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Witness History: The Destruction of Iraq's Marshes

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The Destruction of Iraq's Marshes

11/11/2014 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Destruction of Iraq's Marshes

In the 1990s Saddam Hussein oversaw the destruction of southern Iraq's ancient marshes

In the 1990s, Saddam Hussein oversaw the destruction of southern Iraq's great marshes, the ancient homeland of the Marsh Arabs where many believe writing and agriculture began

In the early 1990s, Saddam Hussein ordered the draining of southern Iraq's great marshes. It was one of the biggest environmental disasters of the twentieth century, and with it an ancient way of life - dating back thousands of years - was almost wiped out.  Witness talks to Iraqi environmentalist Azzam Alwash, who is trying to restore the marshes, and to journalist Shyam Bhatia, who saw them being destroyed.

Photograph: An Iraqi Marsh Arab looks out across a barren stretch of the marshes of southern Iraq. Credit: Essam al-Sudani/AFP/Getty Images)

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