Anfal Genocide Survivor Tchiayi Emin Lectures in Andorra

Tchiayi Emin, a 53-year-old survivor of the 1988 Anfal genocide against Iraq's Kurds, will deliver a sensitisation lecture tonight at 7:30pm in Andorra's Roc Blanc centre.

Emin lost family members in the chemical weapons attack that killed 182,000 people as part of Saddam Hussein's campaign to eradicate the Kurdish population. She described the operation as a "final solution" targeting Kurds, though the international community has yet to formally recognise it as genocide. "Justice has not been served for the victims," she said.

In 2017, after years of reflection, Emin founded the AMVGK association to demand accountability for Kurds displaced by Hussein's regime. The group seeks global recognition of genocides against Kurds in 1980, 1983, 1988, and 2014, documenting over 840,000 victims since 1970.

Emin stressed the need to remember these events to educate younger generations and warn of potential repeats by neighbouring states. "Our children must know what happened to their parents and grandparents," she said, adding that more than 70 million Kurds worldwide remain stateless.

Achievements so far include a 2021 bill introduced in the French parliament, with support from UDI party leader Jean-Christophe Lagarde, calling for recognition of the Kurdish genocide. Last year, the group planted peace olive trees in Montauban and Perpinyà in memory of the victims.

Looking ahead, Emin called for political, intellectual, and media backing, noting a lack of state support. Plans include more tree plantings, public lectures to raise global awareness, and opening an office in Kurdistan this April. The inauguration will unite victim support organisations across religious lines for the first time, fostering unity in the national cause.

The association aims to halt ongoing "barbarity" against Kurds and religious minorities in the Middle East, promoting peace and freedom in their ancestral lands. Emin reported growing backing from institutions, NGOs, and survivors who view the work as validation of their suffering.