Black Immigrant Daily News
Gierende kinderen in de speeltuin, lekkere cocktails, pittige masala doks en kaaiman nuggets. Surinames grootste culinair festijn, Quota Men Cookout,
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Tropical storm conditions pose possible threat to Ja within 48 hours
Children up to age 12 to access care at UHWI as viral illnesses rise
Suspension bridge collapse kills at least 133 in India
JPS: Planned power outages for Oct 31 and Nov 1
Businessman intervenes, foils phone robbers in St Andrew
WATCH: ‘Public cannot have… confidence’ in JC Hutchinson – Golding
Miniature Man lands Caymanas Park feature race
Newsmaker: Tufton under pressure to resign re ‘dead babies’ scandal 2′
Tropical storm watch in effect for Jamaica — Met Service
Reports surface of garbage pile-ups at some St Catherine schools
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A businessman who is a licensed firearm holder, helped to foil a robbery along Mountain View Avenue at the intersection with Stanton Terrace in St Andrew on Saturday afternoon.
Reports are that the businessman saw a robbery being committed by two men at the intersection, and intervened.
The men robbed the victim of a phone and ran, and the licensed firearm holder gave chase.
Another businessman soon joined the chase, and the men were found hiding in a gully.
They were reportedly found with several cellular phones.
The Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), the police’s information arm, confirmed that the Stadium police took two alleged robbers into custody.
The police theorised that the men were on a robbery spree because of the number of phones they had in their possession.
Of the two suspects in custody, one is said to have been on the police’s radar and is known to be from Rockfort in East Kingston.
Formal charges expected to be laid against the two men after the police’s investigations are completed.
A police constable has died from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle crash in St Thomas on Saturday night.
Reports are that about 9:45 pm, the traffic crash occurred along the Morant Road in t
African Giant, Burna Boy has arrived in Dominica.
Video footage of the headline act arriving at the Douglas Charles airport is now making the rounds on social media.
The African Giant was slated
A baton, holster, one Clarks shoe with a M16 magazine was also found during search of constable’s home
Jamaican entity Lydford Mining Company has secured its first shipment of construction-grade limestone to the United States.
Lydford Mining worked over four days with 1,000 trucks to load 36,000 met
After three surgeries and seven years of fighting breast cancer, Donavan Chevannes is crediting God for bringing him this far in his fight against the disease that is a rarity in men.
The
The Police High Command and the Jamaica Police Federation have both expressed condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Constable Kemar Nelson, who was assigned to the Specialised Operation
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Military teams were searching Monday for people missing after a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river Sunday in the western Indian state of Gujarat, sending hundreds plunging into the water and killing at least 133 in one of the country’s worst accidents in years.
As families mourned the dead, attention was turning to why the bridge, built by the British in the late 1800s and touted as an “engineering marvel,” collapsed and who might be responsible.
The local government had awarded a 15-year contract to maintain and manage the bridge to a Morbi-based company, Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, mainly known for making clocks, mosquito racquets and electric bikes.
It reopened the bridge, which spans a wide section of the Machchu river, on October 26. That’s the first day of the Gujarati New Year, which coincides with the Hindu festival season, and the newly reopened attraction drew hundreds of sightseers.
Sandeepsinh Zala, a Morbi city official, told the Indian Express newspaper the company had reopened the bridge without first obtaining a “fitness certificate.” That claim could not be independently verified, but the state government said it had formed a special team to investigate the disaster.
Authorities said the structure collapsed under the weight of hundreds of people. Security footage of the disaster showed bridge shaking violently and people trying to keep hold of its cables and green-coloured metal fencing before the aluminum walkway gave way and crashed into the river.
Visuals from the disaster site showed the bridge split in the middle and the metal walkway hanging down, its cables snapped in places. At least 177 survivors were pulled from the river and teams from the army, navy and air force were looking for others still missing, said Jigar Khunt, an information department official in Gujarat.
State minister Harsh Sanghvi told reporters that 133 people were confirmed dead and many others were admitted to hospitals in critical condition. Emergency responders and rescuers worked overnight to search for the survivors. Most of the victims were teens, women and older people, he said.
It was not immediately clear exactly how many people were on the bridge when it collapsed but survivors said it was so densely packed that the crowd was unable to quickly move to safety when its cable began to snap.
“There were just too many people on the bridge. We could barely move,” Sidik Bai, 27, said while recovering from injuries in a hospital bed in Morbi.
