The vast and historic marshlands in southeastern Iraq, home to Sumerian culture and history for over 5,000 years, have been under threat from deliberate destruction by Saddam Hussein, and more recently by water diversion from the Tigris River. Filmmaker Jonathan Levin and Michael Zweig made the short film The Iraqi Marshes: Beauty and Civilization in Danger (English Version)  to help protect these invaluable wetlands after visiting them in October 2012. UNESCO, responding to petitions from Iraqi civil society organizations and their international allies, in July 2016 named the Marshes a World Heritage Site.  Read a report from The Guardian by clicking here. The Center for Study of Working Class Life is pleased to have been able to document an important part of this campaign.