Iraq's Kurdish Failis recall 1980 exile as compensation and disappearances remain unresolved

DIYALA, Iraq — Iraq's Kurdish Faili community, a Shia Muslim group that historically settled east of the Tigris, in the Zagros mountains and across Diyala, Wasit, Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah and Halabja, has long been regarded as one of the country's most deeply affected communities. During the 1950s and 1960s, Failis held a notable presence in trade, public administration and cultural life. On April 4, 1980, the former regime's interior ministry ordered the forced exile of roughly half a million Failis on the grounds of alleged "Iranian nationality." Families were removed from their homes, property was confiscated, identity papers were canceled and thousands were left stateless within hours. More than 22,000 young men performing military service were detained and sent to prisons; most disappeared from Abu Ghraib, and their remains could not be located even in mass graves examined after 2003. A 1981 decision, numbered 474, encouraged divorce when one spouse was Faili, leading to more than 10,000 forced separations and the breakup of families. Exiles who reached Iran lived in impoverished camps, and with citizenship denied in both countries they remained undocumented. Although Resolution 666 was revoked after 2003, issues of compensation, the fate of the missing and political representation remain unresolved, with the case moving slowly because of poor coordination between authorities in Kirkuk and Baghdad.