Germiyan- 34 years ago, the Ba'athist regime launched a military operation against the Kurds and killed tens of thousands of Kurds, thousands of women were subjected to rape and sold in slave markets. According to official documents, many women were forcibly sent to Egypt to work in nightclubs, and no news has been received from them for 34 years.

After the occupation of Kurdistan lands by the occupying forces, the suffering of the Kurds has never ended. Kurdish women who lost their daughters, sons, and husbands in the wars, witnessed the worst parts of the wars. Women victims of the Anfal Genocide witnessed the death of their children and the screams of women who were raped in front of them. Although many years have passed since the Anfal Genocide, women living in Southern Kurdistan have remembered the pain of those days. 34 years ago, the Ba'athist regime launched Anfal operations aimed at carrying out genocide against the people of Southern Kurdistan. The operations took place between 1987 and 1989. According to the official documents of the Ba'athist regime, the operations took place between 23 February 1988 and 6 September 1989.

Women who were raped and sold in markets have never been talked

During the Anfal Genocide, people faced mass executions, air-land operations, and 77 chemical attacks. One of the chemical attacks was carried out in Halabja and Halabja has become the symbol of the Anfal Genocide against the Kurdish people. The number of killed and disappeared people is estimated to be between 100.000 and 180.000. Although official sources say that 150,000 civilians were killed, the figure could be higher due to the mass graves and disappeared people. Although mass executions were generally carried out against men who could hold weapons, the majority of those killed in air operations and chemical attacks were women and children. The rape of thousands of women and the sale of women in the slave markets are an unspoken drama of the Anfal Genocide. Many women from Anfal have still struggled with psychological problems.

The goal was the total annihilation of the Kurds

The documents seized after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the statements of witnesses reveal that the Anfal operations were carried out within the frame of a certain purpose. The predetermined regions were blockaded by the soldiers; entry and exit to the regions were banned. Then, soldiers and armed groups entered the villages and separated people according to their age and gender; put them in military vehicles, and sent them to “unknown” places. The soldiers and armed groups took cattle, sheep, goats, money, weapons, and houses of people under the name of “war spoils”. Then, the soldiers razed homes, schools, and mosques to the ground by using explosives, dozers, and graders and concreted water resources. Fruit trees were cut down, vineyards and gardens were set on fire. Although the goal of the Ba'ath regime was the total annihilation of the Kurdish people to solve the “Kurdish question” in Iraq, dozens of Syriac, Êzidî, Turkmen and Jewish villages in the Kurdistan region were also attacked and many Syriac, Êzidî, Turkmen, and Jewish people were killed. Within the scope of Anfal operations, all Kurdish regions were destroyed under the name of “Dehumanization”. All rural areas were declared restricted zone, natural vegetation in those regions were destroyed.

18 women were taken to Egypt, say official documents

The real victims of the Anfal Genocide were women and children. Today, women and children have been subjected to inhumane practices by Daesh. But 34 years ago, women and children were subjected to the same practices. Women of Anfal were sold in slave markets and raped. The women, who witnessed the Anfal Genocide, have still struggled with psychological problems. The official documents say 18 young Kurdish women were sold and taken to Egypt to work in nightclubs and no news has been received from them for 34 years. And many women and children were sold to many sheiks in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia or they were given to the sheiks as presents.

Victims demand the massacre carried out in Anfal to be recognized as genocide

The spouses, children, and relatives of survivors of the Anfal operations have suffered from many psychological and social problems. Although the Regional Government tries to eliminate the social and psychological problems caused by the Anfal operations, the victims of Anfal operations have criticized the government to not provide enough psychological supports to the families. There are still many mass graves in Southern Kurdistan and Southern Iraq. The families demand the mass graves to be opened. Some of the mass graves have already been opened but there are hundreds of unopened mass graves due to the economic crisis in the region. According to the information given by the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal, the bodies of unidentified 104 children aged 0-3 have been found in the mass graves.

The Kurdistan Parliament in Iraq has declared April 14 as “Anfal Memorial Day”. The relatives of those killed in the genocide and official organizations demand the massacre carried out in Anfal to be recognized as genocide by all countries.

Tomorrow: Nothing is like before for them