Lack of services, water scarcity force families to leave the Garmian

The lack of services, scarcity of water, and drought in the villages of the Daudia area in the Kurdistan Region's Garmian region have pushed the families to migrate to areas like Khurmatu and Kalar leaving behind their livelihoods to search for another.

This has led to the complete evacuation of a number of villages of their local inhabitants.

Citizen Omar Ali told PUKmedia that the drought and water scarcity affected the lives of those living in these areas and caused mass migration.

"People left behind their agricultural lands that were affected by drought and desertification due to the lack of water and rain in the area," he said.

As for the citizen Hemin Muhammad, he told PUKmedia: "The majority of families in the Daudia area depend on livestock and agriculture as a basic resource for their livelihood... the relevant authorities have failed, especially in terms of providing water, electricity, schools, and health care, especially the problem of drought, which has completely affected the lives of the people of the region."

Another citizen Azad Saeed talked about this phenomenon to PUKmedia and said: "The drought in the Daudia region is at its worst as it led to the disappearance of springs and drying up of water sources, forcing families to migrate to Khurmatu, Kalar, and Rizgari districts in search of livelihood, and desertification in the region is increasing day after day... so the Kurdistan Regional Government and the administration (Garmian Administration) must find an appropriate solution as soon as possible."

Iraq is classified as one of the five most vulnerable countries to climate change effects and desertification. Water shortages have led this year to reduced quotas for rice and wheat farmers.

The World Bank predicts that without major changes, Iraq will have lost 20 percent of its water resources by 2020.

Two successive years of low rainfall have greatly affected the country. Water levels have fallen to dangerous levels this year and many water sources dried up.



Reported by Omer Awara
PUKmedia