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New Hope for Iraq's Marsh Arabs

Decimated Under Saddam, Ancient Culture Starts Over

by Anne Garrels

With Saddam's regime gone, some marsh Arab families are returning to the region and rebuilding their

With Saddam's regime gone, some marsh Arab families are returning to the region and rebuilding their lives.

Tom Bullock, NPR News

After a decade of cultural annihilation, the marsh Arabs of southern Iraq are hoping a new government will restore their way of life. For more than 5,000 years these people maintained an ancient lifestyle in the vast marshlands. In little more than 10 years, Saddam Hussein managed to destroy most of their culture. NPR's Anne Garrels reports on the difficulties of rehabilitating the people and ecosystem.

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