صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf's Avatar

صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf

@safaakhalaf

Award-winning Iraqi investigative journalist and independent researcher covering political, environmental, and social issues in Iraq and the Middle East. www.safaakhalaf.com

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14.02.2026
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Latest posts by صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf @safaakhalaf

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#العراق، بحكم موقعه الجغرافي وتاريخه السياسي وتركيبته الاجتماعية، لن يبقى هامشاً في المعادلة الدولية - الإقليمية الجديدة، بل فاعلاً يتجسد فيه التغيير. وأي إعادة ترتيب إقليمي ستنعكس مباشرة على شكل نظامه السياسي ووظائفه.
goo.su/TpTHs

28.02.2026 11:15 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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#Iraq is facing an active environmental crisis that has turned into an existential challenge and a “social problem”. Policies are driven to curb popular grievances, aiming to prevent them from developing into an influential “social movement” that could threaten the political system.
goo.su/o9dBhLY

26.02.2026 17:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

How sad the Iraqi government would allow this historical site, for many the cradle of civilization (and for many Christians the Garden of Eden), be destroyed. The marshes' heritage is priceless. But in a world where "homo economicus" reigns supreme, world heritage no longer has any value or meaning

17.02.2026 00:21 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Baghdad’s Blank Slate - Boston Review The massive development projects the Iraqi government has planned for the city seem designed to wipe it clean of its past memories.

My latest in @bostonreview.bsky.social, edited by Cameron Avery.
www.bostonreview.net/articles/bag...

18.12.2025 16:26 👍 8 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
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Unfortunately, Dr Eric, the population is now below 20,000; the marshes have dried up and turned into an oil-industrial zone; no reed houses remain; and their ancient culture is being erased. People are merely struggling to survive with a little water. The world that you are keeping in mind is gone.

16.02.2026 17:21 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Yes, based on what's going on right now, the marshes will never recover. Thanks for your quoting D. Eric. @newdemocracy.bsky.social

15.02.2026 02:54 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

I swam in the al-Ahwar (Iraq's marshes) in May of 1980. The water, which was filtered by papyrus, was so pure you could drink it. Between Saddam, post Saddam corruption fueled by greed for oil wealth, Turkey's damning the Euphrates & climate change, the marshes seem like they will never recover

15.02.2026 01:13 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

@ccfd-tsolidaire.bsky.social

14.02.2026 14:38 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

@ccfd-tsolidaire.bsky.social

14.02.2026 14:38 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

@lsemiddleeast.bsky.social

14.02.2026 14:37 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Two new reports by @ccfd-tsolidaire.bsky.social highlight the environmental costs of continues oil exploration and extraction in southern #Iraq that affects marshes, part of the @unesco.org protected sites.

ccfd-terresolidaire.org/wp-content/u...

ccfd-terresolidaire.org/wp-content/u...

27.01.2026 14:26 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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محو هور الحويزة بفعل مشاريع نفطية لشركات فرنسية وماليزية وصينية فضلاً عن وزارة النفط العراقية، بات موثّقاً في دراسة: "النفط يمحو هور الحويزة في جنوب #العراق: حين تدمّر الشركات موقعاً مُدرَجاً على قائمة التراث العالمي"، تستند إلى وثائق سرّية، من بينها عقود التشغيل والاستيلاء على الارض والمياه.
goo.su/ADB1q0

14.02.2026 13:02 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Two new CCFD reports by Safaa Khalaf highlight the environmental costs of ongoing oil exploration and extraction in southern #Iraq, and their devastating impact on the Marshes, part of the UNESCO protected #heritage sites.
📗 Executive Report: goo.su/wb20sw
📗 The full study: goo.su/m9ar

14.02.2026 12:51 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Oil wipes out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq
[When the marshes are erased… not only the water disappears, but also memory, history, people, and the future.]

This study presents the process by which the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq is disappearing. It is the result of a complex interaction between cross-border drainage policies, the expansion of oil exploitation, institutional and legal fragility, and the militarisation of the area, leading to the destruction of the social and cultural fabric. In 2016, the ancient and exceptionally large historical marsh, which is closely linked to the wetlands of the Tigris and Euphrates delta, was partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since the 1990s, and at a faster pace since 2010, Hawizeh has gradually been transformed into a drained industrial area, dominated by Chinese-French-Malaysian oil consortia operating in partnership with the state. This transformation has taken place under the cover of ambiguous legislation, which has allowed the marsh to be appropriated and divided into ‘security zones’ and commercial zones, limiting the free movement of inhabitants and restricting their access to water.

Oil wipes out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq [When the marshes are erased… not only the water disappears, but also memory, history, people, and the future.] This study presents the process by which the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq is disappearing. It is the result of a complex interaction between cross-border drainage policies, the expansion of oil exploitation, institutional and legal fragility, and the militarisation of the area, leading to the destruction of the social and cultural fabric. In 2016, the ancient and exceptionally large historical marsh, which is closely linked to the wetlands of the Tigris and Euphrates delta, was partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since the 1990s, and at a faster pace since 2010, Hawizeh has gradually been transformed into a drained industrial area, dominated by Chinese-French-Malaysian oil consortia operating in partnership with the state. This transformation has taken place under the cover of ambiguous legislation, which has allowed the marsh to be appropriated and divided into ‘security zones’ and commercial zones, limiting the free movement of inhabitants and restricting their access to water.

#Oil is wiping out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern #Iraq. Once a #UNESCO-listed wetland, it has been turned into a drained, militarised industrial zone through cross-border water policies, oil expansion, and security zoning, destroying its social and #cultural heritage.📗EN: goo.su/m9ar

14.02.2026 12:44 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1
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In #Iraq, #women are losing water, livelihoods, and #cultural heritage. My study in the #Hawizeh Marshes finds that it is not a temporary #environmental crisis, but a systematic process driven by drainage, #oil expansion, and militarisation. Changes place the greatest burden on women.
goo.su/XO4nhyn

14.02.2026 12:07 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0