FLOODING EDEN
The Pharaonic Project in the Southeast of Antolia, (GAP) planned by the Turkish government
since the 1960s, consists of the construction of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants in the
Tigris valley, proclaimed as the base of development of the Kurdistan. However the Kurdish
people denounce the plan as a strategic plan to further disperse them and cause massive
displacement.
The Ilisu Dam, currently under construction, will be the second largest in the country.
Around 78,000 people would be displaced, mostly Kurds. The dam will flood 68 villages in
addition to the 10,000-year-old culturally significant city of Hasankeyf; create serious
ecological and socio-economic problems; and disrupt the flow of water downstream to Syria
and Iraq.
However, the international campaign against the Ilisu Dam continue to denounce the lack of
input from affected communities, failure of its proponents to consider other alternatives
and the serious social and cultural damage it would cause, such as the lack of an adequate
relocation plan and just compensation for the displaced people.
Texts: Anna Irving and Marisancho Menjón
Photography: Micah Garen/Four Corners Media and Christian Kaiser
