By Reza Washahi
Although Ahwaz has huge water resources (about 33% of Iran’s total), the region is suffering from a water crisis. Lack of pumping stations and equipment, coupled with the increase in population due to the huge immigration encouraged to reduce the Arab population, have made demands that have overstretched local resources.
A local man in a phone call told me that the water is not healthy and in a city like Abadan people have to buy water. A few years ago there were clashes between Iranian forces and residents over the salty water of Abadan.
The Iranian government has announced contracts for the sale of Ahwaz’s water to Kuwait. This is further evidence that the Government does not care about the basic needs of the Ahwazi Arabs. Through the sale of precious resources like water and oil they create a scorched land.
Alongside the selling of water the Iranian government continues to redirect Ahwaz’s water from its sources and take it to other cities like Isfahan. They also make huge dams which, it is sometimes said, constitute a threat to the Arabs in that they can blast dams over their heads or put more pressure on them by stopping the water flowing to their farm lands.
Another problem is that the region is heavily polluted by the heavy oil industry and water needs more treatment to be fit to drink. This means more investment is needed. Some villages report that their children’s teeth have turned yellow as a result of too much cchlorine in the water.
Rural people like the marsh Arabs whose lives are based on hunting and fishing are in great danger. According to a report published last year by some researchers, in one small village there were 10 cases of pregnant women losing their baby.
A Sabiani (Mandaic) man told me that water is not clean like it used to be as in Mandaeism they had a daily baptism in flowing water. “We can see it is polluted, its colour has changed and it smells bad.”
The question is why do people who have 15% of the world’s oil and 33% of Iran’s water not have healthy water?
A local man in a phone call told me that the water is not healthy and in a city like Abadan people have to buy water. A few years ago there were clashes between Iranian forces and residents over the salty water of Abadan.
The Iranian government has announced contracts for the sale of Ahwaz’s water to Kuwait. This is further evidence that the Government does not care about the basic needs of the Ahwazi Arabs. Through the sale of precious resources like water and oil they create a scorched land.
Alongside the selling of water the Iranian government continues to redirect Ahwaz’s water from its sources and take it to other cities like Isfahan. They also make huge dams which, it is sometimes said, constitute a threat to the Arabs in that they can blast dams over their heads or put more pressure on them by stopping the water flowing to their farm lands.
Another problem is that the region is heavily polluted by the heavy oil industry and water needs more treatment to be fit to drink. This means more investment is needed. Some villages report that their children’s teeth have turned yellow as a result of too much cchlorine in the water.
Rural people like the marsh Arabs whose lives are based on hunting and fishing are in great danger. According to a report published last year by some researchers, in one small village there were 10 cases of pregnant women losing their baby.
A Sabiani (Mandaic) man told me that water is not clean like it used to be as in Mandaeism they had a daily baptism in flowing water. “We can see it is polluted, its colour has changed and it smells bad.”
The question is why do people who have 15% of the world’s oil and 33% of Iran’s water not have healthy water?
