OCTOBER 2006

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PHOTO BY ERIC DRAPER President George W. Bush greets Dr. Katrin Michael (right) in the Oval Office on March 14, 2003. confronting a killer Nearly 20 years after being attacked by Saddam Hussein’s military, Katrin Michael, Ph.D., a Chaldean woman and former freedom fighter who now lives in Virginia, recounted two Iraqi Air Force bombings in 1987 and 1988. During the first attack, the Iraqi military used chemical weapons against the opposition located in the Kurdish area. Michael’s testimony confirmed the horror stories in slow and deliberate tones. Like so many others before her, Michael described the pungent smell of the chemical agents, like “garlic and apple.” “I saw hundreds of people — not dozens, but hundreds — and they were vomiting with tears coming out of their eyes,” Michael testified. The chemical weapon attacks on the Kurdish city of Halabja in 1988, and similar attacks elsewhere in northern Iraq, are a significant part of the case against Hussein. Halabja is a small city in Iraq’s northern province of Sulaymaniya, about 260 kilometers northeast of Baghdad. Some 5,000 people are Chaldean woman testifies against Saddam Hussein BY VANESSA DENHA-GARMO thought to have been killed there, with another 10,000 injured. Michael was a victim in a similar attack in Zewa, a city east of Halabja. Survivors of the chemical attacks still suffer from the memories and, in many cases, the physical effects such as cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects and miscarriages. Michael, 56, was a former resistance freedom fighter in northern Iraq when the Baghdad government launched what was called the Anfal campaign. According to Michael, she also testified in 2003 that, “On June 5, 1987, at 7:30 p.m., we were shelled with chemical weapons mustard and cyanide gases. Those who were near the bomb started vomiting, and emptying their stomachs, a mere 30 minutes after the raid. The situation on “I asked God that if I was going to get killed, please make sure I die after I testify against Saddam.” – DR. KATRIN MICHAEL the site was horrible and awful.” She was among a number of witnesses at an event sponsored by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus to commemorate the 15th anniversary (on March 16, 2003) of the Zewa chemical weapons attack. She also sat inside the Oval offices recounting the events to President George W. Bush. Now just three years later, Michael retold the story sitting just seven feet away from Saddam Hussein. “I never thought that the dream I had to see this man come to justice would ever come true,” she said. “I never thought I would see Saddam Hussein look like a chicken right in front of me.” Although friends and family tried to persuade her not to testify, fearing she would be killed, Michael was determined to come face to face with the man who bestowed such suffering on thousands of people. “I entered a camp site inside the Green Zone under a high-level security, praying that I would not be killed,” she said. “I asked God that if I was going to get killed, please make sure I die after I testify against Saddam.” Michael believes that part of the insurgency in Iraq exists because the Saddam loyalists want to stop the trial against him, scaring victims from testifying. “They will not succeed,” she said. “I sat in that courtroom believing I spoke on behalf of thousand of victims who will never get the chance to speak up. I don’t want any more sadness — no more crying.” Michael was told more than three months ago that she would travel to Iraq to testify but was sworn to secrecy. She sat in a room with dozens of people — primarily prosecutors, other attorneys and judges. After spending eight days in Iraq and testifying for more than two hours, Michael has returned home safely. 36 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2006
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