Sidik said he jumped into the water when the bridge began to crack and saw his friend being crushed by its metal walkway. He survived by clinging to the bridge’s cables, but his friend didn’t make it.
“Everyone was crying for help, but one by one they all began disappearing in the water,” Sidik said.
Local news channels ran pictures of the missing shared by concerned relatives and family members raced to overcrowded hospitals searching for their loved ones.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visiting his home state of Gujarat, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy.” His office announced compensation for families of the dead and called for speedy rescue efforts.
“Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain,” Modi said during a public event in the state on Monday.
Modi was the top elected official of Gujarat for 12 years before becoming India’s prime minister in 2014. A Gujarat state government election is expected in coming months and opposition parties have demanded an investigation into the collapse.
The bridge collapse is Asia’s third major disaster involving large crowds in a month.
On Saturday, a Halloween crowd surge killed more than 150 mostly young people who attended festivities in Itaewon, a neighbourhood in Seoul, South Korea. On October 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gas at a soccer match, causing a crush that killed 132 people as spectators tried to flee.
India’s infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, and Mordi has suffered other major disasters. In 1979, an upstream dam on the Machchu river burst, sending walls of water into the city and killing hundreds of people in one of India’s biggest dam failures.
In 2001, thousands of people died in an earthquake in Gujarat. Morbi town, 85 miles (150 km) from the quake’s epicenter in Bhuj, suffered widespread damage. According to a report in the Times of India newspaper, the bridge that collapsed Sunday also was severely damaged.
By AJIT SOLANKI, KRUTIKA PATHI and SHEIKH SAALIQ
Aijaz Hussain, Saaliq and Pathi reported from New Delhi.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Tropical storm conditions pose possible threat to Ja within 48 hours
Children up to age 12 to access care at UHWI as viral illnesses rise
Suspension bridge collapse kills at least 133 in India
JPS: Planned power outages for Oct 31 and Nov 1
Businessman intervenes, foils phone robbers in St Andrew
WATCH: ‘Public cannot have… confidence’ in JC Hutchinson – Golding
Miniature Man lands Caymanas Park feature race
Newsmaker: Tufton under pressure to resign re ‘dead babies’ scandal 2′
Tropical storm watch in effect for Jamaica — Met Service
Reports surface of garbage pile-ups at some St Catherine schools
File photo
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The Ministry of Health and Wellness has announced that effective immediately, parents of children 12 years and younger can access free medical care at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).
It said the arrangement is in response to the increase in viral illnesses and resulting overcrowding at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
It also pointed out that the increase in viral illnesses is usually seen this time of year.
“Children and the elderly are among the most vulnerable groups, especially at this time, as the flu and gastroenteritis season intensifies,” it said in a release.
The health ministry reminded Jamaicans to only take paracetamol and to visit the nearest health centre if symptoms do not improve.
A police constable has died from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle crash in St Thomas on Saturday night.
Reports are that about 9:45 pm, the traffic crash occurred along the Morant Road in t
African Giant, Burna Boy has arrived in Dominica.
Video footage of the headline act arriving at the Douglas Charles airport is now making the rounds on social media.
The African Giant was slated
A baton, holster, one Clarks shoe with a M16 magazine was also found during search of constable’s home
Jamaican entity Lydford Mining Company has secured its first shipment of construction-grade limestone to the United States.
Lydford Mining worked over four days with 1,000 trucks to load 36,000 met
After three surgeries and seven years of fighting breast cancer, Donavan Chevannes is crediting God for bringing him this far in his fight against the disease that is a rarity in men.
The
The Police High Command and the Jamaica Police Federation have both expressed condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Constable Kemar Nelson, who was assigned to the Specialised Operation
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Black Immigrant Daily News
The tropical storm watch issued for Jamaica Sunday remains in effect as potential tropical cyclone number 15 moves westward over the central Caribbean Sea and offshore the island’s south coast.
“This means that tropical storm conditions pose a possible threat to Jamaica within 48 hours,” the Meteorologica Service said in its bulletin issued at 5am Monday, October 31.
According to the Met Service, at 4am, the disturbance was centred near latitude 15.8 degrees north, longitude 76.1 degrees west, or about 230 kilometres (125 miles) south of Morant Point, Jamaica.
The system is moving towards the west near 19 km/h (12 mph) and a westward to west-northwestward motion is expected over the next few days, it said.
