‘Leave our marshes alone’: Iraqis fear oil drilling would destroy fabled wetlands

Plans to drill for oil in the protected Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq have galvanised villagers and activists determined to save the mythical wetlands already battered by years of drought.

“We will never accept it,” marshes activist Murtada al-Janubi told a meeting, seeking to reassure anxious residents gathered in a traditional hall made of woven reeds from the wetlands, to discuss the government’s plans for the UNESCO-listed area that is their home.

Everyone nodded in approval.

If…