Halabja: Revisiting a nightmare

KurdishMedia.com ^ | 20 October 2004 | Azad Amedi

[kddid]

Halabja is a name that triggers a variety of emotions in all Kurds. Indeed, it is one word that may best capture the true depth and depravity of Saddam Hussein’s genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people living within Iraq’s borders. On March 16, 1988, an estimated 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured when Iraqi air forces attacked Halabja with mustard gas and other chemical weapons. This crime is the most infamous and perhaps the most brutal incident of Saddam Hussein’s campaign to eliminate the Kurdish nation.

I awoke at 4:45 AM. While the sky was pitch black, the oppressive heat of summer in Kurdistan hung in the air. In the usually busy street in front of my residence in Hewler (Erbil), there was an uncharacteristic lack of action. I said “Good morning” to the armed guard outside, and another man approached me. He was a young man with a Suleimani accent and a handgun stuffed in his jeans. He introduced himself as Sherwan and said that he would be taking me to Halabja. I said I was pleased to meet him, entered his car, and soon went to sleep.

As I went from sleep to half consciousness and back to sleep, we drove down the winding mountain roads that lead from Hewler to Suleimani, going through periodic Kurdish checkpoints set up to combat terrorism. As we passed through one checkpoint, I was nearly asleep and I heard the driver show his identification. Then, the soldier checking his identification must have looked at me sleeping in the passenger seat and said, “Who is this?” “A journalist,” Sherwan told him, using the Arabic word for journalist (sohafi) that is frequently used in southern Kurdistan. The soldier asked, “He’s Turkish?” Grabbing my American passport from my shirt pocket and presenting it to the soldier, Sherwan answered, “American.” “OK.” And we were on our way. I had been told that I “looked Turkish” so many times that it was no longer surprising. Indeed a few people in Hewler had decided to just speak Turkish with me, until I told them, “Yes, I can speak Turkish but here in Kurdistan I think we should speak Kurdish.”

Soon the sun had risen and we had arrived in the bustling city of Suleimani. An hour later we were in Halabja, not far from the Iranian border. Halabja is a name that triggers a variety of emotions in all Kurds. Indeed, it is one word that may best capture the true depth and depravity of Saddam Hussein’s genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people living within Iraq’s borders. On March 16, 1988, an estimated 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured when Iraqi air forces attacked Halabja with mustard gas and other chemical weapons. This crime is the most infamous and perhaps the most brutal incident of Saddam Hussein’s campaign to eliminate the Kurdish nation.

Driving along the dusty roads, we soon saw signs bearing the name Halabja and featuring pictures of victims of chemical attacks. In the distance, against the backdrop of mountains, there is a structure rising into the sky that brings to mind two arms raised overhead. These “arms” hold the base of a Kurdistan flag, which proudly waves in the wind atop the structure. Another Kurdistan flag flies in front of the structure. This is the Halabja Monument, the museum dedicated to preserving the memories of the victims of the Halabja massacre.

Outside the entrance to the museum there is a sign that simply states, “It’s not allowed for Baaths to enter.” While the Ba’athist regime is now just a bad memory rather than an ongoing nightmare, I do not think this sign will ever be removed. While the Kurdistan flag is flown in two places on the museum grounds, there is another flag which is folded and tied to another flagpole, seemingly unused. This flag, with a red stripe and the top and black stripe at the bottom, appears to be an Iraqi flag. I can only wonder if it has ever been flown at the museum.

The museum itself is simple and small. It is circular and the perimeter of the circle features three separate exhibits. The first exhibit is a three dimensional replica of Halabja following the massacre. Upon entering the exhibit and glancing left, a visitor will notice a replica of the most infamous photograph of the tragedy in Halabja, a man in traditional Kurdish clothes holding a baby. Both lay dead in front of a doorstep. Scenes of death surround the visitor. Two men lie on their backs. A small child lies face down. An old man lies on his side with a missile half buried in the ground next to him.

Leaving this exhibit one can walk through the central part of the circular museum, where the names of martyrs are written on the circular walls and a Kurdistan flag rises from the center of the circle, surrounded by white candles. Another large, stylized Kurdistan flag hangs from the ceiling above, with the golden sun in the center of the flag looking shining on the monument to victims of mass murder. It was here in September 2003 where US Secretary of State Colin Powell lit candles in remembrance of the victims of the Halabja massacre and stated that, with regards to Saddam Hussein’s criminal actions, the world “should have acted sooner” and that “what happened here in 1988 is never going to happen again.”

Walking to the other side of the small museum, photographs of death and destruction adorn the walls. Nearby is one last exhibit, a collection of artwork by Kurdish artist Rebwar Said dedicated to the martyrs of Halabja. This artwork is done in Said’s typical style, colorful and somewhat abstract. In the center of the floor there are a collection of numerous small rectangular pillars with eight faces painted on each side.

A short time after I entered the Halabja museum, I was leaving, feeling anxious and a bit disturbed. Before I left, my tour guide, a museum employee, offered me a collection of pictures from the Halabja tragedy and a CD as well, demanding that I not pay her or the museum for the service and gifts. Sherwan and I left.

We drove a short distance from the museum and arrived Halabja martyrs’ cemetery. Outside the cemetery is the same sign once again: “It’s not allowed for Baaths to enter.” The cemetery is eerie. In the shadow of the mountains, the dusty air blows over the tombs of countless martyrs, innocent victims murdered in the name of Arab nationalism, a doctrine of Arab racial superiority, hatred for all non-Arabs, a hatred for those who demand freedom, for some incomprehensible combination of reasons that drive a man to attempt genocide. I find it difficult to provide any reflections of this visit.

A few hours later I was back in Hewler. The modern city seemed a world away from the dusty, gloomy images of Halabja that still haunted me. As the Kurdish-administered provinces of Iraq continue to enjoy a large degree of independence accompanied by peace and prosperity while the rest of Iraq is waging a war against terrorism in many forms, Halabja serves to reminds any visitor of the scope of the horrors of the not so distant past. If Iraq is to remain united in some way, shape, or form, the Kurds must be assured that the country’s leadership will not once again seek to eliminate the Kurdish nation. A sincere statement of respect from Arab Iraqi leadership figures, and perhaps a visit to Halabja, would be a welcome first step toward building a true bond of brotherhood between Kurdish and Arab Iraqis. If instead the Kurds of Iraq are treated to threats and belligerent statements, such as those recently given by Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar to the Arab media regarding a referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan, then they should waste no time in arming themselves and preparing to defend themselves against another racist massacre.

[kddid]

A reminder for those who would have left Saddam in power. This is what Saddam and the terrorists would love to accomplish here in America. I wonder how Saddam's lawyers will address this incident.

[Woogit]

Thanks for the reminder! Anyone who doubts that the world is better off without Saddam is a fool. I am so excited about the upcoming documentary 'Voices of Iraq' to hear the Iraqis tell us how glad they are he's gone!

[TNdandelion]

I would only add that the mention of Arab nationalism aka racism is further indication that terrorists are not attacking us because they are tired of being poor and destitute. They believe that everyone else in the world (that aren't like them) are scum.