Baghdad Book Fair revives tragedy of Feyli Kurds
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The memory of Feyli Kurds returned
to the forefront at the Baghdad International Book Fair, where Iraq’s Martyrs
Foundation opened a special pavilion to honor their sacrifices and document the
crimes committed against them.
More than 22,000 Feyli Kurds disappeared during Saddam Hussein’s rule, with most of their remains never recovered, according to official figures. Families continue to struggle with property restitution and compensation decades after their loss.
Read more: Faili Kurds: Decades of injustice VS. Iraq’s struggle to reconcile with its past
The exhibition, part of the fair’s
26th edition, displayed publications and documentary works that recount the
lives of the victims and the atrocities they endured. Panels and photographs
documented systematic repression, mass killings, and the suffering that
extended into later years during the rise of ISIS.
Yasser Najm, head of exhibitions and
activities at the Foundation, told Shafaq News the pavilion aimed to preserve
the martyrs’ names for future generations, serving both as a record of
dictatorship and as a message of remembrance to reinforce the values of
sacrifice and loyalty.
