Saving the imperiled Hamouns of eastern Iran
Iran must take swift action to save the dying Hamoun wetlands in Sistan.
“Angels will kiss the hands of those who help us,” the man said.
The face behind the handshake was grizzled and weathered. The tanned, leathery skin bespoke years of harshness. The fisherman’s eyes welled with suppressed tears. He yearned for a time when his life was one of plenty. Lakes brimmed with water, he told me. And fish. His children were happy, and life was good.
I was so moved by his story that I impolitely forgot to ask his name. He wanted me to listen and then tell the world about the desperate conditions in Iran’s harshest, poorest region: the Hamoun wetlands of the Sistan region, in Sistan and Baluchestan province.
“Wetlands” is really not the right word, for now these lands are parched. There is little gainful employment to be had, and more than half the residents get by on welfare delivered through the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF), a parastatal organization.
