Climate
Climate, Iraqi Street
IRAQ’S ‘LIVING WATER’ IS DYING: How climate change threatens Mandaean religious rituals
By Nagham Makki in Basra // On a quiet morning along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab, beneath a bridge, Mazen al-Naif, the spiritual leader of the Mandaean religious community in the southern province of Basra, steps into the water wearing the traditional white garments of his faith. The “rasta” robe clings to the 55-year-old’s…
Climate, Iraqi Street
BALLS OF CLAY: Working with the ‘seed bomber’ of Maysan
By Mahdi al-Saadi in Maysan // Every rainy season in Iraq, a man nicknamed “conqueror of the desert” by locals can be seen throwing small clay balls around the remote eastern districts of Maysan province in southern Iraq. It may sound odd but in fact, there is a distinctive environmental reason behind the scenes. Each…
Climate, Iraqi Street, Women
ONE MANGROVE AT A TIME: The Iraqis ‘greening’ Basra’s waterways
By Nagham Makki in Basra // Near a narrow creek in Khor Al Zubair in southern Iraq, 28-year-old Dunia Safaa Abdul Hussein picks her way across thick mud, with a mangrove seedling cradle in her hands. She moves cautiously between neat rows of young plants. Each one is a small promise of a new life,…
