Filmed on May 8, 2021
MIRELIYAN, Turkey — Thousands of fish have died in a stream that runs by the village of Celebiyan Cayi in Turkey’s Diyarbakir province. The government is investigating the cause, but villagers think it’s because of pollution and drought.
“There was no oxygen for the fish, so they died,” said villager Nadim Oluk.
A team from Diyarbakir’s agricultural directorate came on Friday. “They caught 5 or 6 fish to test and investigate the cause of the mass death,” said the village chief (mukhtar) Ahmed Shehir. They are now waiting for the results of the tests.
According to villagers, something similar happened 20 years ago, when a tobacco factory dumped waste into the stream.
Sayid Asmer, who lives in the village, is worried about sewage and animal waste being dumped into the water. “Animal waste should not be put into the streams. It should be separated from the clean water so the stream remains clean and the fish do not die,” he said.
Low water levels are also a concern. Turkey is experiencing a severe drought after several years of low rainfall. This year has been dry across the Middle East. Water shortages have been reported in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran with farmers losing their crops, shepherds moving to find better grazing lands, and electricity production down.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
“There was no oxygen for the fish, so they died,” said villager Nadim Oluk.
A team from Diyarbakir’s agricultural directorate came on Friday. “They caught 5 or 6 fish to test and investigate the cause of the mass death,” said the village chief (mukhtar) Ahmed Shehir. They are now waiting for the results of the tests.
According to villagers, something similar happened 20 years ago, when a tobacco factory dumped waste into the stream.
Sayid Asmer, who lives in the village, is worried about sewage and animal waste being dumped into the water. “Animal waste should not be put into the streams. It should be separated from the clean water so the stream remains clean and the fish do not die,” he said.
Low water levels are also a concern. Turkey is experiencing a severe drought after several years of low rainfall. This year has been dry across the Middle East. Water shortages have been reported in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran with farmers losing their crops, shepherds moving to find better grazing lands, and electricity production down.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
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