Lived Experience of the Activists of Barzani Genocide: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Background and objective: Barzani genocide that occurred in 1983 led to death of 8,000 Barzani men. Since then, there have been numerous attempts by different activists to archive the events, make the crisis know worldwide, and help the survivors. The present study was a qualitative investigation into the Barzani genocide activists lived experience in order to come up with deeper understanding of their attempts and probable future measures to help survivors overcome their sorrow and finally prevent similar crises from happening in the future. Method: Using a hermeneutic phenomenological method through Van Manen’s method, the transcripts of in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine activists of Barzani genocide were analyzed. The interviews were carried out at the activists’ home. Results: Analyzing the interviews led to emergence of three main themes which were “Attempting to introduce Barzani genocide to international community”, “Archiving the event”, and “Alleviating the genocide survivors’ grief”. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the activists’ attempts have been successful in introducing Barzani genocide worldwide, archiving the events involved with and leading to the crisis, and alleviating the survivors’ grief.