She keeps her husband’s nail for years

Germiyan – The Anfal operation was an air-land operation. Survivors of chemical attacks were taken to detention camps in Leylan, Şarbajar, Topzava, and Taqtatê. Most of them were forcibly taken from those camps to unknown places by trucks and no one has received any news from them. Tens of thousands of people were killed and their bodies were buried in mass graves. Atiye Husen Mehmud is a survivor of the genocide but she lost her husband and three children. Atiye now has a son and she has waited for her relatives for 34 years…

What had happened in Anfal is still a nightmare for Atiye Husen Mehmud;

“In 1987, the warplanes of the regime dropped bombs on us every day; they dropped chemical weapons on us. We hid in caves at night and returned to our houses in the days. We did this for years. They tested everything on us. When they understood that they couldn’t annihilate us with airstrikes, they launched ground operations. In 1988, the regime forces began to attack our settlements. They had red eyes and attacked us. They took everyone they could catch. They forcibly took us out of our houses and we were surrendered by soldiers. They took us out of the village… They didn’t allow us to take even one of our belongings. We couldn’t take anything; we didn’t have food, clothes, or something to drink. They gathered us and took us to an unknown place in groups. My husband ran away to take something for our children. But he never came back.”

Running keeps her alive

Atiye Husen Mehmud hasn’t received any news from her husband and children for years. “We couldn’t find even their bones, for this reason, I have waited for them. I am waiting for them maybe they will come back. We left the group and hid ourselves,” Atiye said, “I was pregnant and I was running with my three children to not be caught by soldiers. I didn’t know where we were going. I hid in the deserts to protect my children. After finding a place to live, I looked for a job. I worked all day long to buy a piece of bread for my children. I had four children but I lost three of them. My only son grew up and he had to go to school but we didn’t have an ID card.  All schools refused us because my son didn’t have an ID card. In the end, one of the schools accepted my son.”

“I will always tell what I witnessed”

“I have still hope to see my husband, children, and relatives. I always tell myself that they will come back one day. I have kept a nail of my husband for 34 years. Waiting is hope for me. I will never believe their deaths until I see their bones,” Atiye said she would always tell what she had witnessed.

“I WILL NEVER FORGET THE WOUND I HAVE”

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member Taban Germiyani lost her seven siblings in the genocide carried out in Anfal, “I will never and ever forget the wound I have”. She was just 17 years old when the genocidal attacks carried out against the people of Anfal. She told us what they had faced as follows;

“We went to the mountains because my father was a Peshmerga member. The attacks on Anfal began in the first month of 1988. The Iraqi government used all its means during the Iraq-Iran war. At that time, the border was under the control of the PUK. The Ba'athist regime launched the Anfal campaign to annihilate the Kurds. At that time, my family consisted of 14 people; seven sisters and two brothers. We were under pressure because my father was a Peshmerga member. The campaign began with a chemical attack on Halabja. At that time, there were no means of communication, like today. When the chemical attack on Halabja began, the gases also affected the Germiyan region. We put wet towels on our faces to protect ourselves.”

“It was a great disaster for us”

Taban Germiyani said that the people of the region have suffered a lot. The aim of the attacks was to destroy people’s memories and identities.

“We were one of the families, who decided to divide the family into two after the Peshmerga forced started a revolution with their light weapons. We were told to go to the city and stay there. We saw a few people in the city. One of my sisters was married and had two children. My five sisters, two brothers, and my sister’s children departed to go to the city. They were caught on the way and taken to the camps, known as death camps, by the regime forces. We haven’t received any news from them since then.  Thousands of enslaved people are a great pain for us, and this pain will never end. It was a great disaster for us.”

“We haven't received any answers for years”

182.000 people are still missing, and there is much mass graves in the Iraqi region. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) hasn’t carried out any works to identify the people buried in the mass graves, said Taban Germiyani.

“No DNA sample has been taken from us. We don’t know the identities of the people buried in the mass graves. The government hasn’t announced the number of survivors, including children, women, and elders. The government hasn’t carried out any study to find out the economical and psychological effects of the genocide. Unfortunately, we haven’t received any answers for years. The women of Anfal went down in history as socially and mentally very sick and helpless community. I will never forget what I witnessed. When the UN imposed an embargo on Iraq, the Iraqi government imposed an embargo on us. What has happened after the Anfal Genocide will never be erased from memories.”

The End