‘Death is everywhere’: in Malaysia, a toxic river haunts sick children

Just two years ago, Irfan Wafiy Idham Wazir was doing cartwheels, scaling rock-climbing walls and playing soccer around his neighbourhood in Johor, Malaysia. Today, the 13-year-old hobbles around with a stick, unable to walk or stand for long periods. His legs shake uncontrollably and he feels tiny shocks of pain in his feet, in a condition called myokymia. At Irfan’s boarding school, he does his daily prayers on a chair instead of a prayer mat, struggles up the stairs and spends most of his…