Portraits of Anfal genocide survivors
Anfal genocide, 1986, Iraq. The attention goes to the eyes.
Eyes closed… memories, flashbacks, and moments of those years.
Eyes open… 35 years have passed, but the pain still lingers.
About the project
Eyes closed… memories, flashbacks, and moments of those years characterized by military operations and chemical attacks, culminating with the bombing of the city of Halabja where more than 5000 people lost their lives, and even more families were torn apart, forced to flee.
Eyes open… the war against their community is over, 35 years have passed, but the pain still lingers. Physical damage from chemical bombs adds to the much deeper mental struggle carried by survivors.
Subjects in these photos are all Kurdish survivors of the Anfal Campaign, who receive mental health, medical and other support services from Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights. The subjects of these photos volunteered to have their picture taken in an effort to have their story heard by western audiences to call for continued trans-generational mental health and medical support for survivors of genocide, terrorism and violence.
This project has been realized in collaboration with Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights, a nonprofit organization which supports survivors in Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq and Syria through medical assistance, psychological treatment, specialized trauma therapy as well as legal, educational and social services. Jiyan Foundation operates a network of twelve treatment facilities across Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq, and Syria that employ more than 200 local professionals with services reaching more than 10,000 people each year.