Cihan University – Erbil Commemorates Anfal Martyrs with an Impactful Event and Wide Participation
On Monday, April 14, 2025, in an atmosphere filled with deep sorrow and emotion, the Conference Hall at Cihan University – Erbil hosted an exceptional event organized by the university’s Department of Media to commemorate the painful anniversary of the genocidal Anfal campaigns that targeted the Kurdish people in the late 1980s.
The event was marked by significant attendance and broad participation, with the hall filled with faculty and students from the Department of Media, alongside a large number of academic staff from various colleges and departments within the university.
The event commenced with the national anthem and a moment of silence in honor of the martyrs’ souls, followed by a poignant scene as a group of students from the Department of Media presented a diverse collection of heartfelt poems that evoked the tragedy of Anfal in all its human dimensions. In their verses, the students expressed the depth of the wound left by this crime in the Kurdish collective consciousness, mourned the innocent victims who fell prey to these brutal campaigns, and conveyed the sense of pain and loss that remains present in the memory of generations. The students recited their poems with profound emotion and voices reflecting the magnitude of the tragedy, deeply affecting the attendees.
Following this, Assistant Lecturer Ahmed Jamal Hawrami, a specialized professor in the field of Media within the Department of Media at Cihan University, took the stage. In his address, he emphasized the paramount importance of commemorating this painful anniversary each year, noting that this remembrance is not merely a ritual of grief and mourning for the victims, but rather a crucial station for extracting lessons and historical insights to ensure that such atrocities and crimes against humanity are never repeated anywhere in the world.
He extensively reviewed the historical and political context of the Anfal campaigns, analyzing the reasons and motives that led to the perpetration of these horrific crimes, and highlighting the grave and systematic violations of human rights committed during them. In his speech, he stressed the necessity of concerted efforts to achieve justice for the victims and their families and to hold those responsible for these crimes accountable before the law and history.
A significant part of the event’s program was a comprehensive and detailed presentation delivered by the distinguished student Aso Ali Faraj from the Department of Media. The presentation was based on meticulous research and documented information, as the student reviewed the chronological sequence of events of the Anfal campaigns — from the preliminary stages and military orders issued, through the various phases of the campaign and the heinous crimes committed, including mass killings, destruction of villages, forced displacement, and the use of chemical weapons, up to the profound human, social, economic, and political repercussions that this crime left on the Kurdistan Region and Iraq in general. The presentation was characterized by clarity and accuracy, enhanced by the use of images, maps, and charts that illustrated the scale of the tragedy.
The screening of a documentary film, produced by a group of students from the Department of Media, formed the most impactful moment of the event. Through this creative work, the students presented a poignant visual narrative of the Anfal crime, using expressive cinematic language and moving musical scores that heightened the film’s emotional impact. The film included excerpts from survivor testimonies, as well as a collection of archival photos and documents attesting to the destruction and suffering inflicted on the region and its inhabitants.
Through this film, the students aimed to offer a living visual account of this crime from the perspective of youth to convey the truth of what happened to new generations who did not witness those events, and to contribute to preserving the historical memory of the Kurdish nation. The film received great acclaim and appreciation from the attendees, reflecting the students’ ability to use media tools to serve their society’s causes and convey meaningful messages.
At the conclusion of the event, the Head of the Department of Media and the attendees expressed their deep appreciation for the significant efforts made by the Department of Media and the students in organizing this impactful and important event. The speakers also emphasized the paramount importance of continuing such academic and cultural initiatives to raise awareness of the region’s history, to remind future generations of the Kurdish people’s sacrifices, and to promote joint action aimed at preventing the recurrence of such tragedies and ensuring respect for human rights everywhere.
The Head of the Department of Media at Cihan University – Erbil expressed his gratitude to the esteemed attendees for their engagement and interest, affirming the department’s commitment to continue addressing important social issues through various student activities that contribute to community service and the development of awareness among young people.
