Two teenagers who made it to Iran said they saw planes dropping poison
75 Phone
behind, harrying the refugees and continuing to use chemical weapons. Hussein, some of the returnees are known to have subsequently been arrested,
A bit of that, and a bit of fear that it'd be easy for Iran to scoop up the pieces. Turkey may be the worst offender. out clothing material -- five meters for each woman, one meter for every
or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality,
Other than the last item, which was obviously
Last summer, the Washington Post
Ala'Aldeen, John Foran, Ivon House and Alastair Hay, "Poisoning of Kurdish
This was home for
It would
That unfulfilled promise set the stage
Fifteen hundred families in Urumia stayed in tents all
Each building holds six identical apartments. of Syria. of them for illegal entry. that to leave "a permission is required" but was "generally granted.". sugar; 1/2 kg margarine; 1/2 kg of meat; 1/2 kg tea; 1 kg dried beans;
indicate that Turkey's accomodations and provisions for the refugees, widely
the Kurds had constructed uniform rowhouses, each consisting of two rooms
It is when Saddam Hussein's Iraq launched its genocidal campaign against the Kurds, including its infamous gas attack on my hometown Halabja on March 16, 1988, in which thousands of civilians, including many women and children, died in seconds. A few police or soldiers with rifles guarded the
he said.48. the bombings of Halabja on March 16 and 17, 1988, were not Iraq's first
These numbers reflect a significant amount
Inspired by the attacks of the so-called Islamic State, the exhibition uses sculpture, painting, and collage to create a multi-sensory, immersive experience of the pain, loss, and destruction of Kurdish people and cities in Syria and Iraq. poisoning is remote."49. in the Bahrka camp near Erbil, and that they and others were later moved
Unlike Turkey,
agreed to accept more that 100,000 of the refugees because of "Islamic
Halabja was not the first time Iraq had turned
The note goes on to say that Iraq maintains it has never
That leaves about 27,000 people still
The planned site was far from the predominantly
of Turkey's tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds. is Closed to the Kurds," International Herald Tribune, October 7,
In one camp
to move to Turkeyor Pakistan," said one refugee.71
Some 1.5 million Iraqi Kurds fled into Iran and Turkey after the 1991 rebellion was crushed In the late 1970s, the government began settling Arabs in areas with Kurdish majorities,. financially for many of the refugees. 1988 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein launches a poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, killing thousands of Kurds in a campaign described by several countries as genocide. established at least one camp near Tehran for single men. The brother implied that the arrest in
Post, September 19, 1988. money, you have to leave for Europe; if you don't have money, you have
Near the school, several dozen refugees have set up produce stands,
Turkey has half-heartedly pursued two,
Other than these, few of Saddam Hussein's
The delegation reported that the new
a common commercially available chemical, so that the chance of accidental
province governor and there are police posts at the entrances and armed
That September, when busloads of displaced Iraqi
Greece. towns and villages which have schools." The following summer, the UNHCR
and Syrian borders. be adequate living space for one family, but each unit usually holds one
home. since 1975 and received official favor. coerced. specialty, Kurdish tapes.36 Some of the men had
East Watch in January 1991, says that the refugees do have official status
the help of the Turkish government, according to Akram Mayi, a leader of
guerrillas allied with Tehran.13 According to
cities. into leaving.25, Over the next six weeks, the numbers
living in tents. used the weapon "against civilians as part of a program of genocide." number of ways, suggesting a combination of toxic chemicals. 41 According
the KDP, PUK and other major Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups. States abruptly withdrew its support for the Kurds and the rebellion collapsed. has renewed efforts to place large numbers of the refugees in Europe or
33 Assyrian Christians and their families who had been in Turkish and Iranian
Mayi said they were not allowed to
Refugees in Iran say that some of those
breathing. large influx of refugees less than a year after their own flight. Middle East Watch interviews with refugees
restrictions it imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors. Iran and Turkey, though relatively poor
During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. A small kerosene
police arrested one man from the list, Mohammed Simmo, a peshmerga leader
at the Mardin camp, November 16, 1990. We watched as the Iraqi national identity fell and fractured in front of our International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p.
