Mass Graves
Saddam's brutal regime executed 300,000 or more people over 20 years. Their families were often not notified of the killing, and many families have believed for years that their missing relatives are in prison. Now that the regime is gone, we have learned that all of these missing persons were either killed, or somehow, luckily escaped abroad.
Saddam Hussein's regime maintained power through a policy of silencing opposition from the Iraqi people. Anyone who opposed the regime, or came from a particular ethnic, religious, or gender group at a particular time could be taken away as punishment. Once they were taken, they were often tortured and when lucky, survived to go to prison.
Many of the prisoners who survived the brutal torture were eventually executed by the regime, particularly the political prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of those "taken away" are in the mass graves being found all around Iraq. We are hoping, of course, to find some of the missing persons abroad in areas a fortunate few may have escaped to during different uprisings or wars. These individuals would have been fearful of notifying their relatives still living in Iraq that they were alive because the regime often tortured and punished family members and friends of those who left Iraq.
One way of finding missing persons is through exhumation of mass graves. A mass grave in Iraq is characterized as an unmarked site containing at least six bodies. Some missing persons have already been identified by the initial exhumations conducted by Iraqis. If remains at a grave site have an identification card, or uniform, or other identifying feature, such as dental records, they can be identified. Sex and age can also be determined from the appearance of human remains. These factors help make it possible to identify missing persons. We can also learn of the fate of missing persons through records. The regime has left behind hundreds of thousands of records, already discovered, containing identifying information and execution dates for the missing persons. Witnesses have also observed killings of particular persons and remained silent until now. Finally, for those Iraqis who did escape the brutality, they may be located in refugee camps and abroad. Hopefully, we can reunite them with their families.
Unmarked mass graves are located throughout Iraq and contain the remains of countless victims of Saddam Hussein's brutal regime. Estimates place the number of people executed at 300,000 or more, and some human rights organizations place this number higher. Iraqi citizens, human rights organizations and coalition forces have received reports of, and located, mass graves in neighborhoods and villages all over the country. By late 2003 the coalition had received reports of more than 250 mass grave sites, and had confirmed the existence of more than 40.
Saddam Hussein's regime maintained power through a policy of silencing opposition from the Iraqi people with brutal executions for more than 20 years. Mass graves in Iraq contain the remains all groups from Iraqi society, including Kurds, Shi'a, Sunnis, Christians and foreign prisoners of war and other civilians who were executed in violation of international law.
There are graves all around Iraq, all stemming from different periods of killing, and targeted against different populations. During the 1980s, and the "Anfal Campaign," the regime systematically executed as many as 180,000 Kurds from Northern Iraq. Many of these executions took place at great distances from their homes and therefore we do not know where we will find these gravesites. From March 7 - April 6, 1991, the regime quelled an uprising in the South by killing tens of thousands of Shi'a, military, and other locals viewed as sympathetic to the uprising. Many of these remains are buried in the immediate surroundings of the villages they were taken from. A Shi'a uprising in the South in 1999 was similarly quelled by the murder of many Iraqi citizens, including students. For more than 20 years, the regime continued to excecute anyone viewed as political opposition, including teachers and women. The reality of this brutality and complete disregard for human life is clearly evident today as we uncover gravesite after gravesite.
A mass grave can appear anywhere in the country, and can be identified by mounds of dirt piled above the ground, deep pits which appear to have been filled in, or citizens digging up the area. They can be difficult to identify in Iraq, where there is a lot of dirt and sand, and recent construction and military fortifications which look similar to a gravesite. Also, many of the graves are old, so there is now grass or water in the area. Oftentimes, we cannot identify a site until someone who knows where it is begins to dig it up.
Citizens around Iraq continued to dig for remains of their loved ones. They did this to find answers, to eventually seek justice, or in the hopes of recovering remains to bury in properly marked family graves which is very important in their culture. It is important to understand that in many cases they have waited for 10, 12, or 20 years for this moment of closure.
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