“On the forecast track, the centre will pass south of Jamaica today (Monday) and south of the Cayman Islands tomorrow (Tuesday),” the Met Service added.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 65 km/h (40 mph), with higher gusts, and the system is expected to become a tropical storm later Monday. Strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days and the system could be near hurricane intensity by Wednesday. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 kilometres (115 miles) from the centre.
Fishers on the cays and banks are reminded to exercise extreme caution at this time due to the dangerous sea conditions. Winds are expected to reach tropical storm force Monday while the disturbance moves across offshore waters south of the mainland, the Met Service said.
The system has the potential to produce 50-100 millimetres (2-4 inches) of rainfall and strong, gusty winds reaching near tropical storm force, starting over eastern and southern parishes later Monday morning.
Residents should be on the alert for possible flash flooding in flood-prone areas, it advised.The Meteorological Service said it will continue to monitor the progress of the tropical disturbance.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Letter to the editor:
Dear Hon Gaston Browne – Chief Servant,
Harold Lovell, Political Leader of the United Progressive Party, on 27th October 2022, purported on his Thursday facebook live show Captain’s Corner that Antigua and Barbuda is in grave danger, if you as the Prime Minister, do not take a medication called Risperdal.
He also purported that if this medication is not taken, this matter then becomes a national security issue for Antigua and Barbuda.
Drugs.com stated the following concerning Risperdal:
Risperdal is an antipsychotic medicine that works by changing the effects of chemicals in the brain.
Risperdal is used to treat schizophrenia in adults and children who are at least 13 years old.
Risperdal is also used to treat symptoms of bipolar disorder (manic depression) in adults and children who are at least 10 years old.
Risperdal is also used to treat symptoms of irritability in autistic children who are 5 to 16 years old.
See link to the info above: https://www.drugs.com/risperdal.html
Also see below two youtube video links concerning Risperdal. One of the youtube video links is a news report concerning a side effect of Risperdal that gives males man boobs and the other is a Dr. Ken Landow from Nevada, USA speaking about Risperdal.
You had stated on your Saturday Pointe FM show that you like to rod persons in the UPP and that it does not matter what they say about you. See below a link of the recording of your statement concerning this.
https://e1.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZKcQQZ6Ah752Iq3RhftEmyRDlaOLNfCkUy
We as the electorate need to make informed decisions on who we would want to represent us as our next Prime Minister, so it does matter to us when claims are made publicly concerning the Leaders of the two dominant political parties here in Antigua.
Questions for the Prime Minister to answer and bring the necessary evidence to the electorate publicly:
Have you ever been diagnosed and treated with Risperdal for any mental health condition?
If the answer is no to question 1 above, evidence like a letter or report from a psychiatrist stating this should be brought to the electorate. Don’t you think that this would be wise to do since the electorate’s perception is very important for the upcoming election? To date you have not come publicly to the electorate and presented a scintilla of evidencelike documents, text messages, recordings, etc to prove that you had not lied against both Sean Bird and Sherfield Bowen concerning them wanting to leave the UPP camp – Your integrity would have been called into question concerning this matter and now would be a good time to show the electorate you are a man of integrity concerning this Risperdal matter.
If the answer is yes to question 1 above, evidence like a letter or report from a psychiatrist stating that you are fit to hold the office of the Prime Minister should be brought to the electorate. Don’t you think that this would be wise to do since the electorate’s perception is very important for the upcoming election?
If you do not come publicly to the electorate and provide the necessary evidence like a psychiatrist letter or report for them to make an informed decision for the upcoming election shouldn’t the electorate then logically call into question your integrity again?
You have publicly stated previously on your Saturday radio show, as knowing that once you lack integrity you cannot govern – See below a link of the recording of your statement concerning this.
https://e1.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZuHzQZR6rHBi80gxJU8fJRK5ODgQO9gTvX
Once again, as the Chief Servant you would know that the electorate are looking for in this upcoming election, a Prime Minister who will truly show integrity, good governance, transparency and accountability while in Government.
Once again, the electorate are expecting better from their Chief Servant. As you stated previously on your Saturday Pointe FM radio show, a word to the wise is sufficient – See below a link of the recording of your statement concerning this.
https://e1.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZ824QZjssl40l7b5f9mKzLsdEKSXjuq2VV
I would like to end by sending you a youtube link for a song called Take Warning by Eddie Hooper. Hopefully this song can assist you with making not only good decisions for your life but also the decisions you make concerning the lives of others.
aka – 268KingLiar Detector
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Black Immigrant Daily News
WILLEMSTAD: Tabata Diasabra mainta cu oficialnan di Wardacosta di Caribe Hulandes, a detecta un boto sospechoso moviendo den area cerca di Curaçao.
