Anfal, Unhealed Wound

By a direct order from Saddam Hussein, the Anfal campaign against Kurdish population started in 1988, the campaign which gradually intensified over a six-month period 4000 Kurdish villages were destroyed and more than 182,000 people were killed most of them were buried alive in the deserts of southern Iraq. The aim was not only killing Kurds, the government wanted to erase the Kurds from existence. because they thought of Kurds as a source of threat to them.

The origin of word Anfal comes from the first battle of the new Muslim faith, which literally translates to the “spoils of the battle”. It is mentioned in the eighth chapter of the Koran. Saddam used the same words to cover up his crimes and as a mean to justify killing Kurds. they used “Al-Anfal” as an alias for Kurdish genocide in their statements and internal communications. This operation unique of its kind in the region, was done through 6 phases, they used ground attacks, aerial bombardment, systematic destruction of settlements, mass deportations, death squads, and chemical weapons as a mean for killing Kurds and they would take their money, weapons, cows, sheep and goats, literary anything valuable as spoils of the battle.

Today after 31 years, someone would ask me “why you Kurds want an independent state?” Simply because we went through enough, even though we are peaceful and quiet now, but believe me we Kurds are like an ocean, we might appear calm to you but inside us, there is a deep yearning desire for the Free Kurdistan.