By Qassim Khidhir
A chemical attack by the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein on the town of Halabja in March 16th 1988, savagely left over 5000 dead and nearly 10,000 people wounded. Over half the dead were innocent children.
Now 21 years later since the great of genocide, the people of Halabja are left bewildered and frustrated that the Kurdish government has not enacted major improvement on the town as they had expected, or as the status of the town would now demand.
Dana Ahmed, a 24-year old social searcher in Halabja, observed to the Kurdish Globe that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had fulfilled some projects and initiatives in the town of Halabja, but nothing specifically different to projects the KRG had completed in other towns in the Kurdistan Region.
“Special projects have not been carried out in Halabja,” said Ahmed, whose lost his father and a brother in the chemical attacks.
He mentioned that Halabja people have deep psychological problems, and are mentally scarred on the back of the attacks. There is a feeling that they are always sad and still living in nightmare.
Inside Halabja itself, new roads, hospitals and schools have been built as well as new houses for the victims’ families. However, the KRG has carried such similar projects in other towns in the region and the only thing that truly distinguishes the town of Halabja from other towns is the Halabja Monument.
The names of the victims are inscribed on the monument whilst their pictures are hanged on the walls.
The Halabja poison gas attack occurred on the eighth and final year of the deadly Iran-Iraq War, as Saddam Hussein’s forces were intent on teaching the Kurds a lesson for siding with Iran.
Two decades on, Citizens of Halabja still suffer from the affects of the attacks, showcasing to the world just how devastating such atrocities can be. Some people have become paralyzed for life whilst others afflicted with chronic coughing and other respiratory diseases, are leading a life of gradual death.
According to Luqman, the head of Halabja Victims Association, there are 700 people in Halabja who are still are suffering from the attack and some of them were sent to neighboring countries and Europe for treatment.
Luqman told the Globe that the situations of some of them are critical.
Kamil Abdul Qadir, is the only survivor of his family where nine members of his family were killed in the attack. Abdul Qadir is still seriously ill, even though in the past of four years, he has travelled to hospitals in Iran, Italy and Austria on several occasions..
Abdul Qadir complained by the time the Kurdish government decided to send them outside the country for medical treatment, it was too late.
He stated that after the uprising of 1991, the two main Kurdish political parties, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriot Union Kurdistan (PUK), had started a forgettable civil war, which he claimed that every Kurdish soul should feel shame to even talk about, rather than healing the mental and physical wounds of the people, after years of suffering.
This year, March 16th and 21st anniversary of Halabja attack, was different from previous years. This year, the same foreign journalists who came to Halabja, the day after the attack and took much of the unforgettable pictures, were all in Halabja, as well as delegations from Europe and United States, and Kurds from Iran, Turkey and Syria.
Ahmed Natqi, an Iranian photojournalist, who took the majority of the symbolic photos and whose photos were later republished in international press, told Globe that “When I arrived Halabja which was the day after the attack, it was very difficult for me to take the pictures of the victims, I was trembling, the situation was horrible.”
Natqi said that he is proud of himself because he revealed the crimes of Saddam Hussein by taking a lot of pictures.
He believes that after his photos were published and the international shock and condemnation that followed, the Iraqi government had stopped using chemical weapons.
“After my photos were published in international media, Iraqi government has stopped using chemical weapon,” he said.
The day after the attack, the Iranian army helped a number of foreign journalists to reach Halabja to report the mass killing of Kurds. Most of the journalists were from Europe, with some journalists from Iran and Turkey.
Natqi said he feels sorry as he now sees the Iraqi government negotiating with former members of Saddam’s Baath Party.
Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki has recently held talks with members of Baath Party who are currently living Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and United Arab Emiratis, and trying to convince them to return back to Iraq in order to participate in the political process.
“I advise the Iraqi officials who are working to let members of Baath party to participate in the political process, to visit Halabja and see Baathist’s crimes,” said Natqi as he was standing inside the symbolic graveyard in Halabja.
The foreign journalists are now in Iraq to provide testimonies of the Halabja attack in Iraqi court.
Saddam’s cousin, Ali Hassan Majeed or more commonly known as “Chemical Ali”, was sentenced to hang for slaughtering over 180,000 Kurdish men, women and children with chemical weapons, artillery barrages and mass executions in the Anfal operations of the 1980’s.
Majeed is the most notorious defendant who gained his nickname for ordering the use of mustard gas and nerve agents against the Kurds during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.
Luqman, the head of Halabja Victims Association, said the people of Halabja are happy that the main masterminds of Halabja attack have been brought to justice, but also hoped that the companies who sold chemical weapons to Saddam’s government to be also brought to justice and to compensate the people of Halabja.
A number of European companies sold chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction to Saddam’s government.
Werner Nigman from Netherlands, in Halabja to participate in the anniversary, told the Globe that he feels very bad that a Dutch company had sold chemical weapon to Saaddam.
Nigman said what he witnessed in Halabja was terrible and he believes that Dutch government should apologize to the Kurds.
Kurds from Iran, Syria and Turkey were in Halabja to commemorate the attack.
Ahim Aksoy, from Malatya, Turkey, said he comes to Halabja every year on March 16. “Halabja is just like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world should never forget what happened in Halabja,” said Aksoy.
Every year, March 16, is a day of mourning in the Kurdistan region. In every street people stand silently for five minutes to pay their respects to victims of the Halabja massacre. In Halabja, the day is more like a national holiday as shops and schools are closed and families go to the graveyards to mourn their beloved ones.
