Remembering the Past in Diasporic Spaces: Kurdish Reflections on Genocide Memorialization for Anfal

Abstract

Diasporas engage in a variety of practices and activities to commemorate past massacres and genocides that might have led to the formation of the diaspora in the first place. In this process, certain massacres can be constructed as the “chosen trauma” and consequently become a central element in commemoration practices and identity formation. In this paper, we discuss genocide memorialization in the context of the Iraqi Kurdish diaspora in Europe. We focus specifically on genocide memorialization of the Anfal Campaign (1986–1989) that was orchestrated by Saddam Hussein’s regime against the Kurdish population in Northern Iraq. We examine how collective remembering for Anfal takes place in the diasporic space, what diasporic articulations and representations of Anfal as the chosen trauma are produced in commemoration practices, and how these genocide memorialization processes differ from those in the homeland context. The article asks the following questions: How do Kurdish diaspora communities in Europe commemorate Anfal? How do diaspora narratives relate to collective memory and identity? What spatial and generational dynamics are at play in these processes?