Iraq Without Water: The Cost of Oil to Italy

1. The Theft of Water

Basra, Iraq. When Saddam Hussein drained most of the Mesopotamian marshes in 1990 to punish rebels hiding among the reeds who opposed his regime, Mahdi Mutir took his few belongings, nets and small boat and fled to the Hammar marshes, north-east of Basra, where he thought he could continue to make a living from fishing. The Hammar Marshes are a large wetland complex in south-eastern Iraq and are part of the Mesopotamian Marshes, which originate from the Tigris and Euphrates River system.