The Day the Silent Bombs Fell
On September 11,2001, the United States faced, what we saw as the most horrific form of terrorism. On March 16,1988, the northern Iraqi city of Halabja endured the greatest chemical and biological assault on a civilian population in the history of mankind. Today this is our worst fear, being bombed by chemical weapons. What should have been a day of celebration was a day not to be forgotten according to Sabir Abdullah Ahmad. "The air smelt like apples and onions. It was a bad smell. I saw people who smelt it and they were affected immediately. In front of me six people, three of them my brothers, tried not to breathe, they tried to hide in some water, but the water was poisoned by the chemicals too and they died." Those who were very close to the bombs died instantly, those who did not found it very difficult to breathe and began to vomit. The gas stung their eyes, some suffering temporary blindness. Many villagers ran towards water, jumping into streams to escape the spreading gases.
There is virtually no assistance available for these people. The UN will not assist for fear that this would anger the Iraqi regime and jeopardize their continued role in administering UN 986 program, which is the program that allows Iraq to swap oil for humanitarian needs. These people live their lives in fear everyday. Halabaja is always on red alert. In fact, the no fly zone imposed by the Americans and the British (which has protected the Kurdish) administered Northern Iraq from Iraqi offensives since 1991, does not cover this town at all. These people have no money for preventative measures in case of another attack. Even the Kurdish fighters cannot defend themselves; their assault rifles are years past their use-by date. The Kurdish soldiers are known as "Peshmerga". Translated, it means "those who face death". had been attacking the city for three days until they were forced to retreat, on the fourth day Iraqi planes began bombing the city and surrounding areas. Not long after the bombings stopp
Some common words found in the essay are:
Abdullah Ahmad, Medical Institute, , Iraq Turkey, Iraq Iraqi, Democratic Party, Hahumud Fatah, Northern Iraq, Middle East, Peshmerga Translated, bombings started, city halabja, chemical weapons, northern iraq, attacking city, iraq turkey, march 161988,
Approximate Word count = 686
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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