Baghdad’s exhibition documents marshes decade long struggle
Shafaq News - Baghdad
On Friday, an exhibition titled “The Last Will of the Mud” opened on Baghdad’s Al-Mutanabbi Street, showcasing the struggles of southern Iraq’s marsh residents over the past decade.
The southern marshlands have endured one of the region’s most severe environmental and humanitarian crises in recent memory. Recurrent droughts and reduced water flows from upstream countries have left vast areas of the marshes dry, while rivers that once sustained local communities have largely disappeared.
Thousands of families have also lost livelihoods connected
to buffalo herding, fishing, and reed harvesting, prompting many to move in
search of water.
In some provinces, nearly 90% of marsh waters have vanished, posing a threat to the natural and cultural heritage of areas recognized as World Heritage sites.
Photographer Hassan Al-Najjar, from Dhi Qar province, attended the exhibition, documenting the marshes’ plight in a series of images shared with Shafaq News.
Read more: A story in Hawizeh marsh: From water to dust life
