In the wake of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Ma’dan, or Marsh Arabs, of Iraq were dealt perhaps the worst tragedy in their estimated 5,000-year history. In the wake of the 2003 Iraq war, they are looking to receive their biggest boost.
Thirteen years after some Marsh Arabs participated in the post-war uprising of Shi’a Muslims in the south, only to watch Saddam Hussein respond by draining 7,700 square miles of their marshlands, they now find a $4 million wetlands restoration project by the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) taking place in their homeland. Already, 1,000 square miles of marshland have been re-flooded by the Iraqi water ministry.
Hopes are high as the Marsh Arabs prepare to reclaim the marshlands where they once raised buffalo, hunted and gathered, and lived in mudhifs—distinctive cathedral-shaped reed houses.
But the challenges are many.
"It’s a wrenching transition," said John Wilson, senior environmental officer for USAID. Wilson said that treating waste water, monitoring water salinity levels, and providing basic health services are some of the chief challenges. USAID’s program in Iraq is the largest and most complex wetlands restoration program being undertaken by the U.S. government.
One organization that has been involved with the Marsh Arabs from the start of their troubles is an international charitable foundation called Assisting Marsh Arab Refugees (AMAR), founded by Baroness Emma Nicholson. Established in 1991 to help Marsh Arabs who were displaced by the draining of the marshlands, AMAR has recently been active in post-war Iraq, particularly in the realm of health care.
The following is the edited text of an e-mail interview with Nicholson, who is also a member of the European Parliament for South East England.
How well have the Marsh Arabs been able to make the transition back into their marshlands?
AMAR finds that the Marsh Arabs have accommodated themselves superbly in their depleted marshlands. I recall that in April 2003 the AMAR medical team uncovered 83,000 Marsh Arabs who had never left the marshes and still resided within the dried-out marshlands. AMAR had been caring for a further 70,000 marsh people who had been exiled close to their ancestral homelands.
About 7,000 to 8,000 of the exiled Marsh Arabs have now returned to the marshlands and reunited with family members who stayed behind. Especially disheartening for them is the realization that they have no social services, in particular education and health. Since they have rejoined their family members, the transition has been excellent and will be permanent—provided basic services are restored.
Has the culture of the Marsh Arabs changed significantly since 1991, when Hussein drained the marshlands?
Culturally, the Marsh Arabs have not had to change significantly since 1991. Nonetheless, the current lifestyle of the Marsh Arabs is outstandingly challenging due to the lack of potable water, human waste disposal, and irrigation for their herds of water buffalo, and the difficulty in sustaining a once-massive fish population.
What is the most immediate challenge facing the Marsh Arabs?
The most immediate challenge facing the Marsh Arabs is resumption of their former way of life in their original family land holdings. This is the same challenge long-term. Saddam destroyed land masses and island areas on which the farms and homes were sited. The land masses need to be restored just as much as the water brought back. The Marsh Arabs need help to do that.
Besides AMAR, who else is helping the Marsh Arabs?
With our help and encouragement, the Marsh Arabs are speaking up for themselves. They are also strongly supported through the combined efforts of the University of Basra and Al-Thika (Nasiriyah). These universities, AMAR, and the Marsh people themselves have set up a joint committee for the marshes to address the challenges the Marsh Arabs face.
What about the initiatives of USAID? Have they been helpful so far, or not?
The initiatives of USAID have been helpful. USAID was asked by the U.S. State Department to grant funding for a fully comprehensive survey of the physical destruction of the marshes. This survey is producing the vital data from which Iraqi politicians can make the correct, rationally based decisions on regeneration of the marshlands.
The plight of the people, however, is not just linked to the physical marshlands reconstruction but to the provision of key human rights such as health, education, jobs, and sustainable futures in food production, food processing, and marketing their traditional crops. AMAR is the leading voice internationally on these key issues but so far the international response is slow, possibly because of the other distractions throughout Iraq such as security and reconstruction of critical but crucial infrastructure for all Iraqi people. As a politician I remain gravely concerned for the future of these ancient marsh tribes.
What do you see for the future of the Marsh Arabs?
The future of the marsh people should be as they wish, which is a resumption of their sustainable and highly successful farming, fishing, and trading.