Esey a pone cu e Centro di Operacion Maritimo di Wardacosta saca un boto di patruya di Metal Shark, pa nan mobiliza mesora den direccion di e boto sospechoso pa asina trata na identifik’e, y mira si acaso ta algo legal of ta algo prohibi ta pasando.
Unavez cu e patruyero di e Metal Shark a yega den e area, nan a mira cu ta trata aki di un boto cu tin cuatro persona abordo. Ora di yega mas cerca, a bin realiza rapidamente cu e cuatro hombernan aki tin paki di droga abordo cu nan.
E patruyero a stop nan di sigui nabega, y a bay abordo pa asina controla e situacion. Na final a dicidi pa lastra e boto cu e cuatro hombernan venezolano rumbo pa e Pier di Wardacosta na e isla di Curaçao. Na yegada, nan a pasa e cuatro personanan aki na oficialnan di Cuerpo Policial di Curaçao.
Na Curaçao a pisa e pakinan di droga, y el a yega na un total di 440 kilo. Di esaki, 192 kilo ta cocaina, y 248 kilo ta marihuana.
E droga a wordo confisca, y manera ta socede awendia na Curaçao, e ta wordo destrui basta rapido pa evita cu algo malo ta socede cu e droga. Polis di Curaçao lo sigui cu e investigacion.
Ta asina cu Wardacosta di Caribe Hulandes den e periodo venidero lo bay intensifica nan controlnan riba lama. E controlnan aki ta dirigi pa cu cuido di frontera contra transporte ilegal di narcotica, migracion ilegal, traficacion di hende, y contrabando di arma di candela.
Pa por sigui cuida e awanan teritorial y costa aki na forma mas optimo, nan ta pidi yudanza di comunidad. Abo como ciudadano alerta, si acaso bo mira algo sospechoso riba lama, of algo peligroso, bo por yama Wardacosta mesora via number 913. Of via Whatsapp tambe di +599 9 510-0913
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Parlamentario Marco Berlis (MEP):
ORANJESTAD (AAN): Despues cu nos por a wak cu e fechanan di caso Avestruz tabata yegando na september, Benito Sevinger a cuminsa dal saltonan di desesperacion y a cuminsa acusa Minister President di Aruba di corupcion cu terenonan. Increibel pero berdad, e politico acusa den e caso di corupcion di mas grandi den historia di pais Aruba, ta inventa un storia pa trata na atacha e bon nomber di nos Minister President.
Un intento baho pa desvia atencion di su caso den Corte cu ta bay continua cada luna te cu februari, e luna den cual Corte ta spera di dicta sentencia final den e caso di Avestruz. Mi por imagina cu Benny mester a haya un golpi fuerte diaranson atardi ora Ministerio Publico a saca un comunicado den cual Ministerio Publico ta seponeer Benny su denuncia contra Minister President y Marisol Lopez-Tromp.
Asina e esfuersonan di desesperacion y panico di Benny a cay na awa, y awor no ta ked’e nada otro mas, cu pa landa su so den su propio lama di corupcion.
E atake traicionero contra Marisol Lopez-Tromp
Sinembargo, loke pa hopi tabata un sorpresa total, ta cu Benny no solamente a haci un acusacion falso contra Minister President Evelyn Wever-Croes pero tambe contra Marisol Lopez-Tromp. Kizas Benny y Mike Eman tabata kier a mata “twee vliegen in een klap!”.
No ta nada straño cu un partido asina corupto manera AVP a bira ataca su “partner” den coalicion di un forma di trincion. Un AVP cu un biaha mas ta traiciona su partner den coalicion den oposicion, ora Benny a acusa Marisol tambe di ta corupto. Mientras Benny tabata ataca Minister President, e la tene bon scondi y keto cu e la acusa Marisol tambe! Mientras cu AVP, MAS y ACCION21 tabata reuni, planifica y strategia hunto con pa benta Gobierno abao, firma carta hunto na VNO, Mike Eman y Benny Sevinger hunto cu fraccion AVP tabata busca tur sorto di forma cobarde pa caba cu Marisol.
