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Reviving Tigris: Young Iraqis take up environmental project in war-battered country

As part of a green activist campaign called the Cleanup Ambassadors, 200 Iraqis have started cleaning River Tigris for the first time since 2003

FP Staff April 10, 2022 20:20:51 IST
This picture shows an aerial view of the Tigris River as it flows through Iraq's northern city of Mosul past its old city (L), which has remained in a state of devastation since the battles to oust Islamic State (IS) group fighters in 2017. AFP/File
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This picture shows an aerial view of the Tigris River as it flows through Iraq's northern city of Mosul past its old city (L), which has remained in a state of devastation since the battles to oust Islamic State (IS) group fighters in 2017. AFP/File
Plastic garbage clogs the banks of Iraq's Tigris River in Baghdad, but an army of young volunteers is cleaning it, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country, part of a green activist campaign called the Cleanup Ambassadors. AFP
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Plastic garbage clogs the banks of Iraq's Tigris River in Baghdad, but an army of young volunteers is cleaning it, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country, part of a green activist campaign called the Cleanup Ambassadors. AFP
Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a clean-up campaign on the bank of the Tigris River in the Adhamiyah district of the capital Baghdad, on 11 March. AFP
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Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a clean-up campaign on the bank of the Tigris River in the Adhamiyah district of the capital Baghdad, on 11 March. AFP
"This is the first time this area has been cleaned since 2003," shouts a passer-by about the years of conflict since a US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. AFP
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"This is the first time this area has been cleaned since 2003," shouts a passer-by about the years of conflict since a US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. AFP
The 200 volunteers at work in Baghdad want to be part of the solution, removing garbage from a stretch of one of the mighty rivers that gave birth to the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia. AFP
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The 200 volunteers at work in Baghdad want to be part of the solution, removing garbage from a stretch of one of the mighty rivers that gave birth to the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia. AFP
In Iraq -- which has suffered four decades of conflict and years of political and economic turmoil -- separating and recycling waste has yet to become a priority for most people. AP/File
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In Iraq -- which has suffered four decades of conflict and years of political and economic turmoil -- separating and recycling waste has yet to become a priority for most people. AP/File