The Turkish state’s policy of pouring sewage and chemical waste into the Jaghjagh River flowing through the city of Qamishlo poses a threat to the public health and environment.
The Jaghjagh River is a tributary of the Khabur River in Turkey and Syria, running through the city of Qamishlo in northeastern Syria.
In recent years, the Turkish state has used water as a weapon against the people of northeastern Syria in addition to its ongoing attacks on the region. The water of the Jaghjagh River was heavily used for irrigation of more than 50,000 decares of agricultural land in the city of Qamishlo. However, the river now poses a threat to the public health and environment in the Jazira Canton because the Turkish state has poured sewage and chemical waste into the river. The people of Hasakah have been suffering from a water crisis, the Turkish state has cut off the water of the Khabur River, the source of living for the local people.
‘We got sick’
Selima Reşid Ehmed, whose house is close to the Jaghjagh River, complains about the foul smell coming from the river. “We all got sick due to the pollution of water. Snakes, scorpions and insects are coming out of the Jaghjagh River. We demand the municipality find a solution to this crisis,” she told NuJINHA.
‘The river had good water quality in the 90s’
NuJINHA spoke to Hêvin Şêxo, an environmentalist living in Germany and a member of an environmental organization named “Kêziyen Kesk a Jîngehi (English: Green Braids of Nature)”, about the river water pollution. “The river had good water quality in the 90s,” she said. “The Jaghjagh River formed a very beautiful natural environment and many people used to benefit from its water. The people used to use the water for irrigation. Unfortunately, the Turkish state has cut off the water of the Khabur River to use water as a weapon against the people of North and East Syria. It has begun to build dams to cut off the water of the Khabur River and Jaghjagh River.”
‘It poses a threat to the public health and environment’
The Turkish state has poured sewage and chemical waste into the Jaghjagh River,” Hêvîn Şêxo emphasized, adding, “The current policy of the Turkish state has a massive impact on the public health and environment. It has a negative impact on soil, water and air. The sewage and chemical waste poured into the river pollute water and water pollution causes the spread of diseases.”
‘The Turkish state spills sewage into the river’
Bêrivan Silo, Co-chair of the Department of Water Resources in Jazira Canton, told us that they developed many projects about the Jaghjagh River; however, they could not put these projects into practice due to financial difficulties. “The Turkish state deliberately spills sewage and chemical waste into the river in Turkey. Since the river flows through the city of Qamishlo, water pollution causes diseases. Women and children are the most affected by water pollution. Although the Qamishlo Municipality develops projects to solve this problem, they cannot put these projects into practice due to financial problems. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria does its best to solve this problem despite all the attacks. The humanitarian aid organizations should support the projects developed to solve this problem.”
‘The humanitarian aid organizations should put pressure on the Turkish state’
Bêrivan Silo called on the humanitarian aid organizations to take “immediate action so that the people of the region can benefit from the river again and use water for irrigation. The international humanitarian organization should put pressure on the Turkish state to stop spilling sewage and chemical waste into the river.”
