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DESERT WATER- THE CURSE OF THE TIGRIS

October 20, 2014 / no comments

“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it.” -Lao Tzu

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The construction of the Ilisu Dam on on the Tigris river is set to be completed by 2015. Once the dam is fully operational, it will have drowned vast parts of the Tigris Valley in Batman Province, eastern Turkey.
In addition to the destruction of nature and historical sites such as Hasankeyf, dating back to 1800 B.C., the predominantly Kurdish population is being relocated to the industrial city of Batman.

Farmers, fishermen and their families who, for generations, have lived with the river’s natural flow, are being forced to give up their homes and agricultural lifestyle to make way for Turkey’s need for electricity and irrigation.

Long-standing political disharmony between the Turkish majority to the North and West and the Kurds to the South and East means that Turkey hopes to gain in numerous ways at the expense of Kurdistan- Whilst harvesting electricity for the mainly Turkish population centres outside of Kurdistan, creating an agribusiness-ready valley for international investors, blocking water supplies to much of Kurdistan and forcing a people out of their homeland, Ankara is lining up for a major victory against Kurdistan whose population has been demonised throughout the country since its incorporation into Turkey after WWI.

A young man speeds across the bridge at Hasankeyf. If the Illisu dam project is completed, the village along with most of its heritage dating back to at least 1800 BC will be almost fully submerged.
A boy casts a fishing line into the Tigris, just upstream from Hasankeyf.
Zeki (left), a farmer in the village of Irmakköy, a few kilometres downstream of Hasankeyf, will lose his livelihood if the dam is built. Here, he grows peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and watermelon for the village and local markets. When asked what he would do if the water were to rise he replied laughingly that he'd move to Australia.
A view to the Tigris from the hilltop above Hasankeyf. The piers of an ancient bridge built in 1116 AD are still visible.
New buildings stand empty a couple of kilometres above the old town of Hasankeyf. It is unlikely that the relatively poor locals will be able to afford an apartment here if their homes are flooded.
Apartment blocks in the city of Batman- many families forced to relocate expect to end up here. Although Batman offers some modern amenities such as shopping, hospitals and schools, residents have little access to nature.
Naif, 44, takes a break from the afternoon sun with local children in Irmakköy. He sustains himself and his family though farming and building.
Supply trucks cross the Tigris at the break of dawn to the dam site an hour's drive southeast from Hasankeyf.
Local children spend most of their days outdoors in the town of Irmakköy on the Tigris.
Boys spend their summer afternoons swimming and skipping rocks on the cool waters of the Tigris.
A boy in Ilisu with the dam site behind him.
Jamil, 41, runs a fish restaurant above the banks of the Tigris. His wife, daughter and extended family all live in Hasankeyf. What happens if they flood the river? 'I'll kill myself,' he said.
Wind whips up dust in Hasankeyf. Ancient manmade caves on the riverbanks are visible bottom right. Hasankeyf has been inhabited for some 10,000 years, making it one of the oldest surviving settlements in the world today.
Massoud, 40, is a builder and gardener in and around Hasankeyf. He and his 6 year-old son, Farouk will be faced with major changes if they are relocated to Batman.
Amir with his grandson, Barzan. Because they live higher up on the hill, they will not need to relocate- however, the pretty hillside adjacent their home now used for grazing, will be the site of new buildings and a highway to Batman.
A petrol station outside of Hasankyef. Oilfields nearby are a major source of revenue for the Turkish government.
Girls and boys play in the evening light of Irmakköy.
Eshan, 18, tends his flock on the hills surrounding Hasankeyf. He insists that he will be forced to move to Batman if the dam is completed. He asks, 'What am I to do in the city? I am a shepherd.'
A bend in the beautiful Tigris River between Batman and Hasankeyf.
Amir with his grandsons, Barzan and Shaban. Because they live higher up on the hill, they will not need to relocate- however, the pretty hillside adjacent their home now used for grazing, will be the site of new buildings and a highway to Batman.
A little girl in Ilisu on the Tigris river, the site of the dam.
A boy takes a break from fishing in the Tigris, just upstream from Hasankeyf. The fish he catches will make a nourishing meal for himself and his family.
Zeki, a farmer in the village of Irmakköy, a few kilometres downstream of Hasankeyf, will lose his livelihood if the dam is built. Here, he grows peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and watermelon for the village and local markets. When asked what he would do if the water were to rise he replied laughingly that he'd move to Australia.
A boy in Ilisu, site of the dam.
A view of the Tigris from Irmakköy.
Girls watch the sunset over the Tigris in the town of Irmakköy.
The cliffs above Hasankeyf are home to hundreds of ancient man-made caves. This potential UNESCO world heritage site will be mostly underwater once the Ilisu dam is completed.
A view upstream- the hot summer sun gleams off the wild Tigris.
Dust shrouds the bridge at Hasankeyf during a summer windstorm.
The Tigris is home to may 130 species of birds, various fish and other wildlife. Here, a turtle basks in the sun. It is the last wild river in the entire region.
The future site of 'New Hasankeyf' with a new highway in the background. The apartments being built here are far more expensive than what most locals could afford.
The cliffs behind the Tigris make for a stunning backdrop to a refreshing summer swim.
The piers of an ancient bridge built in Hasankeyf in 1116 AD are still visible.
Batman, an industrial city, will be the new home of many of those displaced by the Ilisu dam project.
For these boys, this will be one of the last summers spent playing in the river. The entire valley is expected to be under water by sometime in 2016.