Kizas ainda nan tin Marisol aden pasobra e la bay laga nan durante Gabinete Eman-II pa bira un Parlamentario independiente. En todo caso, e realidad ta cu e traicion di Benny y Mike ta conoci pa henter Aruba awor y lo ta interesante pa wak kico ta bay ta e desaroyonan den e coalicion traicionero di oposicion. Awor kende ta bay ta victima di AVP su siguiente traicion; e discipulo y pupilo Miguel Mansur?
Actonan di traicion, trincion y corupcion ta parti di e “bon comun?”
Mi pregunta na Mike Eman ta: lanta acusacion falso contra gobernante drechi ta parti di bo “bon comun?” Traiciona un partner di bo coalicion di oposicion ta parti di bo “bon comun?” Sconde bo accionnan cobarde pa ataca bo amigonan ta parti di bo “bon comun?” Aproba corupcion den bo partido y gobierno anterior ta parti di bo “bon comun?” Trincion tambe ta e demostracion di boso filosofia nobo di e “bon comun?” Bo fraccion ta aproba e tipo di accionnan traicionero aki y ta defini esaki como e ”bon comun”? E filosofia aki ta den e man nan ekiboca pasobra AVP ta para net pa tur lo contrario! Manera mi a bisa anteriormente, tur cos ta indica cu esaki ta un gran “farsa comun!”
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Tur dirigente no automaticamente por yama nan mes lider
*Un lider ta alma di un causa na momentonan mas dificil
*Ta den tormenta e capacidad di un capitan ta bini dilanti
ORANJESTAD (AAN) — E fin di siman aki, Partido MEP a tene un evento pa celebra e aclamacion di Evelyn Wever-Croes como lider di e partido.
Partido MEP a dicidi cu e kier Evelyn Wever-Croes como lider. Awor pakico lo por yama Evelyn Wever-Croes, lider di Aruba?
Un lider a destaca. El a haci algo pa cual e lo drenta historia como un persona cu tabata capitan di e barco Aruba, na momento cu e pais tabata pasa den tormenta grandi.
Un resumen pa por confirma cu Evelyn Wever-Croes mester wordo yama “lider” ta cuminsa cu e situacion na Aruba, na momento cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a bini dilanti.
Na entrada di Siglo 21, sin duda Aruba a topa cu problema serio.
Prome cu prome decada di Siglo 21 a termina, mundo a conoce un recesion mundial cu a afecta henter mundo y asina Aruba tambe.
Den e tempo aki por mira con medidanan mester a wordo tuma, na momento cu riba tereno petrolero tambe tabata tin cambio.
Aruba durante e prome decada por a mira refineria habri, cera cu resultado serio pa entrada di Aruba.
Den e temporada cu e placa cu tabata drenta caha di Aruba pa medio di refineria tabata na peliger, a baha BBO cu resultado cu Aruba a keda sin un parti importante di entrada.
Tur hende ta na haltura cu ora entrada di placa baha, gastonan mester baha. Esaki no a socede durante e gobernacion di Mike Eman, cu mas bien manera Hulanda mes ta trece dilanti den rapportnan, a aumenta su gastonan mientras entrada di Aruba tabata baha.
E debe nacional ta un herida financiero sin igual den historia di Aruba y a marca e berdad di e gobernacion di Aruba, cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a hereda.
Mester bisa, cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a asumi e tarea di Capitan di e barco Aruba, na un momento cu e pais tabata pasa den un tormenta pisa y ya tabata tin menasa cu e barco lo naufraga.
Na e momento Aruba tabata tin mester di un lider y esaki ta e impresion cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a crea na momento cu e no a bini cu promesa bashi, pero a splica cu mester reforma e situacion economico y financiero di Aruba pa por sigui dilanti.
Ora bolbe den documentonan, hasta den rapportnan di Banco Central por ehempel, ta bini dilanti, cu ta imposibel pa mira kico lo pasa den futuro pasobra Aruba tabata den un tremendo inseguridad.
Na momento cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a haya mando di e barco Aruba, pues ni Banco Central por a duna un vision cla kico lo a pasa pasobra Aruba tabata completamente den man di Citgo, cu tabata un aventura total.
Mester a scrap Citgo for di agenda economico di Aruba y splica tur sector di Aruba cu no por conta cu Citgo.