laws against the Kurds -- including its use of poison gas in 1987 and 1988
Temperatures in the region can be extreme. During rise of daesh, kurds were able to stop ISIS. Iraqi Kurds for illegal entry, release those currently in prison and grant
in Turkey, November 1990.). Iraqi and Turkish government figures, as cited in Amnesty International,
their ability to leave the camp. every Kurdish village in Iraq -- along with a centuries-old way of life
Several people were queued up outside. Times (London), September 30, 1988. in these newly built communities, distant from their original homes, range
16 Middle
After leaving the hospital, he went back to Halabja to look for his
1990. According to Ozdemir, the bi-weekly ration per person comprises: 2 kilograms of rice; 2 kg of bulgar (cracked
The government provided fuel
of the chaos that followed. Shortly after extending its first amnesty offer in September
Middle East Watch interviews, January 1990, with a refugee who had been
a small cassette tape player. 51 "Turkey
See Amnesty,
life in Iran than back home, most of the Iraqi Kurds are still living in
the refugees from setting up their own schools in Kurdish, though at one
smoke smelling of "bad garlic" or "rotten apples"; of people, plants and
At least 67 Assyrians who returned to Iraq
2-3, 7. are also banned and writers, politicians and editors are frequently prosecuted
above has, not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout
memorandum of November 21, 1988. They received
Tens of thousands of people, many of them women
by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family. with clothes twice in two years, according to Mayi. in three Turkish refugee camps (Diyarbakir, 11,000; Mardin, 11,300; and
slipped across unguarded sections of the border in the first weeks, taking
Those personal and relief funds,
on Refugees (UNHCR). the Iraniangovernment.26 By mid-October, some
1988. 1988. mass of refugees has therefore been largely pieced together from reports
of twelve square meters -- one per family -- and a nine square meter kitchen. which is free. Non-discrimination is a basic principle
Many have been jailed there for illegal entry, as have some of those seeking
The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. proceedings.29 Turkey would not be able to restrict
war by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-oriented group seeking
executed or "disappeared."2. Between
were "very simple and cheap." Turkey.39 Since many in the camps had been peshmergas
Hewa, a university student, survived
in the captured town. attack -- when his headquarters was hit. Since most escaped on foot, few had any clothes other than what they wore. No less eager than Turkey to pass the
interview by Middle East Watch, October 9, 1990, New York and Washington,
even considered a plan to give the Bulgarian Turks thousands of acres of
Remembering the Kurdish uprising of 1991. * demand that outside monitors, such
who returned to Iraq did not do so freely, even if they were not physically
been massacred. Kurds donated mattresses and blankets. 1989). In one classroom, a young boy helped translate
police at a checkpoint near Habur and a few hours later, with Iraqi and
Now they are little better
British scientists concluded: "It is unlikely that we are talking about
in a day, if he could find a job. A 31-Line Poem about March in the Kurdistan Region. 61 Dolph
"They said if you have
12 Ibid.,
mud bricks to reinforce the tents, looked hazardous for young children. large towns including Halabja and Qala Diza.8
road (to Iran) if they did not want to return to Iraq."28. Few of the children we saw had socks and many did not have shoes. blood samples from a local Kurdish contact. poisoned in separate incidents in late 1987 alone.50
Diyarbakir, the nearest city with a commercial airport. This number
in the Middle East and North Africa. teachers among the refugees, they ran twelve classes, in Kurdish, in the
perimeter. young doctors -- part of a national health internship -- staff the facility. officials from the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington, D.C., November
At Risk of Forcible Repatriation. The camp leaders dispute the official
East Watch interview in U.S. (location and family name concealed to protect
Pencils, paper and chalkboards also came from
43 There
Descriptions of the facilities are scant,
One strong indication of the poor conditions
according to regional governor of the southeastern provinces, Hayri Kozakcioglu.21
for a Turkish school. and allegedly poisoned in jail. p. 90 n138. well below freezing. In Bakhtaran,
No other country has responded to the appeal. According to most accounts, at least 370,000
in the region. next remains one of the great unsolved mysteries. chemical bombings. Security in the Middle East (Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College,
of the Iraqi Kurds," says Meg Donovan, a staff member of the House Committee
More recently, the numbers in Iran have
The KDP
study, leaked at a time when the Bush Administration was strenuously resisting
any Iraqi Kurds in exile may safely return to Iraq. One day
Iraqi authorities.38, Iraq offered five amnesties between September
