33 years after the Halabja chemical attack, survivors are still seeking justice and demanding the missing children of Halabja be found. Şewmin is one of them. She lost her children, father, mother, and two siblings in the attack and she calls on the Kurdistan Regional Government to enact a law to find the missing children. Rubar is another survivor. All her family members were killed in the attacks, except for her son. She demands a center providing psychological support to women from Halabja to be opened.

Halabja- The chemical attack on Halabja mostly affected women. These women lost their children, husbands and relatives, their wounds are still fresh, even time cannot heal their wounds.

Rubar Muhammed is one of these women. She lost her mother, father, children, and two siblings in the attack. On March 16, 1988, she took her newborn son to a hospital in Sulaymaniyah when Halabja was attacked. All her family members were killed in the chemical attack, except for her and her son. Rubar held on to life for her son and now she is one of the people working for the Association of Halabja Chemical Victims, an organization trying to heal the wounds of survived women who have suffered from many physical and psychological diseases.

Rubar complained about the Kurdistan Regional Government to not provide adequate support for the victims of Halabja, particularly for women.

Traces of chemical attack are not erased

“I work voluntarily for the association; I am also an official member of the association. Our aim is to support those who have lost their relatives. Only I and my child are survivors in my family. On the attack day, I took my son to a hospital in Sulaymaniyah. Erasing the traces in Halabja will take years. Particularly women cannot overcome the effects of the massacre. Many women had to divorce because they could no longer take responsibility for a family, spouse, and life. Many women could not become pregnant again after the Halabja chemical attack,” Rubar told us.

A center must be opened for women

Rubar Muhammed continued to talk by drawing attention to the fact that women are in a difficult situation: “Many women in Halabja have suffered from psychological problems. But unfortunately, there is no center in Halabja for women to get psychological support. Life can be difficult for everyone, of course, but it is more difficult for women. Some of them have tried to hold on to life despite difficulties even if they lost their family members. But some of them cannot hold on to life. If there was a center providing psychological support for women, maybe women could overcome this situation. People say, “Women make up one-half of society”, if women make up one-half of society, then women should receive the necessary importance and the problems faced by women must be solved without discrimination.”

Rubar talked about the aids and services provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government to Halabja, “I do not claim that they did nothing for Halabja, but they did nothing for women. Most women are not even able to go out. If they get psychological support, maybe they can overcome what they experienced in the past.” Rubar demanded a center providing psychological support for women to be opened in Halabja.

She lost all her family members

Şewmin Abdullah lost her mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, and son in the Halabja chemical attack. She never forgets her last moment with her daughter Sara even if 33 years have passed, “I never forget how Sara told me ‘Don’t leave me, mom’.

On March 14, Şewmin went to Sulaymaniyah to give birth. The Halabja chemical attack was carried out when she was at the hospital. She hasn’t received any news from her children and family members since then. She never believes that her family members were killed in the attack and she has been waiting for them for 33 years. She calls on the Kurdistan Regional Government to enact a law to find the missing children of Halabja.

“On the night of March 14, I was sent to a hospital in Sulaymaniyah to give birth. I left my daughter and son with my father. I went to the hospital with my husband. The massacre was carried out in Halabja when we were in Sulaymaniyah. I haven’t received any news from them for 33 years so I don’t believe that they are dead. That's why life is so hard for me. As a mother, every day is March 16 for me. Every day is a day of mourning for me. Whenever I decide to hold on to life, I remember Sara telling me, ‘Don’t leave me, mom.”

“Something should be done for the missing children”

Şewmin Abdullah began to cry when she talked about the massacre. “I didn’t take Sara with me. I left her with my father. I have waited for them for 33 years. I had cancer and had to deal with my psychological problems. A mother can understand what I am feeling. Now, I have a daughter and a son. But I will feel the pain of losing Sara and Karzan until I die.

On the 33rd anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, Şewmin Abdullah calls on the Kurdistan Regional Government to enact a law to find the missing children of Halabja. “They should write an official request to the Iranian Government to find the missing children of Halabja, who were taken to Iran after the massacre. We prepared a project and presented it to Kurdistan Regional Government to enact a law to find the missing children. Unfortunately, we haven't received any response so far.”

Şewmin Abdullah is now a member of the Association to Find the Missing Children of Halabja. She tries to find the missing children along with other families.