Kirkuk Center

Rehabilitation for Torture Victims in Iraq

For decades Iraq has been plagued by despotism, terror and war, which have left deep wounds in its society. In 2005, the bzfo was the first organization to establish a Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims in Iraq. Our partner Center in Kirkuk, a large city in northern Iraq, was developed under the direction of the psychotherapist Salah Ahmad, and since its inception has been able to treat around 2000 torture victims.

The Kirkuk Center for Torture Victims

The Kirkuk Center for Torture Victims is an independent organization based in Iraq, its main focus being the protection of human rights, trauma therapy and violence prevention. The Kirkuk Center

Offers victims of torture and terror medical, psychological and social support free of charge
Campaigns for social rehabilitation and integration for survivors of torture and their relatives
Informs the Iraqi general public about the needs and rights of severely traumatized persons who have been victims of violence
Is involved in promoting a tolerant civil society in Iraq that is free from violence.

The Kirkuk Center currently employs around 40 staff who assist and treat around 600 victims of human rights violations each year. The services provided by the Kirkuk Center include a department for traumatized children, a day center for female victims of domestic violence as well as a mobile team for regional areas. Around 45% of those seeking help are female: around 15% are children and adolescents. Most of our patients are of Kurdish origin, followed by Turkmenis, Arabs and Assyrians.

Partners and Supporters

The Kirkuk Center cooperates with local hospitals, victim protection groups and women’s rights organizations in its work. The Center is financed predominantly from United Nations funds and the European Union.

Links

www.kirkuk-center.org

Kontakt

Salah Ahmad
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Michael Lehmann
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Additional Information

The city of Kirkuk, known in antiquity under the Assyrian name Arrapha, lies between the Tigris and the Zagros mountains on an old oriental trade route. Kirkuk is the only city in Iraq that is considered a „mesopotamian microcosmos“ and a cultural melting-pot, where Kurds, Turkmenis, Arabs and Assyro-Chaldeans have lived together for centuries in peace.

Under the rule of the Baath regime in the 80s and 90s Kirkuk became the site of many counts of ethnic cleansing. During the course of the Anfal campaign more than 100 000 Kurdish people were murdered in northern Iraq. Around 2 million people, including 175 000 Kurdish citizens of Kirkuk, lost their homes.

In contrast to other cities in northern Iraq, that have were protected from becoming no-fly zones since the end of the Gulf war, Kirkuk was until 2003 under the control of Saddam Hussein. Today the multi-ethnic metropolis embodies a bridging function for dialogue between the autonomous Kurdish areas and the central government in Baghdad.