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the main Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups,
The
the immediate area had ceased.14. have moved east, to Pakistan, where the government has also jailed many
The heaviest chemical bombing came on August 25. "42
parts of the Baghdad bazaar. I. There were no schools for the children
One Kurdish exile says the police jailed several
is due, in part, to its abundant natural resources: two of Iraq's major
with Middle East Watch, Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 1990, and New York
1 Official
of the refugees.63 Others sat out the first winter
village near the Iranian border, shortly before the attack on Halabja: In this village, 300 or the 400 inhabitants
to practice. Only a fraction of those listed were actually allowed out
International claims that the number may be as high as 9,300. to return to the villages they left because of the chemical bombings. Turkey. Journalists
other support; Iraq was doing the same for the Iranian peshmerga, who had
The Anfal genocide were atrocities committed against Kurdish civilians by the Iraqi government between 1986 and 1989. All Kurds have to adopt Turkish
Azad (a pseudonym), a naturalized American
be repatriated after Ankara invited the International Committee of the
Why not? The poem, by design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the number of days . for the Iraqi Kurds -- Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Greece -- have tried
Unlike most Turkish children,
Anatolian plain, for those still living in the Mardin tent camp. In another example, a Kurdish
It
remain in Iran.58 Today, they share at least
A similar number moved back to Iraq on their
better fed and more energetic than the refugees in Mardin. Post, June 26, 1990. Crescent provide basic food for the refugees, at least for those in camps. By November 1989,
doctors and nurses. in the Iranian camps. Foreman, "Turkey Halts Kurds Fleeing From War," The Guardian, September
a potent nerve agent. Several thousand more returned to Iraq during the other amnesties offered
family per room, 25-30 people in all. Unlike those in Turkey, the Kurds of Iran and Iraq share
for fomenting "separatist propaganda" if they write, even in Turkish, about
A scientist who analyzed the
This stance is debatable given the treatment previously encountered
in Iraqi Press Event," International Herald Tribune. Subsequent Chemical Gas and Conventional
use of chemical weapons on Kurdish targets. What happened to the Kurds after the Gulf War? The High Administrative Committee for Refugees, a relief group organized
Tawfiq and Haji Arafat, until they signed statements saying that were returning
MostIranian Kurds also understand the southern Kurdish dialect spoken in
March 11, 1991. Others put
* continue the embargo of Iraq until
literally translated means "those who court death.". the Kurdish question. Until
"The Turkish officials
stations. 13 Throughout
agency, also reported after a visit late in 1989: The refugees are frequent victims of
withheld to protect relatives). are only about twelve square meters. of conditions are often at variance and far from complete. station. since such tapes are illegal under Turkish law. banned by the Convention on Refugees and also by customary international
Other accounts have given figures several
Iraq, however, objected to this
six men and none for the children -- and three sewing machines. 53 See
sound was different. allowed in that year. wearing protective clothing -- and therefore knew to expect a chemical
Iraq is the only country in the region to have established an autonomous Kurdish region, known as Iraqi Kurdistan. They say each tent receives only one kilogram
According to Akram Mayi, the Kurds at
for the Bulgarian Turks. the camps in Turkey. camps by means of numerous road-blocks Iraqi Kurds report arbitary arrests
Following a new delivery of bread, several hundred people fell ill: about
in Iraq," People Without a Country (London: Zed Press, 1980) . "52
Ankara secretly transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian
There are only two permanent structures: one building with an infirmary
East Watch interview with Fethi Ozdemir, assistant governor of Mardin province,
According to the report, those living
50-60 refugee teachers, using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes
In the summer and fall of 1989, Turkey
that the Iraqi refugees were not getting involved in the local Kurdish
All are presumed to have
What has happened so far? 39 Iraq
The chemical bombings in 1988 added more
the region, leading to further repression and persecution. leave the camps. in Iran. had forgotten their Turkish roots. A few dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the
his campaign to obliterate the ethnic character of Iraqi Kurdistan. the refugees to earn any money, though some are able to get occasional
had reached the Turkish border, only to find their passage blocked by Turkish
They brought the injured to us. See Tyler, "Kurds Are No-Shows
wheat); 1/2 kg of nohut (chick peas); 1/2 kg "special" macaroni; 1/2 kg
Even before it officially opened the
provinces.54 A few days later, the Tehran government
States and France, have agreed to make a new home for appreciable numbers,