Na e momento den un lama bruto, Evelyn Wever-Croes a entrega prueba cu e ta Capitan, cu e merece di ta lider di e pais, cu tabata tin un coalicion dificil pa loke ta trata gobernacion, pero no a cay den crisis pasobra semper Evelyn Wever-Croes tabata evita pa yega na un culminacion.
Nos por bolbe papia di e pandemia, cu a azota Aruba y a haci cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a ordena pa cera economia di Aruba.
Pero ya prome cu e pandia, el a sigura cu Aruba a bandona e aspecto mas peligroso y cu Aruba tabata tin bista cla riba un futuro sin Citgo, cu debe pa paga y trabou pa wordo haci.
Evelyn Wever-Croes a saca Aruba for di fantasia y a dirigi Aruba den e lamannan bruto te awe.
Mescos cu tur pais na mundo, Aruba tambe conoce e efectonan pisa di Guera di Ukraine cu a manda tur prijs halto.
Pero tur dia , Aruba ta ricibi un palabra di aliento di su capitan cu pidi Aruba sigui nabega pa yega e haf di futuro.
Futuro mundial, futuro di Aruba no ta facil. Recesion ta na caminda. Pero Aruba ta prepara pa futuro cu tur su retonan.
Aruba a bandona e mundo di fantasia a zink Aruba te e momento cu Evelyn Wever-Croes a lanta para y a splica Pueblo cu Citgo no ta bini, cu tin debe pa paga y cu mester traha duro pa alcansa un futuro nobo.
Ta esaki ta haci Evelyn Wever-Croes un lider. Un persona cu no ta pone hende soña pero cu firmesa ta reforma e caminda pa futuro di stabilidad na bienestar di uno y tur!
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Il a arrosé le jardin d’Eden, irrigué Sumer et abreuvé Babylone. Mais dans l’Irak d’aujourd’hui, le…
Il a arrosé le jardin d’Eden, irrigué Sumer et abreuvé Babylone. Mais dans l’Irak d’aujourd’hui, le Tigre se meurt.
Entre activité humaine et chamboulement climatique, l’agonie du fleuve menace d’emporter la vie qui s’y est implantée il y a des milliers d’années.
Dans ce pays de 42 millions d’habitants, aux sources de la civilisation et de l’agriculture, les désastres naturels ne se comptent plus.
Dès avril, les températures dépassent les 35 degrés Celsius et les tempêtes de sable s’enchaînent, recouvrant d’une pellicule orange humains, animaux et machines.
Vient l’été, la saison en enfer des Irakiens qui n’ont que leur peau pour transpirer quand la météo annonce 50 degrés et que l’électricité est coupée pour cause de délestage.
Sécheresses, chute des précipitations, températures en hausse et désertification galopante: l’Irak est devenu l’un des cinq pays au monde les plus exposés aux conséquences du changement climatique, disent les Nations unies.
Et le Tigre ? Il ne rugit plus. En raison du manque de pluie mais aussi des barrages construits en amont, en Turquie, où il prend sa source.
Un vidéaste de l’AFP a arpenté les rivages du fleuve, de la source au nord à la mer au sud, pour rendre compte du désastre qui contraint les habitants à changer leur mode de vie.
– Fichkhabour (nord) : Avec le barrage, “de jour en jour l’eau diminue” –
Le périple irakien du Tigre commence dans les montagnes du Kurdistan au carrefour de l’Irak, de la Syrie et de la Turquie. Ici, on gagne sa vie en cultivant des patates et en élevant des moutons.
A Fichkhabour, “notre vie dépend du Tigre”, explique Pibo Hassan Dolmassa, 41 ans, droit dans son sarouel poussiéreux. “Tout notre travail, notre agriculture, en dépend.”
Mais “depuis deux ou trois ans”, ça ne va plus. “De jour en jour, l’eau diminue”, constate-t-il, alors que “avant, l’eau se déversait par torrents”.
Les autorités irakiennes et les agriculteurs kurdes accusent la Turquie de retenir l’eau aux barrages construits en amont.
Les statistiques officielles le confirment: le niveau du Tigre, quand il arrive de Turquie, n’est cette année qu’à 35% de la quantité moyenne qui se déversait en Irak au cours des 100 dernières années.
Plus l’eau est retenue, plus son débit se réduit et moins elle se déverse en Irak, le long des 1.500 km que parcourt le Tigre avant de fusionner avec son jumeau, l’Euphrate, pour former le Chatt al-Arab et tomber dans le Golfe.
Le dossier est source de frictions.
