The comic book “a River’s story” is the result of one year of joint efforts within the programme “Clean Tigris”.The final result is poetic and thought-provoking at the same time.
In three stories, the book raises awareness among children and adults alike, by telling the tale of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East.
As we follow the rivers from their mythical creation by Mesopotamian gods through a time when the first rules for the use of water resources were developed, to a world without water, we feel for Enki, the god of water and creation, who hopes that the people he created to give meaning to water will not disappoint him.
Notably the dystopian vision that we encounter in the third story is unfortunately already much closer to reality than one might think. Today, Iraq is one of the countries that are heavily affected by climate change. In particular, water scarcity and desertification threaten to accelerate political and cultural conflicts. Rising temperatures are shifting fertile and habitable zones. Deserts are advancing, water is becoming scarcer or flooding the land. Environmental changes and violence are causing refugee movements. Worldwide, such movements are expected to increase tenfold by 2050. At the same time, competition for transboundary water resources and the construction of massive dam projects are dramatically increasing the potential for conflicts.
Published by elbarlament-cultures of democracy Berlin, 2021
Curator: Shirwan Can.
Script: Sara Eleonora, Maria Pearce.
Illustrations and Cover Design: Luna Mahmud Darwesh, Halgurd Muhammad Tahir and Bawer Abdulmadjid Muhamed.
Available in: Arabic and English for download
