Salt and oil as 'enemies' of agriculture

摘要

Taking a shower Samarkand al Juburi is surprised: "The water is salty here," says the Iraqi author who has just arrived in Basra from Baghdad and wanted to freshen up. She touches her still wet arm with her finger and tastes the water. "Totally salty," she repeats. The tap water from the wash basin is also salty. Later, meeting fellow writers from Iraq's third largest city in the house of culture, Samarkand learns that this is normal. Supply water is salty anywhere. Some hotels and households have started to filter the tap water. But they have not managed to get rid of the salty taste. Potable water must be bottled. Quite an expensive affair for a population of two million.