A huge canal is being built through the desert of Toshki. The Egyptian government says it will bring life in its wake. But the leader of the fledgling Green Party is convinced it's merely a sleight of hand by the Prime Minister. The Nile, the world's longest river, is not the great force it was. Dammed, diverted, squandered and polluted the Nile is a sick river. The Aswan Dam, built twenty five years ago, saved Egypt from draught and famine but has denied farms downstream of the vital life giving powers of its natural silt. Haj has spent 70 years farming his land and since the High Dam was built he has watched his land become impoverished and worthless. The industrial frenzy that followed the dam has poisoned the river and now Egyptian officials are sure they can recreate the fresh water source it once was and spread it further than ever before.

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