Iraq’s Marshes Parched as Government Focuses on Oil

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In the southern Iraqi town of Chibaish, Mansour Abbas stood on the edge of his “mashoof,” the canoe-like vessel used by inhabitants of Iraq’s marshes, holding his young son’s arms in his hands. The boat was pulled onto the shore of a small waterway, much bigger just a couple of years earlier, that connects to the Euphrates River. The sun beat down on the land from a cloudless sky. A small group of water buffalo, their white spots dyed orange with henna, clustered in the shade just a few yards away. The only thing interrupting endless blue in the distance was an oil well, shooting a straight line of fire into the sky.

Abbas, 40, relocated to this area in 2015. Before that, he’d lived deeper in the marshland. There, he’d caught fish and reared a flourishing herd of 55 water buffalos, he said. Much of the local economy revolved around the gifts given by water buffalo. Locals would sell their milk or turn it into white cheese or a local heavy cream delicacy called geymar. But when the water near his home drained, Abbas could no longer fish. Most of his herd fell ill and died, leaving him with just five water buffalo. He still dreams of going back to his old home, but “there’s no water there,” he said.

Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable nation on the planet when it comes to water and food security. But Iraq is also currently OPEC’s second largest oil producer, after Saudi Arabia, pumping out 4.5 million barrels of oil per day. Oil revenues exceeded $115 billion in 2022, according to the country’s oil ministry. That revenue helps pay public sector salaries and food imports.

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The Struggle to Save Iraq’s Marshes

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On the morning of Feb.1, 2023, Jassim al-Assadi was making the 60-mile drive from the central Iraqi city of Hillah to Baghdad with his cousin. Al-Assadi, a prominent environmentalist described by one colleague as the “godfather of environmentalists in Iraq” and a leading voice on protecting Iraq’s southern marshes, a UNESCO heritage site, had meetings with Iraqi officials and plans to meet Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources the next day.

Al-Assadi never made the meetings. On the highway to Baghdad, al-Assadi’s car was stopped by two vehicles. Armed men, wearing plain clothes, emerged from the cars and took al-Assadi. They handcuffed him and forced him into one of their vehicles. Al-Assadi’s cousin was left on the side of the road a little over three miles from Baghdad.

Over the next two weeks, al-Assadi was allegedly moved between multiple facilities and underwent, in his own words, “the most severe forms of torture” using “electricity and sticks.” On Feb. 16, 2023, al-Assadi was released. Looking battered and morally defeated, he gave a public statement. In late February, he left Iraq to join his colleague Dr. Azzam Alwash in Amman, the capital of Jordan.

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European Compassion and its White Limitations

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Originally published in Fanack. This article was a finalist for the 2022 Samir Kassir Award for Press Freedom in the op-ed category.

Seven years ago, around 1.3 million people sought refuge in Europe in what was described by pundits, journalists, and politicians as a ‘migration crisis.’ This purported crisis was credited with triggering a wave in support for the far-right or far-right policies in Europe.

Today, Ukrainian refugees are pouring into neighboring countries to escape Russia’s invasion. Europe has already absorbed more than two million refugees in just over a week, yet the word “crisis” is conspicuously absent from its language.

The double standards are crystal clear. Indeed, many people have asked why the reaction from Europe in 2015 was panic compared to 2022, but the question remains largely rhetorical for those from the global south or who simply aren’t white. Just in case there were any doubts, a number of western media outlets offered racist explanations for why Europe was now welcoming so many refugees. Many commentators on Twitter rightly pointed out that western reporters were “saying the quiet part out loud.”

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Dystopian Defenses Reflect Europe’s Hypocrisy on Human Rights

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This article originally appeared in Fanack.

Around two thousand Africans attempting to enter Spain in late June were deterred through brutal violence by Moroccan border guards. Official reports say at least 23 of the Africans were killed, though rights groups claim the figure is higher. Videos that circulated from the aftermath purported to show Moroccan security forces standing over bloodied and beaten young African men or throwing rocks at others trying to climb over a security fence.

Demands from the UN secretary general and human rights groups have led Moroccan and Spanish authorities to launch an investigation. Meanwhile, demonstrations were held in cities across Morocco and Spain by citizens shocked at the brutal tactics used at borders. Crossings inside the European zone are becoming more permeable. However, Fortress Europe’s exterior border is making movement for the world’s poorest people more difficult and perilous than ever.

Human rights organizations have asked Morocco, Spain and other EU states to implement safe pathways for regular migration, reduce human rights violations, and to respect human rights at borders. Instead, Europe has shrunk resettlement quotas and outsourced the crackdown on migrants to authoritarian states with horrendous human rights records like Morocco, Turkey and Libya who on occasion will use these people seeking dignity as leverage to enhance their own rule.

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