Halabja mother clings to hope of finding missing children 33 years after chemical attack

HALABJA, Kurdistan Region — A mother who survived the 1988 chemical attack on Halabja still hopes to find her children, missing since they were sent to Iran for treatment in the wake of the disaster. 

"We searched for them in Iran, we searched for them here. We asked for their whereabouts from everyone, but there was no answer. We never knew of their whereabouts. Where do we search for them now?" said Aiysha Ahmed. 

Four of her children are missing, and one died in the chemical attack on March 16, 1988, when the Saddam Hussein regime dropped mustard gas on the town, killing almost 5,000 people. 

Another 10,000 people were injured, including her children, who were sent across the border for medical treatment. Her husband developed a lung condition following the attack and died 15 years later. 

"How could a mother forget her children? I glue my eyes to the TV screen when I hear someone has returned from Iran, hoping it could be one of my children," Ahmed added. 

Ayad Arass, who heads the local child protection commission, has told AFP that 142 children are still missing. 

Luqman Abdulqadir, head of the Association for Victims of the Halabja Chemical Attack, said many of the missing children were given to childless families in Iran, but they won't act until the government steps in. 

"We can no longer bear the responsibility of returning the Halabja children unless the government assists."