There are 50 slum neighborhoods in Iraq’s Samawah city

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Due to the lack of adequate public services, most Samawah residents live in slums. Official data shows that there are 50 slum neighborhoods in the city, which cover 46% of the total slum area.

Samawah is located in Al-Muthanna province, which is the least populated province in Iraq, and one of its poorest. 

Juber Farhan, a resident of Samawah, living in the slums, told Kurdistan 24 that “If the government tells us to leave our homes, where shall we leave?"

The story of 73-year-old Farhan is the story of many residents of Samawah, many of whom live in dire conditions, fearing the destruction of their slum houses by the Iraqi government. 

 “Where can we turn? Unless we move to Sudan and Libya and live there,” Abd Ali, another Samawah resident, told Kurdistan 24.

 "We have formed an administrative and engineering committee, but the municipality cannot provide services for its people," Hamza Ali, deputy governor of Samawah for slum neighborhoods, revealed to Kurdistan 24.

Samawah's population has grown by 3% annually. However, due to the government's lack of plans to provide adequate residential units, there are more than 21,000 excess residential units in the city.

 While Al-Muthanna is the second largest province in Iraq, its capital Samawah, has the largest number of slum neighborhoods in Iraq, with 33 in the city center and 15 in the suburbs.