Omar Hama Saleh Ahmad, also known as Omar Khawar, was a resident of Halabja who was killed by chemical attack on March 16, 1988, with his child in his arms. Ramazan Öztürk took a picture of Omar Khawar, now known as a symbol of the Halabja tragedy.
$Biography$
Omar Khawar was born in 1934. His family was originally from Garmian region. They moved to Halabja from Bawanur township and settled there. Omar is the only one of his brothers to carry his mother's name.
He married twice in his life. He was with his first wife for about four months and then separated. He had 10 children with his second wife, Samia. They had seven daughters named Garmian, Kwestan, Tara, Shilan, Jawana, Zhyan and Bayan. After the seven daughters, they became parents of a son and named him Hamashwan. Three years later, Hamashwan died of an illness. It is said that Omar Khawar had the pain of his son in his heart until he died.
A year after Hamashwan's death, luck turned to Omar's family and his wife gave birth to twin boys. Omar named them Ahmad and Muhammad. It is not clear how Omar, who was so fond of Kurdish names, did not give his sons Kurdish names, whereas all his daughters had Kurdish names. Because their two boys are twins, it is unclear whether the child who died in his arms was Ahmad or Muhammed.
$Personality$
Acquaintances and friends say Omar Khawar was a man who fitted in with his surroundings. He participated in most of the national festivals of his city. He was known for his dancing skills and the parties he attended were more enjoyable. Omar Khawar worked as a baker in the morning and as a guard at the Halabja kindergarten in the afternoon.
$Political participation$
Regarding his political participation in the Kurdish struggle, it is said that Omar never served as a Peshmerga, but was a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party until 1974.
$Symbol of Halabja$
Twenty minutes before the first Napalm fell on Halabja, Omar Khawar had listened to the news on the radio, but half an hour later his death and that of his child became the most important image for the world to know what had happened in this city.[1]