Bagdad demande régulièrement à Ankara de libérer plus d’eau. En retour, l’ambassadeur turc en Irak, Ali Riza Güney, appelait en juillet les Irakiens à “utiliser l’eau disponible de manière plus efficace”. “L’eau est largement gaspillée en Irak”, ajoutait-il dans un tweet.
Les experts eux-mêmes évoquent des méthodes insensées: comme au temps des Sumériens, les cultivateurs irakiens continuent d’inonder leurs champs pour les irriguer, entraînant d’énormes déperditions d’eau.
Par endroits, on dirait des flaques d’eau de pluie.
Mais les petites accumulations d’eau dans le lit de la rivière Diyala sont tout ce qu’il reste de ce confluent du Tigre dans le centre de l’Irak, sans qui aucune culture n’est possible dans la province du même nom.
Cette année, à cause de la sécheresse, les autorités ont réduit de moitié les zones cultivées dans tout le pays. Et comme à Diyala il n’y a pas assez d’eau, Diyala ne cultivera pas.
“On va être contraints d’abandonner l’agriculture et de vendre nos bêtes”, dit Abou Mehdi, agriculteur de 42 ans, moustache de jais et djellaba blanche.
“On a été déplacés par la guerre” contre l’Iran dans les années 1980 “et maintenant, on va être déplacés à cause de l’eau. Sans eau, nous ne pouvons absolument pas vivre dans ces régions”, dit-il.
L’homme a essayé d’en trouver par ses propres moyens. “On a tout vendu, on s’est endettés pour creuser un puits. J’ai creusé un puits de 30 mètres, ça a été un échec.”
D’ici 2050, “une hausse de la température d’un degré Celsius et une baisse des précipitations de 10% causeraient une baisse de 20% de l’eau douce disponible” en Irak, prévenait la Banque mondiale fin 2021. Près d’un tiers des terres irriguées n’auront alors pas d’eau.
La rareté de l’eau, les défis posés à l’agriculture durable et à la sécurité alimentaire font partie “des principaux moteurs des migrations rurales vers des zones urbaines” en Irak, avertissaient en juin l’ONU et plusieurs ONG.
A fin mars 2022, plus de 3.300 familles avaient été déplacées par “des facteurs climatiques” dans dix provinces du centre et du sud, selon un rapport publié en août par l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM).
“La migration climatique est déjà une réalité en Irak”, affirmait l’OIM.
Cet été, à Bagdad, le niveau du Tigre a été si bas que l’AFP a filmé des jeunes jouant au volley-ball au milieu du fleuve. L’eau leur arrivait à peine à la taille.
C’est la faute aux “dépôts sableux”, explique le ministère des Ressources hydriques.
N’étant plus charriés vers le sud faute de débit, ces dépôts se sont accumulés au fond du Tigre et le fleuve, où les habitants de la capitale déversent leurs eaux usées, a les plus grandes peines à s’écouler.
Il y a encore peu, le gouvernement envoyait des machines pour aspirer le sable qui se dépose sur le lit du fleuve mais, faute de moyens, les pompes tournent maintenant au ralenti.
La prise de conscience des enjeux environnementaux par le gouvernement et la population est “faible” même si “tout Irakien ressent le changement climatique qui se traduit par des températures en hausse, une baisse des précipitations, une baisse des niveaux de l’eau, des tempêtes de poussière”, constate la militante écologiste Hajer Hadi.
Avec son ONG Climat vert, la jeune femme arpente écoles et universités pour éveiller les jeunes à l’écologie et aux effets du changement climatique sur leur pays.
Une nécessité, tant le gouvernement irakien, qui doit gérer une crise politique et économique après des années de guerre, est peu présent sur ce terrain.
– Ras al-Bicha (sud): des sols salés, “des palmiers qui ont soif” –
“Vous voyez ces palmiers ? Ils ont soif”, lance Molla al-Rached en montrant une dizaine de palmiers. “Ils ont besoin d’eau. Je vais les irriguer verre par verre ? A la bouteille ?” se désespère l’agriculteur de 65 ans.
Idem dans la palmeraie voisine où l’on ne voit plus que des squelettes d’arbres décapités.
“Il n’y a pas d’eau douce, la vie est finie”, affirme l’homme, keffieh beige sur le crâne.
Ras al-Bicha se trouve aux confins de l’Irak, de l’Iran et du Koweït, où le Chatt al-Arab, principal chenal du delta commun au Tigre et à l’Euphrate, se jette dans le Golfe.
