familiar with the transaction, said Tehran had ordered enough ammonium perchlorate to potentially manufacture up to 800 missiles. It said the material is used to produce solid-fuel missiles.

“Shipments of ammonium perchlorate are expected to reach Iran in coming months and could fuel hundreds of ballistic missiles,” the people said. Some of the material would likely be sent to militias in the region aligned with Iran, including Houthis in Yemen.

According to the Journal, Iran’s drive to expand its missile stockpile and strengthen its regional proxies comes as it continues to enrich uranium to levels just below weapons grade and has refused to place limits on its missile development as part of nuclear negotiations.

President Donald Trump said he discussed the issue during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin

“Time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons,” Trump wrote Wednesday in a social-media post.

Part of rebuilding Iran’s 'Axis of Resistance'

The shipment of ammonium perchlorate is part of Iran’s broader efforts to rebuild its so-called "Axis of Resistance" network.

The ammonium perchlorate was ordered by an Iranian entity called Pishgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co. from the Hong Kong-based Lion Commodities Holdings Ltd, the Journal reported.

China’s Foreign Ministry told the Journal that Beijing was unaware of a contract for such a shipment.

“The Chinese side has always exercised strict control over dual-use items in accordance with China’s export control laws and regulations and its international obligations,” said the spokesperson.

Iran has been looking for ways to rebuild its network of regional proxies, the so-called Axis of Resistance, after Israel struck Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Assad regime in Syria.

While US and Israeli strikes have damaged the Houthis' capabilities in Yemen, they continue to periodically launch missiles at Israel.

The Journal said that beyond supporting regional militias, Iran has also reportedly transferred ballistic missiles to Shiite militia groups in Iraq, which have previously targeted both US and Israeli forces in the region.

Earlier this year, Iranian ships docked in China to load over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a precursor for ammonium perchlorate.

The material was delivered to Iranian ports in mid-February and late March, according to shipping trackers. This quantity of sodium perchlorate is said to be enough to fuel around 260 short-range missiles.

The new order for ammonium perchlorate, which was placed months before President Trump’s proposed nuclear talks with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in early March, could supply Iran with enough material to produce approximately 800 missiles, one official estimated.

In response to Iran’s missile activities, the US Treasury Department sanctioned six individuals and six entities from both Iran and China on April 29 for their involvement in procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients.

Two weeks later, the Treasury expanded these sanctions to include additional Chinese and Hong Kong entities. It added sodium perchlorate to its list of materials linked to Iran’s military, nuclear, and missile activities.

A State Department official said, “Chinese entities and individuals have provided support to Iran’s ballistic missile program, as well as to the Houthis’ missile and UAV production efforts, which is why we continue to identify and sanction them.”

Possible Threats

Fabian Hinz, a military expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said “Iran likely needs material from abroad to avoid bottlenecks in its domestic production capabilities.”

However, storing such materials poses significant risks.

In April, a deadly explosion at Shahid Rajaee port, Iran’s key container hub, killed dozens. State media attributed the blast to the mishandling of explosive materials by a unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.

An official confirmed that some of the previously imported sodium perchlorate was destroyed in the incident.

“These substances are a major fire and explosive hazard,” Hinz warned. “Iran’s defense industrial complex does not have a strong track record in ensuring safety standards.”