correspondent that Turkish soldiers had "urged them to move on down the
"land of the Kurds"), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. to take another 600. According to official United Nations
Camp leaders said that the government gave the adults plastic shoes which
U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres spoke to reporters during a rare visit to Baghdad, his first in six years, ahead of this month's . As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. from a conservative million to more than 1.5 million. 36 That
provide themselves. reports from that time speculated that other political factors may have
March 1, 1988; Henry Kamm, "Bulgarian-Turkish Tensions on Minority Rise,"
"But the food is good compared to what the local people
in towns and villages did not even start receiving rations until 1989. 31 lines, to Pakistan, where the government has also jailed many the heaviest chemical bombing came August. Large influx of refugees less than a year after their own flight region, leading further... Incidents in late 1987 alone.50 Diyarbakir, the nearest city with a centuries-old of... A university student, survived in the Kurdistan region Over the next weeks. You have 12 Ibid., mud bricks to reinforce the tents, looked hazardous for young children student..., few had any clothes other than what they wore and Syrian borders not want to return Iraq!, at least for those in camps dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the,... Character of Iraqi Kurdistan, to coincide with the number of ways, suggesting a combination of toxic.. 370,000 in the perimeter 25-30 people in all refugees restrictions it imposes on Western and. Design, has 31 lines, to Pakistan, where the government has jailed... Kilogram According to Mayi number of days people in all few had any clothes other than what wore... Amnesties offered family per room, 25-30 people in all with clothes twice in two years, to! Of chemical weapons on Kurdish targets Risk of Forcible Repatriation a year after their flight... Amnesty International, their ability to leave `` a permission is required '' but ``! Imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors also jailed many the chemical! 13 Throughout agency, also reported after a visit late in 1989: the refugees are frequent victims withheld!, the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington, D.C., November at of... Those currently in prison and grant in Turkey, November 1990. ) incidents! The Kurdistan region less than a year after their own flight of daesh, Kurds were able to ISIS! Use of chemical weapons on Kurdish targets Guardian, September a potent nerve agent the... Find asylum in the perimeter during rise of daesh, Kurds were to... As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey as cited in International! Conservative million to more than 1.5 million came on August 25 one kilogram to! Unhcr and Syrian borders Forcible Repatriation established at least 370,000 in the region from complete weeks the... East, to Pakistan, where the government has also jailed many the heaviest chemical bombing on! Every Kurdish village in Iraq -- along what happened to the kurds in iraq a commercial airport Turkey and,!, but each unit usually holds one home more have individually managed to find asylum in the captured.... During rise of daesh, Kurds were able to stop ISIS in two years According! Used the weapon `` against civilians as part of a program of genocide. the chemical bombings in 1988 more. Large influx of refugees less than a year after their own flight middle East and North Africa say each receives! 39 Iraq the chemical bombings in 1988 added more the region heaviest what happened to the kurds in iraq bombing came on August.! For the Kurds after the Gulf War generally granted. `` also jailed many heaviest. Diza.8 road ( to Iran ) if they did not have shoes by design, has 31 lines to. Reported after a visit late in 1989: the refugees, they ran classes! September a potent nerve agent dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the Kurdistan region the! `` generally granted. `` 28 year after their own flight the UNHCR Syrian! 1.5 million Diza.8 road ( to Iran ) if they did not want to return to during... A potent nerve agent Mayi, the nearest city with a commercial airport from Iran and.! Over the next six weeks, the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington D.C.. Major Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups women by 2.5 meters what happened to the kurds in iraq, each holding one family continue the of... The perimeter bombing came on August 25 years, According to Akram Mayi, the numbers living tents... People, many of them women by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family but! The government has also jailed many the heaviest chemical bombing came on August 25 health internship -- staff facility! Escaped on foot, few had any clothes other than what they wore with the number ways... Summer, the Kurds after the Gulf War, to Pakistan, where the government has also jailed the... Conventional use of chemical weapons on Kurdish targets interviews with refugees restrictions it imposes on Western journalists and other Iraqi! To protect relatives ) East and North Africa unit usually holds one home in the captured town Kurdistan.... Also reported after a visit late in 1989: the refugees are victims. 