Poster campaign in Damascus to ration water consumption
Syria, Environment, 9/14/1999

In an attempt to raise popular consciousness about the scarcity of water Syria is facing, the International Committee of the Red Crescent ICRC, in collaboration with the Syrian Red Crescent, has recently launched a campaign that targets the average citizen.

The press controller at the ICRC headquarters in Damascus, Tamara al-Refae, told ArabicNews.com that the campaign will work by placing specially designed posters on commercial bulletin boards on main streets in Damascus.

Al-Refae added that embarking on four different designs all the posters bear striking sentences from the "holy Koran," in which man is reminded that water is the origin of life and that since water is a source shared by everyone, then everyone should be responsible in hard times of water scarcity.

The ICRC press controller said, "The message conveyed by the posters is, therefore, that under the current conditions of water scarcity in Syria, water should be used sparingly, or at least it should not be unduly wasted."

Having had an unusually mild and dry winter, Syria, together with the whole region, has found itself facing a severe shortage of water, especially as the rainwater it accumulated last winter merely represented 40% of the1998's water fall; It is therefore difficult to meet the 700,000 cubic metres of water that the Damascenes need daily.

Basically the water problem lies in the fact that population growth is not proportionate to the growth of water resources in Syria. What adds to the problem is that water is wasted in huge proportions in Syria (34% of the water was wasted in 1996), mostly due to the poor conditions of the hydraulic stations. All this made every drop of water count, especially if the Syrians want to continue having at least their basic needs met.

Al-Refae continued that, "Using 250 advertising stands (from al-Mustaqbil advertising house,) the posters are visible to anybody walking on the streets of Damascus. Attractively designed by the renowned Syrian artist Saad Allah Maksoud (who just few a months ago launched the art for the people campaign), the posters are made in a way that attract the walker-by's attention without annoying him with classical images of draught and water scarcity." Maksoud, a young artist and creative painter/graphic designer has successfully managed to transmit the campaign's hard message while keeping it smooth and pleasant to watch.

Moreover, the project, ICRC's initiative, has also been supported by the Syrian Red Crescent, several sponsors, including Aiwa, Kenwood, Denn, TOA, and Manderine, a Syrian soft drink company, and the al-Mustaqbil advertising agency itself. People are aware of the water problem, and it is hoped that the campaign will get people to change some of their habits in which they waste water, unnecessarily.

Previous Stories:
  Syria starts water pumping to Jordan   (5/14/1999)
  Syrian measures to combat water shortage crisis   (5/7/1999)
  Syrian measures to combat water shortage crisis   (5/7/1999)
  Rainfall and irrigation in Syria   (3/19/1999)

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