Avec la baisse du niveau d’eau douce, les eaux de la mer s’engouffrent et remontent dans le Chatt al-Arab.
L’ONU et les agriculteurs pointent du doigt l’impact de la salinisation de l’eau sur les sols et ses répercussions sur l’agriculture et les rendements.
Pour abreuver ses bêtes, Molla al-Rached doit acheter de l’eau douce auprès de camions-citernes.
Même les animaux sauvages, affirme-t-il, s’aventurent jusqu’aux maisons en quête de quelques gouttes.
“Mon gouvernement ne me fournit pas d’eau”, dit-il. Mais, poursuit-il, désemparé, “je veux de l’eau, je veux vivre. Je veux planter, comme mes ancêtres.”
– Chatt al-Arab (extrême sud): l’eau de mer chasse les poissons d’eau douce –
Inondé par la lumière rosée du crépuscule, pieds nus sur sa barque qu’il pousse à l’aide d’un bâton tel un gondolier vénitien, Naïm Haddad rentre d’une journée de pêche sur le Chatt al-Arab.
Aux abords de Bassora, la métropole du sud, Naïm exhibe un sac rempli de poissons.
“De père en fils, nous consacrons nos vies à la pêche”, avance le quadragénaire à la barbe poivre et sel. Le poisson — le “samatche”, comme disent les Irakiens — est son unique gagne-pain pour faire vivre sa famille de huit personnes. “Pas de salaire du gouvernement, pas d’allocations”, dit-il.
Mais la salinisation fait des ravages pour lui aussi. “En été, on a de l’eau salée, l’eau de mer monte et arrive jusqu’ici”, explique-t-il.
Début août, le taux de salinité dans le Chatt al-Arab au nord de Bassora était de 6.800 parties par million (ppm), ont annoncé les autorités locales. En principe, l’eau douce ne dépasse pas les 1.000 ppm, selon les normes de l’Institut américain de géophysique, fixant le niveau d’une eau “modérément salée” entre 3.000 et 10.000 ppm.
Conséquence: certaines espèces de poissons d’eau douce très prisées des pêcheurs, comme les carpes, désertent le Chatt al-Arab.
Elles sont remplacées par d’autres espèces évoluant normalement en haute mer.
“Si l’eau (douce, ndlr) diminue, la pêche diminue et notre gagne-pain diminue”, déplore M. Haddad.
Il ne peut pas se reconvertir pour pêcher en haute mer, sa barque ne peut affronter les eaux du Golfe. Et surtout, il a assez vu de pêcheurs être interpellés par les Iraniens et les Koweïtiens arguant qu’ils avaient franchi illégalement leurs frontières maritimes.
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Carte de l’Irak montrant le fleuve Tigre et la densité de population du pays
• Cléa PÉCULIER
Irak: le Tigre agonise face au réchauffement climatique
• Aymen HENNA
Confluent du fleuve Tigre, la rivière Dyala asséchée, dans le centre de l’Irak. Le 11 avril 2022
• Ayman HENNA
L’agriculteur Abu Mehdi, dans un champ sur les rives de la rivière Diyala asséchée, confluent du Tigre, le 6 juin 2022 à Diyala, en Irak
• Ayman HENNA
La militante écologiste Hajer Hadi en bateau sur le fleuve Tigre, le 23 septembre 2022 à Bagdad, en Irak
• Ayman HENNA
L’agriculteur Molla al-Rached, le 12 février 2022 à Ras al-Bisha, dans le sud de l’Irak
• Ayman HENNA
Des bateaux de pêche sur les rives du Chatt al-Arab, principal chenal du delta commun au Tigre et à l’Euphrate, le 11 février 2022 près de Bassora, en Irak
• Ayman HENNA
L’agriculteur Molla al-Rached, le 12 février 2022 à Ras al-Bisha, dans le sud de l’Irak
• Ayman HENNA
Le pêcheur Naïm Haddad rentre d’une journée de pêche sur le Chatt al-Arab, près de Bassora, le 12 février 2022 en Irak
• Ayman HENNA
Un fermier au bord du Tigre, le 18 février 2022 à Bajid Kandala, dans le nord de l’Irak
• Ismael ADNAN
Les rives du fleuve Tigre, le 18 février 2022 à Bajid Kandala, dans le nord de l’Irak
• Ismael ADNAN
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