Halabja Day of Remembrance
Halabja is the site of the 1988 chemical bombings by Saddam Hussein in which 5000 people died in a few minutes.  Thiessen, Van Hooogstraten, and Firla made a trip to the monument and cemetery in Halabja to prepare for the delegation on the day before Halabja’s annual 16 March Remembrance Day.

The organizers of the Suleimaniya demonstrations asked the team to speak about this tragedy from the stage on the day of remembrance.  Team members stood together on the stage while Obed-Naar read a statement confessing that they and many from their countries had not paid attention to the tragedy when it happened.  She read, “And we carry your voice.  We carry all the voices we have heard over these last four weeks in this Freedom Square.  We carry your voices out over the artificial borders that have been imposed on the Kurdish people.  We carry your cries for freedom and justice to the ears of all who will listen.  We hear you and you are not alone.”  TV news crews filmed the speech, and the team received many comments in later days about this contribution.