Taste of a Nation (clip)

So we've talked about how climate
change can mess with food supply,

but conflict can, too.

Farmers flee, ports get cut off,

and bombs can devastate
the utilities that irrigate land,

and keep the water clean.

That's exactly what happened in Iraq.

And it's changing how people get
the key ingredient in their national dish.

(Tarek) For thousands of years,

these marshes have provided the
people of Southern Iraq with fish.

Lots and lots of fish.

Carp has been the favorite here,

going back all the way
to when this area was part of Babylonia.

It is grilled and seasoned
to make masgouf,

which is now known
as Iraq's national dish.

Decades of war, invasion,
and political instability

have devastated the country's waterways.

But fish's place in Iraqi culture
is as strong as ever.

What has changed is how people get it.

TASTE OF A NATION

(Tarek) We are in the Dhi Qar marshes,
it's four in the morning,

we're heading out with some fishermen
who use electricity to catch their fish.

It's an illegal form of fishing,
but it's one way for people to make money.

(Samer) This is the generator,
and this is the converter.

It outputs two cables,
live and ground.

The ground cable goes into the water.

And the live cable
is attached to my net here.

So the power stuns the fish to my net,
and I scoop it.

(Tarek) Samer Kadhim comes to the marshes
five times a week for electrofishing,

a method his father taught him

that helps him to quickly catch
large amounts of fish at once.

Electrofishing is illegal
in most countries, including Iraq,

because it can destroy ecosystems
and already fragile fish populations.

(Tarek) What kind of fish
do you catch here?

(fisherman) We fish carp,
tilapia, and boshbosh.

This is tilapia.

And this is boshbosh.

Since it's an illegal job,
aren't you afraid of getting arrested?

No, I'm not afraid.

The police have nothing to do with it.

They don't arrest you.

It's how we get our daily income.

There are four or five people
in each house,

a family.

We have God and fishing.

a behind her is a fisherman and a
tour guide he grew up in the marshes,

watched them changed and in
the 90s mourn their loss.

That's when then president
Saddam Hussein drain the marshes,

the Middle East, largest Wetlands as a
military strategy to control his opposition

water, return to the marshes in
2003, but it wasn't the same.

Lincoln has you can imagine bother,

trying to match him

with soapy water, High, natural or tracer.

Pollution has made losing fish or
at least one safe enough to eat

a very real and looming threat,

but for now fishes savored,

especially when it comes to me as goof
and preparation is taken very seriously.

We are like, okay, it eventually.

Are the summation horn player kulish?

Did you get that left arm high simcha
and am government? It does where I am.

I am. I am someone, you know,

the water from the marshes flows,
South to Basra Iraq fish capital.

The quality of water here. Got so bad.

That in 2018,

more than 100,000 people were hospitalized

with symptoms related
to contaminated water.

Widespread protests broke out against
what people believe caused the crisis,

government negligence and Corruption.

The situation did little to change
bus rides reputation for fish,

but restaurants have had to adjust.

Bella mashhadi is one of the city's
most popular spots and specializes

in men's golf.

We usually bring the fish
and everyday is fresh.

This is actually a raised by in pond.
It's not really from the river, you know,

they've turned away from Wolcott fish
in favor of those raised on farms,

which many owners see us
safer and more dependable.

I thought if I tell you girls let's go.

Beyond the Sileo manage a chromium
Drama Camp simcha to schooi Allah

and money in 17.

How important is most
goof to Iraq? Pince-nez

group has really specific
importance to be frank with you.

It has special taste,

you know, like even the the time
they spend one day grow the fish,

it gives value to the
dish. So people loves it.

All the factors that threaten the country's
fish are not going away anytime soon.

but in some ways they've
made fish, more appreciated,

a way to feel connected to
what Iraq is and has been.