Thirst forces dozens of families to abandon their homes in a Mosul

Shafaq News/ Dozens of families are moving out of the increasingly parched village of the Sahagy, southwest Nineveh's capital city-Mosul, due to the scarcity of potable water after a dry rain season this year.

Water crisis

"Thirst has exhausted us, along with the ever-increasing sulfur levels in the wells' water due to the lack of rain, making it unfit for human and animal consumption," village mayor Sheikh Mashal al-Obaidi told Shafaq News Agency.

"Our true problem and tragedy is the lack of potable water. For decades, we have purchased it from the tanks that transport it to our village, the population of which is more than 6,000 people, yet the local government has not established a water project for us."

Futile pledges

"The local government has repeatedly promised us a solution, but nothing has changed," he added.

"This area is supposed to house the International Sahagy Airport, which the local government has always talked about and promised to build because it will be an economic gateway for Iraq with the rest of the world due to its geographical and privileged location. However, they cannot provide safe drinking water, let alone construct a huge airport."

Worsening suffering

Yasin al-Nayef, a resident of Sahagy village, explained that he began looking for a house to rent within Mosul in order to leave the area, "we can no longer tolerate the situation, nor can we continue living without water to drink because buying it has weighed heavily on us."

"There are poor people who cannot even buy water in large quantities, so they buy only what they need to drink. As for bathing, they can do nothing but use the sulfur-scented well water."

Thamer Ahmed, for his part, told Shafaq News Agency, "The drying of wells suitable for human consumption has greatly exacerbated our suffering. What is left are sulfur-filled wells, so we must buy water from tanks. The water tank costs 50,000 dinars, and those who cannot afford one share it with their neighbors."

"Summer is approaching, and water consumption levels will rise; as a result, people are considering migration; that is, instead of buying water for 100,000 dinars, they will look for rental homes within the city and live there to avoid this suffering," Ahmed explained.

"The local government has neglected us, and no officials have visited the village in recent years, as if we are not the governorate residents. They say there is a water project, but it is nothing more than empty promises, and we have no idea when the water will reach us."

When asked about their suffering, Mahmoud Tariq did not elaborate much and summed up his speech with, "All we wish for is to drink water inside our homes. Unfortunately, I might die before being able to drink water in my house."

Nineveh's local government, as by Deputy Governor Raad al-Abbasi, is "working on constructing the Sahagy water project this year. It might be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of next year."

The locals, however, said they "no longer trust statements and promises. Thirst has killed any hope left."