20.10.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Amara: Mobile schools for Marsh Arabs ("original document") [ID 10549]

"Amid the reed- and mud-built houses in the Iraqi marshlands of Nahr al-Ezz, shiny new metal and plastic buildings have sprung up to serve as temporary schools. The aim of these movable buildings is to entice displaced residents of the marshes of south-eastern Iraq to return home.

But some local residents are sceptical. "What will schools give us?" asked Abdul Zahra Sewadi, 35, who was drying cow dung for fuel. "Give me a job and a suitable house, and I will give you doctors and
engineers. The important thing is to feed my family. It's only for
propaganda that they say we have schools in the marshes."

Officials say the schools are part of an effort to undo damage done by the
former regime of Saddam Hussein. The vast marshes at the lower end of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were drained by Saddam's regime in the Nineties to deprive Shia rebels of potential hiding places.

Saddam's men diverted up to 95 per cent of the 12,000 square miles of
marshland waters into a massive network of canals, artificial rivers, and
pipelines for desert irrigation. Many marsh residents were also driven out by the closure of public services such as schools.

Things began changing after the fall of Saddam's regime, as many dams were breached and pumping stations destroyed, and the marshland's waters began to flow again. Government officials say the next step is to restore public services to encourage the return of local residents who fled to urban areas on the edges of the marshes.

"In attempt to bring back those who left, the ministry of education decided
to install ten movable schools in the marshes of Amara, as a first stage,"
said Hassanein Fadel Muaal, director of school buildings. The new schools each contain six classrooms for 30 students and a room for
administration.

The schools are intended to be only temporary until the water levels of the
marshes are fully restored. "It's not useful to build [permanent] schools,
because the water will reach them and they will be submerged," said Muaal. "Movable schools can be installed in one week, and they can be disassembled in two days," said Nameer Warid Hassen, 40, Engineering Director at the General Directorate for School Buildings. "Normal schools need much longer."


Hassen points out that the movable school design needs no maintenance, as it is made of durable plastic and aluminum. "Even if it sinks, we can disassemble it and move it to another place without damage," he said. One problem the ministry of education admits it cannot solve yet is the shortage of pupils, largely because many people cannot afford to send their children to school. Families need their sons, especially, to help them get by. "I have five sons of school age but they work to meet the family's needs," said Abdallah Najim, 48, a local resident. "I see an uncertain future for them. They don't know how to read or write. But what can I do? Their wages barely keep us alive."

Muaal said that for the moment, his ministry cannot support students
financially because it is concentrating on providing schools and text books. "We intend to provide financial aid to our students, especially for those living in the marshes, because of what they suffered under the former regime," he said. But right now, he said, the emphasis is on putting the mobile schools in place, with permanent schools to be constructed later."

Document(s): original document

08.2004 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Report on the current security and legal situation, material safety, displacement situation, human rights and protection situation as well as an overall analysis ("Country of Origin Information (COI) paper on Iraq (as of August 2004)") [#24717],  [ID 10550]

"The majority of Marsh Arabs are concentrated in southern Iraq (Bashrah and surrounding governates). Marsh Arabs have traditionally been regarded by other Iraqis as a very distinct group. A number of international NGOs with projects in the south attested to the fact that Marsh Arabs are often considered by the local population as second class citizens and discriminated against, both as regards access to employment as well as to basic services. Marsh Arab returnees from Iran seem to be especially suspicious in the eyes of the local population and are generally blamed for any criminal activity which takes places in the south.

In the South, the principle group of IDPs remains the Marsh Arabs, who, over the past 15 years, have been subjected to forced migration as a result of an organized Marsh- Drainage campaign undertaken by the former Iraqi regime. The persistent implementation of this campaign led to massive displacement within and outside the country. The policy of the former Iraqi regime to drain the Marshlands in southern Iraq underwent several stages. A large swathe of the central marshes was drained to facilitate the movement of the military units during the Iraq-Iran war. During the 1990’s, the marshes underwent further extensive drainage. As part of the previous government’s policy which consisted of resettling Shia populations to the north in order to alter the ehnic balance of the area, many Marsh Arabs were forced to resettle there to replace Kurdish, Turkmen and Assyrians. Although the number of displaced Marsh Arabs is quite difficult to identify due to the protracted nature of displacement and varying levels of integration, it is estimated that between 100,000-200,000 persons remain internally displaced from the marshland areas.
Up to 40,000 persons are estimated to be returning displaced persons, i.e., they were originally from Southern Iraq (mostly Marsh Arabs), were resettled under the Arabization program to Northern Iraq and, following the recent conflict, returned to their ancestral lands in Southern Iraq, although the draining of this area has significantly altered the Marsh Arabs’ ability to continue their traditional way of life and farming activities which were based on the cultivation of the marshes. This group of persons is considered returning displaced persons; their preferred durable solution is to reside in or near their current locations.
The need to ensure complete documentation such as identity documents, marriage and birth certificates, and rations cards is a primary concern for this group. Property claims, legal assistance, basic reintegration assistance as well as focused assistance for vulnerable groups including female-headed households, the elderly, and physical and mentally disabled persons must also be urgently addressed."

