Ahwaz crisis getting more intense as Iran maintains negative policies

Protests seem to be endless in Iran, especially with water shortages getting more acute in the occupied Arab region of Ahwaz, southwest of Iran.

Demographic change

The residents of Ahwas accuse Tehran of carrying out systematic demographic changes in their region by reducing the Arab majority in the region.

The residents of the region also accuse Tehran of causing the region's rivers to dry up, which worsens the environmental conditions of the region and affects the health of its population.

Demonstrations erupted for a number of days in Ahwaz, as of Saturday, when demonstrators blocked a main road between Ahwas and the city of Bandar Mahshahr.

Social media sites documented the protests which erupted in oil and water rich areas. Nonetheless, the residents of the region are deprived of this wealth.

Occupation, repression

Iranian security forces fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators who gathered to protest the lack of water.

Iranian authorities have been working to eradicate the cultural specificity of the residents of Ahwaz by replacing its Arab residents with Persians.

They also prevent the residents of the region from using the Arabic language and ban the traditional Arab attire in the region.

The restrictions imposed by Tehran on the region have caused poverty and illiteracy to rise dramatically. Unemployment is also rampant among the residents of Ahwaz region.

Iran also takes the water from rivers located in Ahwaz and transfers it to areas populated by Persians. This causes the destruction of farmland in Ahwaz and leaves Ahwaz households without any water.

Intensifying crises

A lawmaker representing Ahwaz in the Iranian parliament had previously warned against the water problem in the region getting worse.

He warned against the eruption of a civil war in the region because of the shortage of water in it.

The water shortage coincides with a rise in pollution rates. These rising pollution rates have negative effects on the health of the residents of Ahwaz region.