The parliamentary elections: Al-Anbar's forcibly disappeared's families' slightest hope incarnate

Sunni political blocs have pledged to voters in Al-Anbar and other governorates in the north and west of the country that they will work to reveal the fate of the forcibly disappeared if their candidates win the next elections scheduled for October 10th.

Although these promises were repeated, the disappeared's families and relatives seem to be holding on to the slightest hope that might save them from sinking into the spiral of this complicated file.

Saleh Mohammed, a father of a forcibly disappeared, said, "All my family and relatives will elect the person who will seriously seek to reveal the fate of our children. So many candidates have promised us many times. However, when they came to office, thanks to our votes, we no longer saw or heard from them."

"We will not allow anyone to come to office by exploiting our pain and forgetting their pledges," added Mohammed.

As for Munther Hammad, he said, "I will not vote for someone who lives in bliss oblivious to the bitter reality. I will participate in the elections and work to convince everyone I know to participate as well, to elect new adequate personalities contrary to those who did not fulfill any of their oaths in the last session."

Hammad, a resident of Karma district in eastern Al-Anbar, continued, "Our votes are not a dead letter. They represent the fate of my kidnapped brother, the right of my dead cousin, the future of my son, and everything we live for, as it depends on my vote and the votes of all Iraqis. So, we have to learn from the harsh lessons we have lived through in the past and choose the right person in the right place."

Sunni politicians and citizens, as well as human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, accuse pro-Iranian Shiite factions of the forced disappearances, but those factions' leaders deny the allegations.

"The forcibly disappeared's families in the Saqlawia sub-district have begun to look for any candidate they to represent them in the next parliamentary session, in the hope to help reveal the fate of their lost children. Therefore, they are ardently determined to participate in the upcoming elections," said Saad Ghazi, director of the Saqlawia sub-district.

Ghazi pointed, "The number of the forcibly disappeared people from Saqlawia and Razzaza is 1,100, and their families have received their electoral cards, which is proof enough of their intention to participate in the parliamentary elections."

Saad Al-Jumaily, a political researcher in Al-Anbar governorate, said, "It is no secret that the file of the forcibly disappeared has become the most important topic advocated by candidates for early parliamentary elections. It is also no secret that this file was one of the most prominent files during the 2018 elections because many adopted it at the time, but provided no results."

"The forcibly disappeared's relatives have another vision about the elections. They are determined to actively participate in choosing new candidates who are determined to solve their dilemma," he added.

Al-Jumaily pointed, "After reports of 1,200 missing people from Nineveh found in some prisons, the families' hope increased, and they are now looking for who would help them reach their children or find out if they are alive."

"Today's candidates do not have any pressure cards to play the elections' strings in areas liberated from ISIS. So, instead, they are exploiting tragedies suffered by those areas' people, including the displacement file and the accompanying painful scenes printed in the citizens' memory," Al-Jumaily continued.

"All the candidates' electoral campaigns are promises to resolve the displacement crisis, impose security and stability, construction and reconstruction projects, compensate those affected by the war against ISIS, and reveal the fate of the forcibly disappeared. All of this is useless because the voter can now perfectly distinguish between candidates who have actual footprints in those files, and those who make nothing but futile pledges," Al-Jumaily concluded.