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Chemical attacks on the town continue to cause
serious illnesses.
Osman Mohammed cannot handle sitting in a dusty or
smoky environment for long. Doing so sets off a
cough, a deep hacking that he has carried for years.
Doctors have told Mohammed, a 25-year-old university
graduate who is unemployed, that he should not do
any physical labour because it strains his lungs and
body. He went blind briefly, but after trips to
Tehran and Switzerland for medical treatment, he has
regained his eyesight.
It is the coughing, however, that Mohammed says has
ruined his life.
Mohammed is one of tens of thousands of victims of a
chemical-weapon attack on the town of Halabja by
Saddam Hussein’s forces in March 1988 - a crime that
came to symbolise the former regime’s brutality
towards the Kurds.
An estimated 5,000 people were killed and 10,000
injured in the attack, which occurred during the
Iran-Iraq war. Although the Iraqi military claimed
Iran carried out the attack, residents say that it
was Iraqi military planes that dropped sarin, tabun,
mustard gas, and VX on Halabja, which is nestled at
the base of a mountain range separating the two
countries.
Eighteen years later, thousands of survivors still
suffer. Residents of Halabja, whose population was
about 40,000 in 1988 and 80,000 today, have
increased cancer rates, infertility, miscarriages
and deformities, according to studies conducted by
the Halabja Medical Institute. Studies also show
that survivors widely suffer from respiratory
diseases such as chronic dyspnea, which makes
breathing difficult.
Some of the worst cases, such as residents who were
blinded by the chemicals, were treated in Iran and
western countries. But many who bear the long-term
effects of the attacks say they experience
discomfort on a daily basis, and that there are few
resources to help them.
Parwin Mohammed, 56, coughed as she told her story.
"I have suffered from this for the last 15 years,"
she said. "I cannot sleep at night because I am
suffocating. I can't walk for long periods of time.
Physicians say it cannot be cured and it is the
effect of the chemical bombing."
Parwin's husband died of cancer seven years after
the attack, and the family believes his illness was
related to the bombardment. Parwin's four children
also suffer from respiratory diseases.
"I was 12 years old when I was hit by the chemicals.
All of my body was burned and I went blind,"
recounted Jwan Mohammed, Parwin's 30-year-old
daughter.
She spent three months in the United States after
the attack and regained her sight.
In March 2005, Narmin Osman, a Kurd and the Iraqi
environment minister, said a medical centre was
needed to help treat the survivors. She also said a
laboratory was required to examine the town's soil.
But nothing has been done yet – and Halabja
residents said they are fed up with talking to the
media and officials because they believe it is in
vain.
Hardawan Ahmed, a physician at Halabja's main
hospital, told IWPR that 600 people have been
registered as having respiratory diseases -
specifically a disease called Fibros Alveolitis.
Ahmed said that only 250 of them have undergone
thorough examination because the hospital is short
on medical supplies.
"The patients must be treated equally without
concern about the difference of their ages," he
said.
Because medical treatments are not widely available
in the town, last year the anti-chemical weapons
society in Halabja in cooperation with the Kurdistan
Regional Government's health ministry started a
programme to send those with critical conditions
abroad for treatment.
Aras Abid, head of the society, said that around 223
people have been registered for treatment abroad,
but thus far one eight have received such medical
care - and some of those claim it was inadequate.
Kamil Mahmud, who spent a week in Austria, said,
“Some of us needed respiratory surgery, but the
regional government was unwilling to cover the
expense of our stay, so we didn't receive treatment.
They just diagnosed our disease."
Parwin, like many, believe the local authorities
have made empty promises to victims.
"The Kurdish officials … have done nothing for us,"
she said. "Talking is useless."
Ismail Osman is an IWPR trainee journalist in
Halabja.
www.iwpr.net
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