We are chemical weapons attack survivors. Now, we are trying to hold corporations accountable for their role in the attack. Ask us anything.

What exactly did the companies do and do you think they knew that their stuff would be used in an attack?

during the 8 year of war between Iran and Iraq companies were trying to sell weapon specially chemical weapon to Saddam to use it in war and since then Saddam was using it so the companies knew that he was using it - Aras

Are these American companies or do they work in America? Is there anything Americans can do to help? So sad to read about this attack, I never knew it happened.

these companies were not american and american companies refused to cooperate they were german , french, dutch and Luxembourg companies , and what you can do is supporting us in the courts and lawsuit

Which companies? I don't think you named them in your post.

German companies : TUI , Karl Kolb , heberger french companies : Groupe Protec and de dietrich dutch companies ; melspring , hansmelchers and frans van anraat , Luxembourg general Mediterranean holding and its owner Nadhmi Auchi ( Saddam's Bag Man )

Mardin - the building behind you in your proof picture is very interesting. What is it?

its the halabja massacre memorial musum -Mardin

What did you immediately do, when the gas reached you?

i was a child at the time and i don't remember well i was with my family in a basement- Mardin i had to hold my breath and covered my mouth then i ran into my neighbor's basement - Aras

Wow really thanks for the A2A. Most of the survivors often lose hope of any revival in their lives. How do you motivate people out there to continue with their lives?

we are asking people to have hope and continue their lives , we hope that we can hold those companies like TUI who did this to us accountable so this is somehow my motivation - mardin i want to live to be alive proof of what chemical weapon can do -Aras

The attack happened 30 years ago. Chances are the people at those companies aren’t even working there any more. Have you had any progress in this lawsuit?

we filed the lawsuit only two days ago and we suied both manager and directors who were personally involved and also the companies themselves , the companies made many millions in profits which helped them, grow to be the huge companies that they are today the victims lives were destroyed hundred of survivors died early death hundred of children have birth defects caused by the chemicals so the companies should pay this profits in fair compensation to the victims and their families even if the director and manager are old or maybe have already died

I wish I had a better question.... but I wanted to let you know that this was one of the primary reasons I joined the US Army Medical Service in 1988. I knew we would be fighting Sadaam after this. I was of course called up for Desert Storm when the time came. Our hospital was prepared to treat massive chemical attack victims which fortunately, for all involved in Desert Storm, never came.

What are the companies named in the suit?

German companies : TUI , Karl Kolb , heberger french companies : Groupe Protec and de dietrich dutch companies ; melspring , hansmelchers and frans van anraat , Luxembourg general Mediterranean holding and its owner Nadhmi Auchi ( Saddam's Bag Man ) some companies industrial like karl kolb and heberger , some companies for personal products for example TUI used to have sub companies that produce chemical and building materials , today they are the largest tourism country in the world but they have the biggest hand in building and supplying chemical weapon factories , hundreds of German engineers worked at the chemical weapon sites during the conspiracy even a gas chamber was built to test chemical weapons on dogs and donkeys and even allegedly on Iranian POWs , Auchi is one of the biggest real estate owners in England and owns dozens of companies including hotels , the bank in Luxembourg was secretly funded by saddam hussein and held accounts for numerous dictators and terrorists https://www.halabjavictimssociety.org/

I thought there was a weapons ban on chemicals, was that just paper to be walked through with no punishment?

yes no company has ever been punished and what the comopany say they wouldnht do the chemical weapon activity is not what they do , they know they are selling chemical weapons and they know that the weapons are killing people - aras and mardin

Hey everyone! Thank you for being such gracious hosts to our AMA participants. They tried to answer as many questions as possible. We know you have lots more questions, so if you will, please visit the site https://www.halabjavictimssociety.org/ to learn more about the attacks and the lawsuit. Many of your questions can be answered there. Don't forget about this attack and some of the victims experiences you've heard here today. Their stories deserve to be heard.

Have a good day, Reddit!

First of all, thank you both for your incredible perseverance and courage. Do you hope that this lawsuit will also hold whatever regime was responsible for the recent chemical attacks in Syria and neighboring areas?

yes - hopefully if we can hold the companies responsible so the other victims will be able to

What is your favorite sandwich?

Hamburger-Aras Pizza -Mardin

how has growing up during your lifetime been? have you been treated differently since you have been marked survivors

no because our community understands well our problems since the most of the people are victims - Aras i was lost and living away from my own family , i was adopted by another family , i didn't know that i'm adopted until i was 10 years old -Mardin

For both of you, how was your treatment by Iran during this time, as both of you said that you were treated for several months at least in Iran for healthcare.

For Aras, did you have the choice to stay in Iran (and presumably didn't because your life was back in Iraq? Or did you have no choice in the matter? And if so, what about in the parts of Kurdistan within Iran?

