When you open yourself to love, it's only a matter of time until your heart is broken. You know it's coming, but the pain shocks just the same.
My relationship with northern Iraq changed at the end of this week. I spent a little time at the Red Prison, formerly Sadam Hussein's intelligence headquarters in Suaymaniyah. This is where Kurds were brought to be tortured, jailed and killed for simply being Kurds. It's where their children were tortured to make their parents talk. The photo above is the ceiling of the women and children's section of the prison.
The worst single massacre against the Kurds happened during a gassing campaign. Jets were flown very low over villages so the sonic impact of the engines would break out the windows of houses, and then poison gas, engineered to smell like apples was dropped. 5,000 were killed during the first few days. Thousands succumbed and died later. Those that survived fled to the nearby mountains and hid in caves. By the end of the campaign, upwards of 180,000 Kurds were exterminated and 5,000 of their villages destroyed.
This happened during the 70's and 80's. Many of us were starting out life, learning to drive, and complaining about the cost of gas... purchased from Hussein. We lived our lives oblivious, while no one tried to stop the killing. The mighty god of oil was worshipped instead.
All of this makes me even more in awe of the Kurdish people I meet now. For the Kurds who are over 30, they were all directly affected by the killing campaign. They lost loved ones. They themselves were tortured. And they most certainly fled on a 11 day walk to safety when the entire city of Sulaymaniyah emptied, many dying along the way.
When I am walking through the bazaar, or along the streets, and I see someone staring, I immediately smile and greet them 'Salam'. Without fail, they light up and greet me in reply. Somehow there is no hatred for foreigners who could have stopped the killing, but didn't. This stuns me.
I can't help thinking of the nationalistic and religious retoric I've heard over the years, that has explicitly stated that there is nothing good in Iraq, no hint of God's presence, and any good thing that might exist in this place must be brought in from the west. I can tell you that is utter bullshit.
God is very real in this place. Where there are a group of people so oppressed and not mired in hatred... that is certainly evidence.
4 comments:
that guy i posted the video of mentioned chemical warfare causing his deformities
perhaps that 'apple gas' was what he referred to
there are horrors in this world we can not even begin to imagine
how wondrous that amongst it all you are discovering divinity and holy ground
Kel, it was probably the boy's parents that were gassed. There is a huge incidence of birth defects here because of that. Many kids still born with heart defects. Those that survived thought they were home-free, but one of the most terrible effects of the chemical warfare is how it's been passed down to the next generation.
Hopefully they will pass down their lack of hatred, too. Thanks for sharing this and your experiences. It makes me want to know more so I will not be guilty of being oblivious again.
I hope so, DM. The odds seem good. :)
And I guess the tragic part is that massacres have continued, and we've stood by in the same way. Rwanda comes to mind immediately. I'm sure it's happening somewhere right now.
When we realize that we're all connected, then perhaps we'll finally make a move. I don't know...
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