Restoring water to the Marshes didn't end the suffering of the population

Mohammed Abdullah \ Al-Nasiriya 

   Now after the water is back to marshes, Emad (39 year) was driving the boat silently, he glimpsed to look to the top left, seems like as he remembered something from past. He is a boatman and sport teacher in Al -Chabaish, Emad memories had dried with marshes.
Emad said: " I Installed a boat for the first time when I was nine years old, I liked the marshes, but when it dried, I stood here and I saw people digging the ground for the extraction of drinking water."

Emad boatman 

In 1991 the Iraqi government began the construction of dams on The Euphrates and Tigris to dry the marshes to hunt down the mob who used to hid in there, in 2001 the UN warned after 90% of the marshes of Iraq were drought, and has published satellite images, that the marshes will disappear within 5 years.

"After the marshes dried, people and fisherman migrated to cities, now water is back but the live isn't like it used to be, water isn't sweet, fishing is not as before." Emad said quietly.

Al-shankh fish

One of the problems of the fishermen complain about, that the type of fish called (shankh) eat small fish and eggs, this affects the fishing.

(Abdul Ghawi Hrejeh) one of fishermen, he is from (Alamarh) city he said: "We come here to fish, we stay here for ten days, hunting and sell to fishmongers. The fishing is our job we don't have another job."

In 2003 people demolished the dams with the help of environmental organizations, the people returned to their homes, nowadays there are 62 thousand people reside in Al –Chabaish according to (Jassim Al-Asadi) head of nature Iraq Organization.

Abdul Ghawi fisherman

 "I make every day three mats of reeds, it’s 1000 dinars a piece,  my income is 3000 dinars daily " said (Zahrh Zamel) one of the women workers in marsh.

The marshes is one of the most wealthy and rich with natural resources, people there raise buffaloes and reeds and papyrus as well as fish, and people use small boats called (Almashof) and the latter is locally manufactured.

"The marshes hosts different kinds of birds that migrate annually, but there is one kind of birds that come all the way from Australia have disappeared , when the marshes dried" Emad said enthusiastically.

After twenty three years of dryness and water restoration, Emad is having a dream, that the marshes will return like before thirty years ago, easy life, more fish and sweet water.

Marshes traces back to the Sumerians Civilization, Formed by the confluence of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Marshes cover an area of 2600 km; there are three main marshes in Iraq, Al- Hovaiza and Al-hamaar and the center marshes.

for more photo about marshes click here