In order to
mark the Day of Remembrance for all
Victims of Chemical Warfare, we’ve put down some thoughts along with a book
review.
As we speak this, the civil war in Syria
rages on with no end in sight. Chemical weapons have been used to crackdown on
the protesters – and even as the world listens to political rhetoric deny the
claim, survivors have come forth to speak out with their narratives.
Jean
Sasson’s Love in a Torn Land, Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a
Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance, tells the true story of
Joanna Al Askari, a Kurdish lady who survived the Chemical Weapons attack in
the 1987-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
“Where were the peacekeepers? Where was the UN? Why was the entire world ignoring Saddam's attack upon his own people? Were we Kurds considered so unworthy, so disposable? I longed to stand at the top of the mountain and shout out, Where are you, world? Where are you?”
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| Victims of Halabja poison gas attack in 1988. Image (c) Wikimedia Commons, used under a Creative Commons License |
With everything from a childhood as a Kurd
in Baghdad, to being a Kurdish freedom fighter in the Iran-Iraq War, Joanna and
her husband Sarbast’s story takes one through the travails of life under a
brutally dictatorial regime. In the political game that the armed conflict
between Iran and Iraq was, a genocide of the Kurdish people of Iraq unfolded
with almost frugal international attention until it was too late.
In the midst of the myriad challenges,
Joanna survived the attack with chemical weapons on her village, Bergalou –
launched at the behest of Saddam Hussein, and executed by his cousin, Chemical
Ali, in 1987. She woke up to the painful sight of birds dropping dead out of
the cerulean skies below, the dull thud of their light and limp bodies against
a stunning silence was a grim notification of the evil that was to come. Chemical
Ali, who was known for his ruthlessness, had ordered the indiscriminate use of
chemical weapons.
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| Iranian Soldiers wearing Personal protective equipment against Iraqi chemical warfare Image (c) Wikimedia Commons, used under a Creative Commons License |
Everything from mustard gas to sarin, tabun and VX were used
against the Kurdish people in a genocidal campaign. The attacks occurred from
April 1987, and spilled over into 1988. By the end of it all, over 4,000
villages were destroyed, and 180,000 Kurds had been killed, with 1.5 million
being deported. He was known as Chemical Ali for his ruthless campaign using
Chemical Weapons. Joanna was temporarily blinded in the attack, making escape
tougher. After another bombardment and lying in the rubble waiting for death,
the couple fled over the mountains and escaped the harsh life they were forced
to live, because of their ethnicity.
Chemical Weapons are classified as weapons
of mass destruction, and can be widely dispersed in many forms. The Chemical
Weapons Convention of 1993 imposes a worldwide ban on the production,
stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, but this has barely been adhered to.
Chemical weapons have been used in Syria, as testimonies reveal (here,
here
and here),
and this is a dangerous trend in a country that seems to be embroiled in a
state of conflict without resolution in sight.
To know more about chemical weapons and the
impact they have, click here.
To read the Chemical Weapons Convention,
1993, click here.
To buy yourself a copy of Love in a Torn
Land, click here.
To know more about Joanna’s story, read an
interview by Jean Sasson here.