This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:
Kurdish community marks anniversary of massacre
Kurdish people and university students marked the 25th anniversary of a massacre committed by Saddam Hussein.
In 1988, a poison gas attack was ordered by the former Iraqi dictator on the town of Halabja, in northern Iraq, killing about 5,000 people.
To commemorate the anniversary on March 15, members of the Kurdish community and other guests met at the University of Leicester's Charles Wilson Building for a vigil of silence.
More than 150 people attended. Among them was Karzan Karim, a PhD biology student at the university, who was only five miles away when the attack occurred.
He said: "As a 12-year-old, I heard the planes overhead that went to Halabja and I saw the cloud which we found out later to be the poison gas that killed people in a matter of minutes.
"We wish to honour the memory of those who died and, by remembering the massacre, to raise public awareness of the plight of Kurds."
The photo above shows Karzan Karim (on the right) with Hataw Hussein.
At Voluntary Action LeicesterShire this afternoon, to attend a presentation and reception for Naw Ruz, hosted by Leicester's Afghan and Kurdish communities (with assistance from Leicester City Council). This is a lovely occasion, full of beauty, warmth, kindness and uncomplicated hospitality. Everyone looks happy and it's infectious. There are some interesting, informative and imaginative presentations about the history and significance of Naw Ruz for these two (and other) cultures, some poetry and music, then some traditional refreshments. Some of the costumes are quite dazzling in their intricacy and finery. I'm glad to be able to show this picture of some of the children here today (taken and published here with parental permission of course).
