Al-Ahwaz: The land of plundered wealth and a people suffering under poverty and neglect
In a heartbreaking scene reflecting the injustice and deprivation endured by the people of the Arab state of Al-Ahwaz, activists shared a video on social media showing an Ahwazi worker sleeping on the ground after a long and exhausting day of labor an image that encapsulates the tragedy of a people living atop land rich in oil, gas, and water, yet deprived of the most basic elements of a decent life.
Al-Ahwaz, known as the heart of the region’s wealth, possesses vast reserves of oil and gas estimated to exceed the production of Britain by four times in addition to fertile soil and a strategic location along the shores of the Arabian Gulf.
Despite these immense resources, its residents live in extreme poverty and face high unemployment rates, while the Iranian authorities continue to plunder the country’s resources without providing any benefit to its people.
Ahwazi activists affirm that Iran’s policies are based on systematic economic marginalization against the Arab population of Al-Ahwaz.
Local investments are prohibited, and the region’s natural wealth is exploited to serve central Iranian projects, leaving the Ahwazi citizens suffering from a lack of basic services, high unemployment, and widespread poverty.
The widely circulated video, which has drawn significant attention, vividly illustrates the depth of human suffering in Al-Ahwaz, where Ahwazi workers endure harsh conditions without fair rights or social protection, while the revenues from oil and gas are transferred to distant Iranian cities, depriving Al-Ahwaz of any genuine development.
Observers describe the situation in Al-Ahwaz as one of the harshest forms of colonial exploitation in modern times, as the authorities continue to impose demographic change policies, suppress the Arabic language, and erase the cultural and national identity of the Ahwazi people all while looting the region’s wealth and denying its people their rights.
Activists and human rights organizations have called on the international community to take urgent action to pressure Iran to end its violations against the Ahwazi people, ensure their legitimate right to manage their own resources, and allow them to live with dignity on their rich land that has tragically become a symbol of poverty despite its vast abundance.
