Memory and Justice Site Updates Sites: 2010-07-27T15:53:39Z Copyright (c) 2009, Jon S. Connolly ExpressionEngine tag:memoryandjustice.org,2009:10:28 Halabja Monument to Kurdish victims of gas massacre tag:memoryandjustice.org,2009:site/3.253 2009-06-11T03:12:42Z 2009-10-30T18:15:43Z admin budparr@sonnetmedia.net Discussion of Halabja
In the wake of mass atrocity, reparations for victims don’t necessarily have to be material in order to be effective. Symbolic reparations––including memorials––can go a long way toward giving victims a sense of recognition and redress. But as Lisa Magarrell has noted, reparations “almost always fall short of victims’ expectations.” If reparations are purely symbolic, they are even more likely to lead to resentment. “A symbolic reparations program,” Magarrell writes, “will not be taken seriously by victims if it is not accompanied by at least some concrete material solutions for harm suffered.”

This, perhaps, helps account for the failure of the Halabja memorial. While the memorial was well-built, it was not accompanied by efforts to address the material needs of residents.  The city continued to lack basic infrastructure and has no central square or other civic space to speak of. When memorials are well planned, they can serve as valuable civic space for a community. But when the Halabja community’s frustration with government inaction boiled over, residents directed their anger at the only civic space they had—the memorial itself—and destroyed it.

References

Magarrell, Lisa. “Reparations in Theory and Practice.” International Center for Transitional Justice, October 2007.
External Link

read and comment »

Design of Halabja

The main building of the Halabja monument is a single-story, modern structure covered in white orbs. Its curved roof culminates in a 100-foot tower consisting of white spires that resemble hands reaching up and grasping at an object. Inside, the names of the dead are inscribed in white on the black marble walls of a circular hall. The museum exhibits are blunt and literal, including giant photographs of the bodies of victims and a detailed, life-size diorama depicting the aftermath of the gas attacks, replete with mannequins in agonized positions and realistic bomb casings.

References

Rubin, Amy. “Memorial to Gas Attack Victims Spurs Controversy.” PBS: America Rebuilds II: Return to Ground Zero, September 2006.
External Link

read and comment »

]]>