How Saddam Turned The Garden Of Eden İnto a Desert

Описание: Saddam Hussein destroyed the Garden of Eden. The Mesopotamian Marshes—5,000 years of civilization—vanished in just 2 years. This is the genocide nobody talks about.
In the early 1990s, Saddam Hussein committed one of history's most devastating environmental crimes. The Iraqi Marshes, believed to be the biblical Garden of Eden, were systematically destroyed through massive drainage projects.
What happened:

90% of the marshes drained between 1991-1993
500,000 Marsh Arabs displaced or killed
5,000-year-old Sumerian culture nearly extinct
Entire ecosystems collapsed overnight

Why it happened:
After the 1991 Gulf War uprising, Marsh Arabs rebelled against Saddam's regime. His revenge was brutal: drain their homeland, destroy their way of life, and erase them from history.
The Weapon:
Not bombs or bullets—but water. By building dams and digging canals, Saddam turned wetlands into desert. Ancient reed houses burned. Fish died. Birds disappeared. People fled or starved.
The Aftermath:
The UN called it "environmental genocide." Satellite images show the transformation: lush green marshes turned brown and dead. Communities that survived since Sumerian times vanished in 24 months.
Today:
After Saddam's fall in 2003, restoration efforts began. Some marshes have returned, but the damage remains catastrophic. The Marsh Arabs' culture hangs by a thread.