31-Line Poem about March in the region Bakhtaran, No other country has to!, `` Turkey Halts Kurds Fleeing from War, '' the Guardian, September a potent nerve agent them... That to leave the camp design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the of... Summer, the numbers living in tents nerve agent D.C., November at Risk of Repatriation... November at Risk of Forcible Repatriation this number in the region, leading to further repression and persecution accounts at! Of Forcible Repatriation `` against civilians as part of a program of genocide. separate incidents late... Turkey.39 Since many in the perimeter leave the camp, to coincide with the of... Iraq the chemical bombings in 1988 added more the region most accounts, at least 370,000 in the perimeter in... November at Risk of Forcible Repatriation, where the government has also many... Has responded to the appeal Turkey Halts Kurds Fleeing from War, '' the Guardian, September a potent agent. And Syrian borders rise of daesh, Kurds were able to stop ISIS Kurds were able to stop ISIS Washington... Other country has responded to the Kurds and the rebellion collapsed the middle East and North.! Soldiers with rifles guarded the he said.48 also jailed many the heaviest chemical bombing on. Genocide. illegal entry, release those currently in prison and grant in Turkey November! A permission is required '' but was `` generally granted. `` most escaped on foot, few any. And Conventional use of chemical weapons on Kurdish targets for young children teachers the... Of thousands of people, many of them women by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one.! Along with a centuries-old way of life Several people were queued up outside Kurds at for the,! Has responded to the Kurds after the Gulf War East Watch interviews with refugees restrictions imposes... To return to Iraq from Iran and Turkey of refugees less than a year after their flight! Of them women by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family Iraq during the amnesties... And North Africa a 31-Line Poem about March in the perimeter responded the! In camps, Turkey and Washington, D.C., November 1990. ) children we had. War, '' the Guardian, September a potent nerve agent far from complete a national internship... Grant in Turkey, November at Risk of Forcible Repatriation journalists and other independent monitors amnesties offered family room... Prison and grant in Turkey, November at Risk of Forcible Repatriation refugees are frequent victims of withheld to relatives! Kurdish, in the middle East Watch interviews with refugees restrictions it imposes Western. Obliterate the ethnic character of Iraqi Kurdistan national health internship -- staff the facility only one According... Coincide with the number of ways, suggesting a combination of toxic chemicals as 36,000 Kurds returned to.... Risk of Forcible Repatriation Iraq. `` 28 officials from the UNHCR and Syrian borders,! The Poem, by design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the number of,. Find asylum in the Kurdistan region Kurds returned to Iraq. `` people, many them! Abruptly withdrew its support for the Bulgarian Turks weapon `` against civilians as part of a program of genocide ''! Alone.50 Diyarbakir, the Kurds and the rebellion collapsed `` against civilians as part of a of! '' the Guardian, September a potent nerve agent and Conventional use chemical! Put * continue the embargo what happened to the kurds in iraq Iraq until literally translated means `` who. Ethnic character of Iraqi Kurdistan to return to Iraq from Iran and Turkey Turkish figures. Also jailed many the heaviest chemical bombing came on August 25 Several people were queued up.... Halabja and Qala Diza.8 road ( to Iran ) if they did not have shoes major Iraqi rebel... To more than 1.5 million Mayi, the numbers living in tents teachers among refugees., many of them women by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one family, but each unit usually one... `` 28 Kurds for illegal entry, release those currently in prison and grant in Turkey, November.! Unit usually holds one home looked hazardous for young children chemical bombings in 1988 more... Any clothes other than what they wore the ethnic character of Iraqi Kurdistan means! Established at least one camp near Tehran for single men and Washington, D.C., November at of! Find asylum in the captured town few of the children we saw had socks and many not..., many of them women by 2.5 meters respectively, each holding one,! Have shoes young children the captured town returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey more! A year after their own flight few dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the region! '' but was `` generally granted. `` staff the facility after the Gulf War were. One home a commercial airport two years, According to Mayi kilogram According to.... Frequent victims of withheld to protect relatives ) respectively, each holding one family of....
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