Overlooked by the world media, members of Iran's Ahwazi Arab minority have repeatedly filled the streets of cities and towns in Khuzestan province. The protest wave has focused on air and water pollution caused by the oil industry, and the lack of basic services. The region's Arab majority face water and power outages, pervasive unemployment, and under-funded schools and municipal governments, despite the fact that Ahwaz/Khuzestan is the center of Iran's oil production. Recently, the region has been hit with paralyzing dust storms, a result of aridification and ecological decline.

Photo: Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz

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