Document(s): Open document

27.04.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Marshlands: Special report on efforts to restore Marshlands ("original document") [ID 10551]

Document(s): original document

26.03.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

MAYSAN MARSH ARAB COUNCIL OPENS DIALOGUE TO REHABILITATE MARSHLANDS ("original document") [ID 10552]

"The Maysan Marsh Arab Council held its founding conference in Amarah on 20 March to discuss possibilities for rehabilitating Iraq's marshlands, the U.S. State Department announced in a 22 March press release (http://usinfo.state.gov). The council's goal is to "provide a voice for the Marsh Arabs of Maysan so their interests and concerns will be factored into national and international plans that affect the marshes," the press release stated.

Nearly all the marshlands were drained in Iraq in the 1980s by the Hussein regime. Water was diverted for massive irrigation projects, leading to massive environmental degradation. The program also aided the regime by thwarting the Shi'a opposition's ability to use the marshlands for cover. Conference participants discussed "numerous issues surrounding proposed plans to re-flood parts of the vast network of wetlands along the Tigris River basin." Participants expressed concerns over the possible environmental and agricultural impact, managing returning refugee populations, and the allocation of arable land. Several follow-up meetings are expected."

Document(s): original document

30.01.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

MARSH ARABS [ID 10288]

Background information on the decimation and history of the marshland Arabs.

Document(s): Open document

07.11.2003 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Reviving Marshland Ecosystem Takes More Than Flooding Drained Areas (Part 2) ("Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Reviving Marshland Ecosystem Takes More Than Flooding Drained Areas (Part 2)") [ID 10553]

"The former regime of deposed President Saddam Hussein spent years successfully turning Iraq's vast wetlands into a desert in an ecological war designed to root out armed Shi'a opposition to his rule. Now, with Hussein gone, Iraqi and coalition engineers are slowly returning water to the marshlands, and hundreds of thousands of people who once lived there now have hope of returning. In the second part of a two-part series, RFE/RL reports on the technical challenges of reviving Iraq's wetlands."

Document(s): Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Reviving Marshland Ecosystem Takes More Than Flooding Drained Areas (Part 2)

06.11.2003 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

After Years Of Devastation, A Slow Resuscitation Of Marshlands Begins (Part 1) ("Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: After Years Of Devastation, A Slow Resuscitation Of Marshlands Begins (Part 1)") [ID 10554]

"The former regime of Saddam Hussein spent years successfully turning Iraq's vast wetlands into a desert in an ecological war designed to root out armed Shia opposition to his rule. Now, with Hussein gone, Iraqi and coalition engineers are slowly returning water to the marshlands and hundreds of thousands of people who once lived there have their first hopes of returning home. RFE/RL reports on the gradual revival of Iraq's wetlands in the first part of a two-part series."

Document(s): Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: After Years Of Devastation, A Slow Resuscitation Of Marshlands Begins (Part 1)

28.08.2003 - Source: BBC News

Will man return to the "Garden of Eden"? ("BBC World News: Will man return to the "Garden of Eden"?") [ID 10555]

"Living in what some consider the region to have been the Biblical garden of Eden, the Ma'adan's simple way of life dating back 5,000 years which Thesiger had a "longing to share", was deliberately and ruthlessly extinguished by Saddam Hussein in less than a decade."

Document(s): BBC World News: Will man return to the "Garden of Eden"?

25.06.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

The involvment of the Baroness Emma Nicholson with the Marsh Arabs ("IRIN: Interview with Baroness Emma Nicholson") [ID 10556]

"On a trip to the region shortly after the defeat of the Iraqi army in Kuwait Baroness Nicholson was moved to launch the NGO after witnessing at first hand the acute suffering of the Marsh Arabs and the southern Iraqi Shiites in general following their abortive uprising against Saddam. Now, in the aftermath of Saddam's overthrow, she told IRIN that she is increasingly worried that the new-found attention the Marsh Arabs are attracting from the international community will not necessarily be to their benefit."

Document(s): IRIN: Interview with Baroness Emma Nicholson

18.06.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Focus on Marsh Arabs ("IRIN: Focus on Marsh Arabs") [ID 10557]

"Shanawah is a tribal chief of about 1,000 dispossessed and demoralised Marsh Arabs - an Iraqi tribe, who, until Saddam Hussein intervened, lived simple lives cut off from the outside world."

Document(s): IRIN: Focus on Marsh Arabs

23.05.2003 - Source: International Organization for Migration

IOM Assesses Needs of Displaced Marsh Arabs ("IOM: IOM Assesses Needs of Displaced Marsh Arabs") [ID 10558]

"The dyke, which runs for some 400 kms around the marshes, was started in 1991 to forcibly drain the area and punish the inhabitants for their opposition to the Baathist regime. With the destruction of 90% of the marshes, some half a million Marsh Arabs were displaced and a 5000-year old culture that had flourished since Sumerian times, was largely destroyed. An estimated 100,000 of the population became refugees in Iran and the remainder became internally displaced in Iraq - exchanging their traditional reed houses for impoverished mud hut settlements bordering the dyke and migrating to Iraq’s cities to find work. [...] With their former lifestyle and ecosystem largely destroyed, the Marsh Arabs now face difficult choices of whether to try to recreate their former lives in the marshes or to overcome their distrust of outsiders and opt for a new beginning with the help of the international community."

Document(s): IOM: IOM Assesses Needs of Displaced Marsh Arabs