Portsmouth council to consider Halabja sister city partnership

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Portsmouth's local council is set to debate a proposal to establish a sister city relationship with Halabja in Iraq's Kurdistan Region at a meeting scheduled for September 10. The proposal cites the role of Kurdish noblewoman Madam Adela, who is credited with saving numerous British soldiers and officers during and after World War I. The initiative is being revived by the Portsmouth-based Kordsh Hem organization, which first brought together Halabja Chamber of Commerce President Bishwa Ahmed and then-council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson in 2019 before the effort stalled due to Covid-19. Halabja Governor Nusha Nasih joined the process by sending a message in cooperation with Kordsh Hem on the 38th anniversary of the March 16, 1988 chemical attack, formally including the city as Iraq's 19th recognized province. Halabja, located roughly 240 kilometers northeast of Baghdad and nine miles from the Iranian border, serves as the center of one of four cities in the Kurdistan Region, with a population estimated between 75,000 and 140,000. Nasha Nasih became the first woman to hold the governorship in the Region and the country's history last year.