Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq

Up until 1992, over half a million people lived in the southern marshes of Iraq.

For thousands of years, they had woven their houses from reeds

and built many of their houses on “floating islands” made of thick piles of reeds.

inside

the roof

Their reed house-building is so old that 3000-year-old carvings of them exist.

Their way of life is thousands of years old. They have baked bread in traditional ovens,

made their own pottery, woven their own baskets,

built their own boats, woven their own fishing nets,

and woven on traditional looms.

The marshes were full of wildlife - fish, water buffalo, wild boar, lizards and millions of birds.

Fish has always been a big part of their diet.

Their homeland is the great marsh areas formed by the delta where the Tigris and Euphrates meet, Tigris Euphrates delta area

But their way of life was destroyed in the early 1990s. How did this happen?

He decided to invade Kuwait, a small country next to Iraq. Kuwait had LOTS of oil. Let’s backtrack to Saddam Hussein was Iraq’s ruler.

The United States, along with other nations, attacked to push Iraq’s troops out of Kuwait.

That war happened when George H.W. Bush was U.S. President,

the father of President George W. Bush.

What does this have to do with Marsh Arabs? The Marsh Arabs are Shiite Muslims, but Saddam’s supporters were mainly Sunni Muslims.

Saddam and the Marsh Arabs did not get along. Years earlier, when Iran and Iraq were at war, Saddam believed many Shiite Marsh Arabs were traitors to Iraq. He believed they were secretly helping Iran – a mainly Shiite Muslim country – during the war.

Iraq’s Shia Muslims had been frustrated for decades, feeling blocked from leadership in a Sunni- controlled Iraq. Saddam had not treated Shia Muslims well, so it’s likely that some were helping Iran during the war.

Hoping for U.S. support to overthrow Saddam, many Shiite Iraqis rebelled against Saddam in March 1991.

But the U.S. did not help their rebellion. One month later, Saddam’s forces had killed thousands of Shia Muslims in Southern Iraq. Mass graves have been found in southern Iraq from this time.

Shiites fled into the marshes, joining the Marsh Arabs already there. Determined to destroy his enemies, Saddam destroyed the marshes, forcing the Marsh Arabs to abandon their homes.

In 1993, after the First Gulf War ended, he ordered the draining of marshland areas.

He did this by having canals built, to drain the marsh waters into the Euphrates River.

1973 satellite image 2000 satellite image the result

Saddam ordered the burning of the thick reed beds where Marsh Arabs had built their communities. Much of their marsh became a salty desert.

“The army came and told us to leave. They burnt the reed houses. I remember." Sheikh Naim, a leader of his tribe and a “keeper of their memories”

"We were trying to cross the border to Iran. They were shooting at us. We couldn't fight them." Mohammed

Without food, homes, or water, the Marsh Arabs left their ancestral homes.

But when Saddam Hussein's government fell in April 2003, villagers went to the retaining wall and dug holes in it using shovels, their bare hands and at least one piece of heavy equipment, a floating backhoe.

This is what two of those attacked retaining walls looked like a year later.

As the water poured in and soaked the land, reeds and cattails slowly began sprouting again. Fish, snails and shrimp, and some water birds have returned.

Re-establishing the Marshes

International scientists have been brought in to help re-establish the marshlands.

About 30% of the original marshlands have been re-flooded.

But only about 15% of the marshlands have been restored as true “wetlands.”

Estimates are that over 200,000 - Marsh Arabs became refugees when the marshes were drained.

Many of those moved into cities, and they are now used to urban living. Many are visiting the marshes again, but have not decided whether to return.

And some former marshlands have been turned into productive farmlands. Of course, those farmers don’t want it re-flooded.

But people are returning, and villages (like this one) are being rebuilt.

Modern conveniences, like electricity, are coming to some parts of the marshland. And many of the new villages are being built out of brick and on land instead of on floating reed islands.

Mohammed is content to stay here on the marsh like his father and his grandfather, but he says, "Those who have left for the cities will not come back. They have schools, everything. You can't leave a city like that. But the people who stayed close to the marshes will stay here I think."

As of Fall 2006, about 100,000 Marsh Arabs had returned to the area (out of 250,000 – 300,000 who lived there).

But drought now threatens Iraq’s marshes. And more dams are being built upstream by other countries. All of this means less fresh water flowing into the marshes. Haditha Dam, in Iraq, on the Euphrates River

Less fresh water means higher salinity in the water. Many fish can’t survive this, and residents also have to find other drinking water for livestock.

What’s at stake in the marshlands? A people and their way of life is at stake.

And a valuable ecosystem is at stake. Like all marshes, these marshes help protect the environment. Because the marshes have been seriously damaged:

Migratory birds are in danger. Fish unique to marshlands are in danger.

Drained marshes cannot do their job filtering water. Polluted water drains directly into the river. Drained marshes cannot help be a barrier between the fresh water and the salty sea water.

Stay tuned to see what happens to the Marsh Arabs and their lands in the next few years. It will impact the people and the environment of the entire area.