In January, Commissie Sorgdrager published their long-awaited report on the Dutch airstrike in Hawija, Iraq, in 2015 which killed at least 85 civilians and led to destruction in the area. The assignment given to Comissie Sorgdrager was to 1) investigate how it was possible that civilian casualties occurred during the Dutch deployment of weapons in Hawija and 2) examine what lessons can be learned for the future. While Sorgdrager’s report presents harsh conclusions on what went wrong and how to learn from it in the future, people in Hawija feel that attention to civilian suffering has been insufficiently addressed. PAX representatives and the independent organization Ashor were in Hawija to talk to civilians about the findings of the Commissie Sorgdrager report and published their responses in a blog.
In this blog, Ashor’s director, Mr. Abdulkareem, criticized Sorgdrager’s report stating that the investigation may have provided clarity for the Dutch government on what went wrong, but it failed to deliver justice for those “who lost their family, their house or their source of livelihood. Those who lost all their savings to medical bills or to rebuilding their houses”. Mayor Mr. Saadon Al-Jabouri of Hawija emphasized that for the victims to feel heard, the Dutch government must acknowledge the harm done, apologize, and provide appropriate compensation and support to the affected residents of his city.
Due to the Dutch government’s failure to adequately address the needs of the victims of the airstrike, Mr. Abdulkareem and his organization organized a plan to raise awareness and attention to the case domestically. By doing so, the blog concludes, “after a decade of painful waiting, the citizens of Hawija hope that then, finally, the central focus will be the suffering of victims in Hawija and what is needed to alleviate it”.
Read the full responses from civilians of Hawija below:
