Iraq's River Tigris: A Graveyard of Bodies

The River Tigris has long been a symbol of prosperity in Iraq. However, since the US war on terror began in 2003 the river has turned into a graveyard of bodies, a polluted mess of oil derivatives, industrial pollution and US/Iraqi military waste.

According to environmentalists, over the last four years the River Tigris has been transformed by war waste, pollution and toxins from a once beautiful watercourse into a stagnant sewer. This is a river that was once the main source of water, food, transportation and recreation for the people who live along its banks. "The situation is critical. The river is gradually being destroyed and there are no projects to prevent its destruction," said Professor Ratib Mufid, an environment expert at Baghdad University. "A large part of the river has been turned into a military area, forcing families to leave their homes around the riverbanks and close restaurants. Fishermen are prohibited from fishing where the river passes through the capital and all vessels are banned in the area." People who live in the impoverished suburb of Sadr City often have no choice but to drink contaminated water from the river. Specialists say this is the reason why so many Sadr City residents have chronic diarrhea and are suffering from recurring kidney stones. During the summer when it is very hot and dry, the water level drops and mud islands can be seen in the middle of the river. Locals say that the water levels are going down further every year. Seif Barakah is a media officer for the Ministry of the Environment: "The problem of decreasing water flow starts in Turkey's Taurus mountains. Between there and Kurdistan, many dams have been built which help to decrease the water flow. The idea [of dam-building] was to prevent floods which over the years affected northern communities, but the consequence can now be seen with nearly half the previous water flow." The military has banned shipping and fishing in the river. This has lead to many families who once depended on the river as their livelihood to become even more deprived. Barakah says that: "Many fishermen have been killed trying to fish at night because they encountered insurgents looking to plant bombs on the riverbanks. It is still possible to find some men trying to fish, but it is rare." Military boats make patrols during the day and in areas around the Green Zone, snipers guard the river 24 hours a day in an attempt to stop insurgents from entering the zone. Each and every day, local police pull bodies out of the Tigris. Most of the bodies have signs that they have been tortured. In Suwayrah, the government has built barriers with huge iron nets to trap garbage that is dropped in in the river, but now, it is also catching bodies. Col Abdel-Waheed Azzam is a senior officer in the investigation department of the Ministry of Interior: "Since January 2006 at least 800 bodies have been dragged from those iron nets, and this figure does not include those collected from the central section of the river. Most of the bodies are unidentified and buried without family claims." Azzam says that around 90 percent of the bodies that are found in the river show signs of serious torture. "Because of the state of the bodies, it is not useful to try to have an autopsy done, and if the bodies are not claimed within 24 hours they are automatically buried." When Saddam Hussein was in power, people who dumped garbage in the river were punished. Today, it is being reported that mountains of rubbish can be seen on the riverbanks and they are affecting the normal course of the water and are polluting the immediate area. "With dams decreasing the water flow, the salt level rises and in conjunction with the high level of pollutants dumped in the river by northern cities, this reduces oxygen levels, making an unpropitious environment for any living being", Barakah said. Fishermen say that fish were plentiful in the river many years ago but today, even if you use a net, they say it is almost impossible to catch a fish. They also say that many fish can be found just floating dead on top of the water. Ateif Fahl is a 56-year-old fisherman from Baghdad: "Today, the only fish you can catch are those floating and which died from pollution after ingesting toxic waste and eating rubbish." Surely there is something that the US could do to start cleaning up the mess that they are partially responsible for creating. The environmental crisis in Iraq seems to be growing every day along with the humanitarian one. What will be left after it is all over?