The Anniversary of Anfal: Genocide in the Silence of the World
April 14, a date that should not pass in silence
April 21, 2025, 3:38 pm

The Anniversary of Anfal: Genocide in the Silence of the World

Anahita Hamou

On this day every year, Kurdish students in their schools in Kurdistan stand for a moment of silence in reverence for their immortal souls, while Kurds in diaspora commemorate one of the most heinous crimes of the twentieth century: the Anfal campaign, launched by the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein against the Kurdish people between 1986 and 1989. This campaign resulted in the deaths of more than 180,000 civilians and the destruction of entire villages, in an operation legally classified as genocide according to the United Nations Convention of 1948.

According to reports from Human Rights Watch, the Iraqi regime at that time adopted a systematic military and security strategy that included "chemical attacks, mass executions, and forced displacement." The most notable was the Halabja massacre in March 1988, which claimed the lives of about 5,000 civilians due to direct chemical bombardment.

A report published by the organization in 1993 titled "Anfal: The Campaign of Genocide Waged by Iraq Against the Kurds" detailed these atrocities, confirming that the official Iraqi documents obtained after the Gulf War clearly showed an intent to "exterminate the Kurdish countryside" as it was seen as a stronghold of opposition.

In her new book "Forgotten Genocide," which was presented at the Paris Book Festival in the section "Kurdistan, Forgotten Genocide: The Broken Voice of the Kurdish People," French journalist and researcher Béatrice Piller reveals eyewitness accounts from over a hundred survivors of the Anfal massacres, including men and women who lost their entire families, were placed in detention camps, or forced to live in involuntary exile. One survivor recounts, "They took us to the desert, separating men from women, and since that day, I have not seen my father again."

This book, which took ten years of research and documentation in various regions of Iraqi Kurdistan, presents for the first time in French a documentary and field material supporting the demands for official recognition of the crime as genocide, placing the international community before its legal and moral responsibilities.

Although the Iraqi High Criminal Court issued a ruling on June 24, 2007, recognizing Anfal as "a crime of genocide," this acknowledgment has remained local without widespread international adoption. Here, the importance of political and media pressure arises to include this crime in official records of international memory, just as was done regarding the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust.

The lack of international recognition to this day does not erase the truth but prolongs the wounds of a people seeking justice. Amid the ongoing recurrent conflicts that continue to ravage the region, the anniversary remains a call to the global conscience: to ensure that Anfal does not happen again, it must first be recognized.

Anahita Hamou

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”