Why Iraq's great rivers are dying

And the timing couldn't be worse.

Iraq gets almost all of its water from two rivers: The Tigris and the Euphrates. Both begin in Turkey and make their way down the entire length of the country, before emptying into the Persian Gulf. The problem is - they are drying up.

There are two main reasons for this. The first is geographical: Since both rivers begin in Turkey, Iraq doesn’t have control of how much water it receives. In the last 30 years, Turkey, Syria, and Iran have been building hundreds of dams along both rivers. Now only a quarter of the Euphrates reaches Iraq. Secondly, Iraq has been stuck in conflict for the last 16 years. In each case, the delicate network of treatment plants, dams, canals, and pipes has been repeatedly destroyed and neglected.

All of this has boiled over in the city of Basra - at Iraq’s southern tip. Last summer, after hundreds were poisoned by the water - riots erupted and were deeply destabilizing for the new Iraqi government. If Iraq is to rebuild, it needs to get fresh water to its people - a challenge that is getting harder every year.

[Vox]

Thank you for watching today's Vox Atlas! I wanted to leave a note about our process since so many of you have asked. First of all, yes, Atlas takes a TON of research and reporting. Thankfully I have a talented team of journalists beside me to make it all possible.


The most important part of our process is finding the right story. Not every story can be a video and not every video can be a map-video. I'm always looking for two things in a story: 1) is there a specific, narrow story that I can map? 2) If so, can I use that story to give the viewer a wider understanding of a country or region?


Finding those stories takes a lot of reading and talking to people who live and work in these places. Then we also need to find data to build our visualizations. That means mining tons of studies and reports for maps; but also charts and tables can we can turn into a map.



There's a lot more to making an Atlas video which I'm more than happy to talk about! If you have a question, just leave a comment reply here.


-Sam

[Roll]

That's upsetting. These rivers are so important to human history!

[thedarksword]

No clean water, no electricity (blackouts happen 4+ times a day and most of the electricity comes from private generators), No reliable internet structure, no road maintenance, no good hospitals, and most (not all) of iraqis want to get out of the country. truly sad.
Thanks Vox for reporting on this unheard of yet important subject

[iyadnaseer]

Mesopotamia is literally the first thing you learn about in ancient civilisation. The Tigris and Euphrates drying up cannot be tolerated

[tungnguyen]

"Water, Water is everywhere but not a drop to drink " . Soon, water will cost more than Oil. Sad.

[vagabond]

I am from Basra and this video shattered my heart even more ....
But I will always have hope for a better future.

[OsamahF.]

I`m an Iraqi and I really want to thank you for making this video on the upcoming Iraq most dangerous event that we may face in the few years coming. Thank you Vox.

[Flow]

*Poor Iraq has been under so much troubled times, and it just keep going...*

[عبودعلاء-ثح]

I live in Iraq and unfortunately we are experiencing a lack of services and this negatively affects ourselves😭😭

[psychoactive]

im from Iraq, this video is like bullets hitting my body every second, really painful
one day we will rebuild back the great land of Mesopotamia and everyone will be welcome to come and experience our hospitality.

[universe]

As an Iraqi, I really appreciated you guys covering this crisis. MORE people need to know about this.

[TheIronHordesman]

Theese rivers are what started civilizations.

Its a shame for all humankind.

[eatthatass]

Its sad how those two rivers gave life to legendary first human civilizations, and now modern people are killing them with their trash. Perfect picture of todays society.

[jessthehotmess]

As a giant history *enthusiast*, it’s really sad to see that two rivers that are so important to so much of human history are drying up.

Edit: Hey y’all, please be nice to each other. All of us are human, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or anything else. Much love to all of you ❤️
Edit 2: changed “nerd” to “enthusiast” because *apparently* a lot of people seem to be really sensitive about the use of that word. 🙃

[subzero]

Attacking oil reserves makes sense as they can be used to fuel military equipment, but attacking water infrastructure is cruel.

[richardjayfuentes]

"If your enemies are united, divide them"
-Sun Tzu

[mahmudbhaila]

Compliments to your team on producing these insightful documentaries. Educational and eye opening.

[sammq]

video length is 9:56, but i lived it for years.

[z.zhengzhou]

The US military destroyed Iraq totally and then they just left. They can blame corruption for the failure of reconstruction, but Iraq people are suffering.

[NaruruArtDumpStation]

An Iraqi born in Baghdad

My house was a mile away from the Tigris river

I feel broken watching this...