My utmost sympathy goes out to you. I had several family members who died in combat the Iran-Iraq war, before I was born. One of them died due to chemical attack by Saddam. I do not know any more about it than that unfortunately. The thought that people can act in such systematic acts of genocide such as that which happened against kurds in Saddam's Iraq is horrific and terrifying. And that any nation would sponser this... beyond words. I wish you luck in bringing these enablers to justice.

received basic treatments ,they washed our bodies , used oxygen for our breathing, pomades for our burns , and i took an injection called atropine / and i didnt want to stay in iran beause i never liked iran -Aras i lost my sight at the time and they were using pomades and injections , staying in Iran was not on my own choice i was adopted by an Iranian family and i didn't know they are not my own family -Mardin

Why do you think the corperations would help him? How does it help here interests?

companies were seeking profit from selling chemical gas to saddam hussein and they will continue doing if we dint held them accountable-Aras and mardin

What is being done for survivor of chemical attacks in recent years? Is there a possibility for those survivors to all come together and make a bigger voice for the world to hear, to testify in front of U.N so that these companies be held fully accountable for the damage they have caused to these people.

nothing is being done for the survivors , many of us are too sick to travel but we would be happy to come to the un , so all could hear our voices and other who cannot travel could give power of attorney to speak for them

Hi and thanks for doing this AMA!

1. If the Saddam Hussein regime had not been toppled, do you think groups such as ISIS would have still been able to rise to such levels of power as they have today in the region?

2. In the current conflicts of the Syrian civil war, we can still see chemical weapons attacks being carried out by groups such as ISIS, rebel groups, and the Syrian military. What can we, as everyday people, do to help let the companies that are producing these weapons that they cause mass harm once they fall into the wrong hands?

we should protest against companies that sell chemical weapon and not buy their products and we need laws that protect people and allow them to sew the comopanies that harmed them and if we could hold those companies accountable that helped saddam no other company will do it again

Do these companies produce commonly used household products or are they primarily making industrial products?

some companies industrial like karl kolb and heberger , some companies for personal products for example TUI used to have sub companies that produce chemical and building materials , today they are the largest tourism country in the world but they have the biggest hand in building and supplying chemical weapon factories , hundreds of German engineers worked at the chemical weapon sites during the conspiracy even a gas chamber was built to test chemical weapons on dogs and donkeys and even allegedly on Iranian POWs , Auchi is one of the biggest real estate owners in England and owns dozens of companies including hotels , the bank in Luxembourg was secretly funded by saddam hussein and held accounts for numerous dictators and terrorists

I know it's not much, but I'd love to boycott any company that puts profits over people. It's horrendous to think one person didn't matter to them, let alone thousands. Thank you for taking the time to get the information out to the world.

yes we should boycott tui immediately, how can we enjoy vacation from a company that helped killing thousands of children

What's your opinion on the chemical attack in the UK? Hold any strong values, opinions or beliefs?

this proofs that everyone of us in danger of chemical weapons and their production must stop in every county.

I see that at least one of the German companies responsible for this (not sure which) is now in the German Tourism industry?

Why is Germany allowing a known exporter of chemical weapons, in direct contravention of the Geneva Protocol, to still exist and function as a German company? As far as I know, Germany had ratified the Geneva Protocols, right?

What legal or governmental hurdles are preventing Germany from dealing with the organization themselves? Did German Investigators determine there wasn't enough evidence or something?

Thanks for doing this AMA! Chemical weapons, especially mustard gas, are not only horrific, it takes a special kind of soulless monster to sell that gas for use against humans or to deploy it against humans.

the German prosecuted these companies including TUI and found them guilty of illegally selling chemical weapons to saddam , the managers were sentences of between 3 and 12 month in jail but non of them went to jail for even one day , under german law corporations cannot be prosecuted for the crimes of genocide or crimes against humanity , only the managers and as you can see the manager got off with no punishment

From which court are you seeking relief? Will you need sanctions?

first to national court i halabja and then we have a case also in paris and we intend to bring additional cases in london , holland and germany

Having only read about the effects of gas attacks in history classes, let me first say that both of the people answering are incredible. I am sure that simply reading words on a page and seeing pictures can not truly illustrate what a horrifying weapon it is.

That being said, the people who were in charge of these companies at the time of the attacks are probably close to death themselves now (for example, I see Nadhmi Auchi is now 80 years old). It is likely that the people employed now by them are not the same as those employed 30 years ago. I see from another response that they have shifted to tourism or hospitality industry jobs. The people responsible obviously deserve some kind of punishment but what in your opinion is the correct way to hold the right people responsible before it's too late?

we are not seeking revenge or punishment we are just seeking justice those companies should held accountable for what they did and they should compensate injured and people who lost their loved ones and help towns and cities that they destroyed to grow back

Are you guys expecting to get the companies involved sued? Or is this just so that such 'crimes' might not be committed in the near future?

My deepest condolences to you by the way. May Allah help us all!

yes we sued them two days ago for conspiracy for genocide , we believe the only way to stop companies from supporting genocide is to take away profits from genocide and make them pay fair compensation to the victims who have to bury their children and suffered a life of pain and health problem , which was caused by the companies greed and chasing profit

Do you think the US is doing enough to stop chemical weapons attacks now?

no because if US was doing enough he could prevent its use in Sirya -Aras No because we can still see the usage of chemical weapons -Mardin

Maybe kind of an odd question, but have you seen the TV show Homeland?

NOTE THIS QUESTION CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS ABOUT SEASON 4 AND 5

so in season 4 one of the characters is basically attacked by/with sarin. I was wondering how accurate the scene was when they administered the poison. Also how accurate is his rehabilitation?

sorry but that show is not broadcasted here

thank you Reddit and everyone for giving us the opportunity to express ourselves and thank you for the thoughtful questions its late here so we turning in good night to all