{"id":620,"date":"2026-07-08T16:33:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/?p=620"},"modified":"2026-07-25T18:44:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T15:44:46","slug":"justice-memory-and-healing-a-qualitative-study-on-psychosocial-support-for-families-of-christian-and-muslim-mass-grave-victims-in-sorya-duhok-governorate-iraqi-kurdistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/?p=620","title":{"rendered":"Justice, Memory, and Healing: A Qualitative Study on Psychosocial Support for Families of Christian and Muslim Mass Grave Victims in Sorya, Duhok Governorate,\u00a0Iraqi\u00a0Kurdistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background and objectives:<\/em><\/strong> