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A case of liberation: think, for a moment, about Iraq's Marsh Arabs.(AT WAR)(Mesopotamian Marshlands)
WHEN the United States and its allies went into Afghanistan and Iraq, they liberated about 56 million people. Those people had suffered under two of the most brutal regimes imaginable. A lot of people choke on that word, "liberated"--for others of us, it is entirely appropriate.
The scope of this achievement--the liberation--is almost too great to comprehend. Too many lives, communities, and situations are involved. But can we focus on merely one case--that of the "Marsh Arabs," in southern Iraq? Saddam Hussein succeeded in destroying the environment in which they lived; he almost succeeded in destroying the people themselves. Now those marshes are coming back, and the people are coming back, too.
No matter whether we supported the Iraq War or opposed it, can't we all rejoice in these results of the war'? The answer is, of course, no.
The Mesopotamian Marshlands--home of the Marsh Arabs--exist at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Many have imagined this area the site of the Garden of Eden. Until the early 1990s, this "Eden" was the Middle East's largest wetland, covering about 7,500 square miles. The Marsh Arabs--also known as the Madan--are among the oldest peoples on earth, dating back 5,000 years. They are a link to the Sumerians. For all these millennia, they have lived in their marshes, gliding in their skiffs, called "mashoofs," and dwelling in their reed huts. ...
- Experts urge international cooperation on rehabilitating Mesopotamian...
- Press release article from: M2 Presswire May 29, 2003 700+ words
...fabric of Iraq's Mesopotamian Marshlands has been so extensively...of Assistance for Marsh Arabs and Refugees Intl...this year. The Mesopotamian Marshlands have been devastated...000 so-called Marsh Arabs are still thought...
- UN environment programme releases report on demise of Mesopotamian marshlands.
- Press release article from: M2 Presswire August 14, 2001 700+ words
...programme releases report on demise of Mesopotamian marshlands (C)1994-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS...Around 85 per cent of the Mesopotamian marshlands, the largest wetland in the Middle...Director. The report is titled "Mesopotamian Marshlands Report: A Call for Action...
- The demise of mesopotamian marshlands.(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: UN Chronicle June 1, 2002 700+ words
...per cent of the Mesopotamian marshlands--the largest...decline of the Mesopotamian marshlands, there has been...half-million Marsh Arabs are living in...donors to give the Mesopotamian marshlands a new lease on...
- Watering Eden; The Mesopotamian marshlands of Iraq, long a vital ecological...
- Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor March 27, 2003 700+ words
...as half a million "Marsh Arabs" who trace their...desiccation of the Mesopotamian marshlands confirms that more...action included moving Marsh Arabs onto "dry land...When the Shiite Marsh Arabs, or Madan, rebelled...
- They drained paradise.(Mesopotamian marshlands)(Brief Article)
- Environment April 1, 2004 700+ words
Situated at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Iraq, the Mesopotamian marshlands--widely reputed to be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden--are the largest wetlands in the Middle East among the finest...
- IRAQ: MARSH ARABS SUFFERING CONTINUES.(Brief Article)
- Newspaper article from: IPR Strategic Business Information Database May 6, 2002 700+ words
...gradual disappearance of the Mesopotamian marshlands, the largest wetland in...which are the home of Shia Marsh Arabs. The predominantly Sunni...greater control over the Marsh Arabs, who participated in the...marshes. AMAR (the Assisting Marsh Arabs and Refugees ...
- Iraq `poisons Marsh Arabs'
- Newspaper article from: The Independent - London DAVID ORR November 27, 1994 700+ words
...campaign of persecution against the Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq, according to a British...recent years, found evidence that the Marsh Arabs, much of whose ancient homeland has...doubt that what is happening to the Marsh Arabs in Iraq amounts to genocide." In recent...
- Marsh Arabs
- Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa Jwaideh, Albertine January 1, 2004 700+ words
MARSH ARABS Inhabitants of the vast marshlands in southern Iraq. The Marsh Arabs lived in one of the great marsh areas of the...mixed with other peoples through time. Called Marsh Arabs by some owing to their language, social structures...
