Asi Mustafa Ahmad and the Anfalization of His Family

Asi Mustafa Ahmad and the Anfalization of His Family

Asi Mustafa Ahmad, born in 1952, was a poor farmer from the village of Zinanah, affiliated with the subdistrict of Sangaw and the district of Chamchamal. Like many villagers in Kurdistan, he lived from agriculture and animal husbandry. He had previously completed his military service and, after returning to his village, lived a simple, impoverished life with his family, working to secure their daily livelihood.

When the Iran–Iraq War broke out, Asi was once again called up as a reserve soldier and, in 1982, was sent to the ranks of the Iraqi army. During a defeat of the Iraqi army on the Shush front, on 27 February 1982, Asi was taken prisoner. He remained in captivity in Iran for nearly nine years.

After this long period of captivity, he was released through a prisoner-exchange process and returned to Kurdistan. Yet Asi’s return was not an ordinary return to home and family. When he came back and tried to return to his home, he went among the people of the area and soon learned that his wife and children had been taken by the Ba’athist authorities during the campaign of the Anfal Genocide, and that their fate was unknown.

At first, as an Iraqi soldier and a returning prisoner of war, he went to the Ba’athist security institutions in Chamchamal to ask about his wife and children. But he soon realized that the Ba’athist officials, as was their usual practice, responded with delays, lies, and deception, giving him no truthful or clear information.

As a final attempt, Asi submitted a pleading complaint and traveled to Baghdad, where he reached the Office of the Presidency of the Republic. He hoped that, through his identity as a former soldier of the Iraqi army and a returning prisoner of war, he might be able to find out the fate of his wife and children. Yet even this identity could not soften the heart of the Ba’athist authority.

These names are not merely numbers on a list of victims; they represent the identity of an entire family that was torn away from ordinary life within the framework of the policy of the Anfal Genocide. Their fate remains part of historical memory and the justice file to this day.

Asi Mustafa Ahmad’s Complaint to the Presidency of the Republic

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

To the sovereign President and Leader, His Excellency Saddam Hussein, may God protect him,
President of the Republic of Iraq and Chairman of the esteemed Revolutionary Command Council.

Militant comrade, I salute you and present myself to you as a loyal citizen.

In the name of justice, I plead with you to listen to my problem, because day and night sleep has been taken from me. Since I have no hope left and no one other than you to whom I can turn for refuge, I have brought this problem before you in the hope that you will give it your attention and help me.

I, Asi Mustafa Ahmad, the undersigned, returned on 24 August 1990 as a prisoner of war. I am a soldier of the homeland, born in 1955. I am a resident of the village of Zinanah, affiliated with the subdistrict of Sangaw and the district of Chamchamal. I took part in the glorious Saddam’s Qadisiyyah War on the Shush front, and on 27 February 1982, I was captured, remaining so until the day prisoners of war were exchanged. My captivity and separation from my family continued for a long period.

After returning to the homeland and the soil of the homeland, I kissed my beloved mother, and before the image of our victorious leader, President Saddam Hussein, I bowed in respect. In my heart, I felt an endless longing to return to my family, and I imagined that they, too, would be happy to see me; I would be happy to meet them, and all of us would be immersed in a joy beyond description.

However, I returned to an empty and desolate house. My wife and children were not there. Oh, what a heartbreaking catastrophe. Oh, what a painful shock it was when they told me that my wife and children had fallen into the hands of the Anfal forces during the Anfal operations, which were carried out in the northern region under the command of Comrade Ali Hassan al-Majid. I know nothing about their fate. Their names are as follows:

Names of Those Whose Fate I Am Seeking

Please help me find my wife, my children, and the members of my family:

1. Azima Ali Ahmad, born in 1955, is my wife.
2. Chro Asi Mustafa, born in 1979, is my daughter.
3. Faridun Asi Mustafa, born in 1981, is my son.
4. Rukhhosh Asi Mustafa, born in 1982, is my son.

Accordingly, I place this complaint before you, hoping that you will have mercy on me and inform me of their fate. May God grant you success and protect our leader.

With thanks and respect,

Signature:
A prisoner of war and soldier of the homeland,
Asi Mustafa Ahmad

Homeless and without shelter, a resident of Sulaymaniyah Governorate,
Chamchamal District,
Bêkas Neighborhood, near Haji Ibrahim Mosque,
4 October 1990

The Official Response of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic

After 25 days from the submission of his request, and after a period of waiting filled with hope, fear, and uncertainty, Asi Mustafa Ahmad received a very brief, cold, and emotionless response from the Office of the Presidency of the Republic. The response was sent under the signature of Saadoun Alwan Muslih and registered under document number Sh.A. / B / 4 / 16565 / 16.

This response has particular historical and legal significance, because the Ba’athist authority, in an official document issued by the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, acknowledged that Asi’s wife and children had disappeared during the Anfal operations.

Kurdish Translation of the Presidency’s Response

Republic of Iraq
Office of the Presidency

Number: Sh.A. / B / 4 / 16565 / 16
Date: 10 / Rabi‘ al-Thani / 1411 AH
Corresponding to: 29 / 10 / 1990 AD

To / Mr. Asi Mustafa Ahmad
Sulaymaniyah Governorate / Chamchamal District
Neighborhood / Bêkas / Haji Ibrahim Mosque

Subject / Your request dated 4 / 10 / 1990

We inform you that your wife and children disappeared during the Anfal operations, which were carried out in the northern region in 1988.

With respect.

Saadoun Alwan Muslih
For / Director of the Office of the Presidency

Asi Mustafa Ahmad at the Anfal Genocide Trial

Asi Mustafa Ahmad later became a living and powerful piece of evidence in the Anfal Genocide Trial against the twentieth-century dictator Saddam Hussein and his associates. On 26 September 2006, he appeared before the Anfal court and, in detail, with evidence and through the story of his own life, presented the account of the disappearance of his wife and children during the Anfal campaign.

Asi’s testimony had a particular significance. He was not only a family member of victims; he was also a former soldier of the Iraqi army and a returning prisoner of war who, after nine years of captivity, was confronted with the bitter truth that his family had been disappeared during Anfal. Through his personal testimony and the official document issued by the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, he brought before the court the image of an organized, state-directed, and intentional crime.

Asi Mustafa Ahmad passed away on 7 May 2022. Yet his story, his testimony, and the official document sent to him by the Office of the Presidency of the Republic remain important evidence in the file of the Anfal Genocide, the disappearance of Kurdish families, and the policy of social and national erasure within Kurdish national memory and the history of justice.