SUICIDE AND PESTICIDE- CRISIS IN THE PUNJAB

October 20, 2014 / no comments

Punjab, a state in Northwestern India with a population of almost 30 million, has, over the last 45 years, gone through an agricultural transformation. Although investors and large corporations who profit from India’s agricultural modernisation largely accredit India’s newfound self-sufficiency with the upsurge in agricultural output resulting from its “Green Revolution”, Indian farmers and their families have been left with a legacy of environmental degradation, water shortages, and unsustainable predatory loans that have resulted in parallel epidemics of suicide and cancer.

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Since the mid-1960s, state agricultural policy, with the help of international industry and NGO involvement, has made the modernisation of Punjab’s farming methods a top priority. Much praise has been awarded to those involved in the transformation- Punjab went from a self-sustaining and relatively ancient farming area, to becoming India’s breadbasket and is credited with helping to halt the famine that India was suffering, in various degrees, for the 20 years preceding. However,  the complex problems associated with the implementation of this policy have been ignored to such an extent, that water tables have sunk drastically, becoming salinized and polluted, whilst the region’s soil has been gravely depleted. Punjabis have been hit by the dual blows of pesticide pollution and the financial strains of mismanaged and often highly currupt lending systems, both which have led to a many-fold increase in terminal diseases and suicide rates.

Various stakeholders have profited enormously at the expense of the region- companies such as Monsanto have cashed in on the sale of GMO seeds and their associated pesticides and fertilisers whilst the makers of heavy machinery such as John Deere, have had whole new markets open up in short order.

Punjab went from a self-sustaining and relatively ancient farming area, to becoming India’s breadbasket. Industry groups, often in partnership with government and NGOs have done little to ensure that the modernization they pushed came along with regulation, training, waste management and a sound financial sector free of the endemic corruption that is the unfortunate mainstay of India’s political and social systems. In fact, reckless sales of their products have led to massive overuse and unsafe handling of toxic chemicals and unsustainable debt loads on unsuspecting, often illiterate families.

For more information, please visit
http://livingheritage.org/green-revolution.htm and http://www.khetivirasatmission.org/

