The indelible smell of apples: Poison gas survivors in Halabja, Kurdistan-Iraq, and their struggle for recognition

Abstract

On March 16, 1988 the Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein's Baath regime attacked the Kurdish town of Halabja with poison gas, killing an estimated 5,000 people within a few minutes. In today's autonomous region of Kurdistan-Iraq, the "martyrs' town of Halabja" has become a symbol for the suffering of Iraqi Kurdish people under the Baath regime and a key element of Kurdish national identity. At the same time, the people of Halabja continue to suffer from the long-term psychological, health, and environmental consequences of the poison gas attack. The present account is based on the author's longstanding research and practical work among survivors of violence in Kurdistan-Iraq. It outlines the background and impact of the chemical attack on Halabja and provides an insight into the survivors' situation-from the immediate aftermath of the attack to this day; it details the constant struggle of the victims with the long-term psychological effects of the attack as well as their struggle for justice and recognition of their experience.