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Halabja: Survivors talk about horror of
attack, continuing ordeal
15.3.2008
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March 15, 2008
HALABJA, Kurdistan region 'Iraq'
Radio Free Iraq correspondent Ahmad al-Zubaidi
traveled to Halabja recently to talk to survivors of
the March 1988 attacks about the physical and
psychological effects of the tragedy.
RFE/RL: There are no official statistics on the
number of casualties from the 1988 chemical attack
against Halabja. But estimates by the media and
nongovernmental organizations, such as the Halabja
Martyrs Organization, suggest that about 5,000
civilians were killed -- mostly women, children, and
elderly who were unable to flee the town quickly
enough. Kherwan, a native of Halabja, still
remembers the sound and smell of bombs and artillery
shells that were packed with lethal chemical agents.
Kherwan: It was a beautiful spring day. As the clock
approached 11:00 in the morning, I felt a strange
sensation; my heart convulsed as if it were telling
me that we were on the verge of a major calamity.
Within minutes, artillery rounds began to explode in
Halabja and planes began dropping bombs on the town.
The bombing was concentrated on the northern
neighborhoods,www.ekurd.net
so we ran and hid in our
basement. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, as the
intensity of the bombing wound down, I carefully
sneaked out of the basement to the kitchen and
carried food to my family. When the bombing stopped,
we began to hear noises that sounded like metal
pieces falling on the ground. But I didn’t find an
explanation.
I saw things that I won't forget for as long as I
live. It started with a loud strange noise that
sounded like bombs exploding, and a man came running
into our house, shouting, "Gas! Gas!" We hurried
into our car and closed its windows. I think the car
was rolling over the bodies of innocent people. I
saw people lying on the ground, vomiting a green-colored
liquid, while others became hysterical and began
laughing loudly before falling motionless onto the
ground. Later, I smelled an aroma that reminded me
of apples and I lost consciousness. When I awoke,www.ekurd.net
there were hundreds of
bodies scattered around me. After that I took
shelter again in a nearby basement and the area was
engulfed by an ugly smell. It was similar to rotting
garbage, but then it changed to a sweet smell
similar to that of apples. Then I smelled something
that was like eggs. Some time later, I discovered
that the Iraqi air force had bombed Halabja with
chemical weapons.
When you hear people shouting the words "gas" or
"chemicals" -- and you hear those shouts spreading
among the people -- that is when terror begins to
take hold, especially among the children and the
women. Your loved ones, your friends, you see them
walking and then falling like leaves to the ground.
It is a situation that cannot be described -- birds
began falling from their nests; then other animals,
then humans. It was total annihilation. Whoever was
able to walk out of the town, left on foot. Whoever
had a car, left by car. But whoever had too many
children to carry on their shoulders, they stayed in
the town and succumbed to the gas.
Hope Of Recovery?
RFE/RL: Walking through one of the neighborhoods of
Halabja that had been targeted, the destruction left
by the attack 20 years ago can still be seen
everywhere today. Many survivors who returned years
later have never been able to obtain the money
needed to repair what is left of their homes. On one
-- an Iraqi Kurdish housewife who lost seven family
members in the chemical attacks -- has used pieces
of fabric and jagged wood to cover holes left in the
building by shrapnel. |
New Halabja memorial
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Iraqi Kurdish housewife: I lost seven family members
who were martyred as a result of the chemical
attacks. We were here three or four days before the
massive bombardment. That was when the former regime
[of Saddam Hussein] ordered intermittent shelling of
the area. We thought that it was just [conventional
artillery] shelling and that it would soon be over.
But then, after that, they used chemical weapons.
That resulted in the martyrdom of my father, my
brother, my mother, and four other siblings.
RFE/RL: The woman, who asked not to be identified,
also complained that political affiliations are
playing a role in the way Kurdish authorities in
northern Iraq disburse aid payments to widows and
survivors -- with victims from one of the major
political parties being allocated more money than
those who were political independents.
Iraqi Kurdish housewife: We do have a complaint
regarding the fact that a family with one martyr
receives the same salary as another family with
seven martyrs. We think that it should not be this
way. There has to be equity, for those families with
seven martyrs are not the same as those with one
martyr.
Government Pledge
RFE/RL: Continuing to walk through other parts of
Halabja, the correspondent met more witnesses of the
chemical attacks. Several spoke about the arrival of
a delegation from Baghdad headed by Rashid Majid
Salih -- a representative of Iraqi Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki.
Indeed, Salih was in Halabja to meet the families of
victims of the chemical attacks -- particularly
those who are still suffering the physical and
psychological effects of exposure to chemical
agents. Catching up with Salih, the prime minister's
representative told RFE/RL that his mission was to
conduct a field study with the aim of bringing
medical treatment to those injured by the chemical
attacks and to clear up the remaining debris 20
years after the shelling and aerial bombardment of
Halabja.
Salih: All of those who were wounded and who are
still suffering from their injuries as a result of
the chemical compounds -- they lack both the
medication and the specialized doctors that they
need. So they go to other countries for help --
increasing the economic burden on Iraqi citizens
[due to medical reimbursements]. Furthermore, there
are a large number of patients suffering from
various forms of cancer and respiratory diseases. In
addition to that, we have found 70 people who are
suffering from sterility. These are all matters that
we need to focus on. We need to resolve this with
great care and precision so that we may remove the
social and psychological effects. (A member of
Salih's delegation told RFE/RL that Prime Minister
al-Maliki intended to visit the town soon to see the
situation there for himself. The Iraqi government
delegate said al-Maliki was expected to announce the
allocation of $5 million for the reconstruction of
Halabja.)
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