Farm labourers spray pesticides, such as Round-Up without any protective clothing whatsoever. Their arms, legs and feet are often wet from contact with the liquid chemicals. When asked if he realized the danger of chemical poisoning or long-term ill health effects, Harpreet (above) said, he hasn’t noticed any yet and is therefore not too worried.
Umendra Dutt and Kavitha Kuruganti work for the Kheti Virasat Mission, a locally run NGO which teaches farmers to practice more ecologically sound farming and helps in cases of debt disputes, suicides, and cancer treatment.
Lakhbir, 21, almost died 7 years ago when he inhaled fumes whilst spraying cotton fields with monocrotophos and fenvalerate- highly toxic pesticides regularly sprayed by hand in Punjab without the use of any protective gear whatsoever.
Despite Lakhbir's grave injuries due to pesticide poisoning, he has received no compensation from industry or government. His medical bills threaten to bankrupt his family,.
Although Lakhbir's accident happened 7 years prior to this photo being taken, he still suffers from his injuries- after being bed-ridden for 6 years, he is just learning to walk again.
Brothers Harjeet and Jaspreet both started growing grey hairs 4 years earlier, when they were just 9 and 14 years of age. Greying hair at a young age is often a sign of exposure to toxic agriculture chemicals. Theirs is the first generation in the area to start greying prematurely.
Labourers dig deep for water under the supervision of a land-owning farmer near Jajjal, a small city that specialises in the sale of chemical fertilizers, pesticedes, fungicides and GM seeds. Average water table levels have sunken drastically while water salinity increases in the semi-arid state of Punjab since the introduction of modern farming practices in the 1970s.
Boghi, 75, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Proper treatment is out of the financial abilities of his family.
The woman pictured above has been suffering from breast cancer for almost two years. Treatment in faraway Bikaner is putting huge financial strain on her husband and their family. The government offers no financial aid and health insurance is non-existent.
‘Lethal’ Brand pesticide in Jajjal, a small city in the district of Bathinda that specialises in the sale of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and GM seeds.
A farmer loads fertiliser onto a Camel-cart. Due to the financial implications of chemical farming practices, Punjabi farmers have become increasingly dependant on borrowed funds, usually from wealthier farmers or loan sharks. Often, just one bad growing season can completely wipe out an entire farming family- to pay back loans they are often forced to sell the land that has been in their family for generations, a psychologically crushing prospect. Debt in India is also pan-generational- If parents have accrued debt and are unable to pay it back in their lifetimes, their children assume the burden of their debt.
Farm labourers mix highly-concentrated pesticides with water for their spraying packs without protective gloves or masks.
6-year-old Munish has been sick since birth. Doctors were unable to diagnose his illness but a tumour was removed from his back. After the operation his head swelled and he lost the use of his legs. He also suffers from an unidentified, full-body skin disorder. His treatment still continues, putting a tremendous financial strain on the family. The family has to borrow money from neighbouring farmers, blacklisting them in their community. Tumour and deformity rates are on the rise in Punjab.
The Singh family lost their 18 year-old son. Gurdas, to suicide in 2007. He swallowed pesticides- a relatively common form of suicide in the area. The Singhs had accrued a debt of 70,000 rupees (€900), and being the eldest son, was most responsible for paying it back. Now, with a large debt still looming over their shoulders, the sale of all their buffalo for debt-repayment and missing their son, the Singhs will have little hope of affording a dowry for their daughter's eventual marriage or their children's educations.
Manjeet Singh holds a portait of her son Gurdas, who commited suicide in 2007 at the age of 18 by drinking pesticide. The family's debt of 70,000 RPS (€900) put so much strain on the Singh's eldest son, it drove him to end his young life.
Santosh, 35, was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago. Cancer rates have skyrocketed in the region.
Ranjeet lost her husband, Jagjit, to suicide in 2003. He drank pesticide after being forced to leave his land due to an untenable debt burden made worse by a very low-yield year. He was unable to pay the instalments on the tractor he had purchased a year before. The lenders forfeited his tractor which he needed in order to work his land. Now, Ranjeet makes clay stoves by hand which she sells for 15 RPS (€0.20) a piece to feed herself and her children. Unless her situation improves, she will be forced to pull her children, Harpreet, 14, and Harbinder, 13, out of school.
Jarnail thumbs through newspaper and magazine clippings about cancer and poisonings in Punjab. He recently lost two family members to cancer- until the mid 1980s, cancer rates were very low throughout Punjab and increased dramatically in his village when BT Cotton was first planted. According to him, the spraying of chemicals in the region is done so without protective gear and with little knowledge of the chemicals' toxicity.
Farm labourers mix dry fertiliser without the use of protective gloves.
Farm labourers mix dry fertiliser without the use of protective gloves.
Passengers in Bathinda wait for the night train to Bikanir cancer hospital. The train is known as the ‘Cancer-Train’ because most of its passengers are seeking treatment or picking up medication for family members.
A local man holds up an x-ray of his father's cancerous lungs.
With the help of the Kheti Virasat Mission, a regional farmers’ NGO, farmers meet regularly to discuss organic farming methods.
49 year-old Jaswant has been suffering from ovarian cancer for 18 months. Every three weeks she takes the 12-hour journey to Bikaner on the Cancer Train for treatment. She is feeling better, but has had to borrow extensively from friends and neighbours.
Gurpreet, who works for Kheti Virasat Mission, holds a discussion round with local farmers who are switching to organic farming methods.
Vichattar (center), lost his two brothers to unnatural causes. The first died whilst spraying pesticides at the age of 25 and the other jumped in front of a moving train. In debt and the sole money earner, he is harassed on a regular basis by money lenders and pesticide dealers to pay back his loans.
A coal-burning power plant near Bathinda supplies the neighbouring National Fertilizers Ltd. factory with electricity.

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