‘I think of drowning myself’: the Iraqi families displaced by a dam – and homeless for 40 years

‘They knocked on our doors and told us to be out by June. But we have no place to go’ … Mahmoud Talib. Photograph: Stefanie Glinski

The people of Jissary first watched their village being submerged by waters for what would become Iraq’s biggest hydroelectric dam 40 years ago. Today they are still pursuing their long and exhausting quest for a home.

After several rounds of forced displacement over the years, including by Islamic State, up to 600 families are once again facing eviction, this time by the Iraqi government.