The people of the Kurdish town of Halabja learned only a few days ago of some comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about their city and Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical gas. Trump said last December: “Saddam throws a little gas, everyone goes crazy.” He was referring to the city of Halabja, the site of the worst chemical attack in history against a civilian population. It was not just a little gas, in fact it was the largest ever.
It killed 5,000 people, including many women and children, another 10,000 were injured. And behind each of these numbers, there is a story.
Kamil Abdulqadir is a survivor of the attack, just a teenager at the time, only fourteen. He is on life support right now, living with only 20 per cent lung capacity. On his sickbed, he learned about Trump’s comments on social media. He does not speak English, but still he was quick to write with the little English he knows, apparently with some help, in the hope that his message gets through. It was short and simple, but speaks volumes about how he must have felt. He drew a comparison between past and present America:
Donald Trump a racist and a man inclined to radical dictators and oppressors, a man filled with hatred toward others, Saddam did not hit us a handful of toxic gases, but tens of tons of toxins that you gave him to kill us in the March 16, 1988 in Halabja
By “You gave him” he does not mean Trump, but the alleged American support for Saddam’s regime when the whole world supported him in his campaign against Iran.
What Trump does not realize though, or perhaps does not want his fans to know about is that the world indeed did no go crazy. It was business as usual. The Americans were first in denial, then kept silent for many years.
It was only in 2003 that the world seriously took interest in Saddam’s possession of weapons of mass destruction. By the time it turned out he no longer had any left.
Halabja, a small city as it seems, is close to the hearts of millions of Kurds, now more than ever. It is almost impossible to find a Kurd who does not fancy visiting the city to show their respect for the many thousands who lost their lives on that tragic day.
When extremist jihadis attacked the Yezidi Kurds in Shingal (Sinjar), launched a long campaign against Kobani, or when they killed scores of Kurds in a recent terrorist attack in Qamishli, the Kurds began calling these cities sisters of Halabja. In that attack one of the victims was a young woman named Halabja. For the Kurds Halabja is one and the same. Offending the gas victims therefore is offending Kurds everywhere.
In a different comment Donald Trump offended the entire Kurdish nation. He said Saddam was good at killing terrorists. Tragically we should remind him that Saddam killed freedom fighters. We call these people Peshmerga, the same people who are bravely pushing back the Islamic State.
I know the Kurds are only one more group he has added to his list of hateful messages. He dared to attack the mother of Humayun Khan, a Muslim serviceman who was killed in Iraq. Unlike Trump, we are grateful for Kahn’s sacrifice. We don’t think he died in vain. It is for his service that Kurdistan is now a better place, welcoming millions of Iraqi IDPs and Syrian refugees. But I also add that if Khan were to serve in Kurdistan, he would be alive now, like many other American service men and women who served in the Kurdistan Region, because not a single American soldier was shot at in Kurdistan, let alone losing their lives.
Halabja has a monument for the gas victims. On its gate a plaque reads: Baathists are not allowed to enter. I think Mr Abdulqadir shares with me that we should add Trump to the list. We should ban him from visiting our much beloved city.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
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