March 7th: Oil
It means horrendous air pollution, especially days like yesterday when the wind blows up a sandstorm and the thick air holds the petrol fumes and plasters the stink of it to your skin. It means devastation of swathes of marine ecosystems. In Britain it means road building and the loss of woodland ecosystems, open space and fresh air and the tearing through of communities. It means war and power and refugees in countries all over the world: Iraq, Sudan, Cyprus, Nigeria. At Mosfa Daura it means a living, a community.
There are about 70 houses in the small company town which extends out of the Daura Oil Refinery, plus a school, a kindergarten, a playground and a few shops for the oil workers and their families. It’s not the most attractive neighbourhood in the world but the kids all play safely in the street and everyone knows each other.
Zainab, Shems (Sun) and Israa are 21-year-old students of biology, computer science and maths respectively at Baghdad University. Zainab’s dad is the town’s dentist; Shems’ and Israa’s are engineers in the refinery. They conferred in Arabic for the right English words and taught me a few Arabic phrases and we exchanged plans. Zainab wants to work in a hospital laboratory when her degree is finished. Shems is planning to work in a computer programming office.
It means horrendous air pollution, especially days like yesterday when the wind blows up a sandstorm and the thick air holds the petrol fumes and plasters the stink of it to your skin. It means devastation of swathes of marine ecosystems. In Britain it means road building and the loss of woodland ecosystems, open space and fresh air and the tearing through of communities. It means war and power and refugees in countries all over the world: Iraq, Sudan, Cyprus, Nigeria. At Mosfa Daura it means a living, a community.
There are about 70 houses in the small company town which extends out of the Daura Oil Refinery, plus a school, a kindergarten, a playground and a few shops for the oil workers and their families. It’s not the most attractive neighbourhood in the world but the kids all play safely in the street and everyone knows each other.
Zainab, Shems (Sun) and Israa are 21-year-old students of biology, computer science and maths respectively at Baghdad University. Zainab’s dad is the town’s dentist; Shems’ and Israa’s are engineers in the refinery. They conferred in Arabic for the right English words and taught me a few Arabic phrases and we exchanged plans. Zainab wants to work in a hospital laboratory when her degree is finished. Shems is planning to work in a computer programming office.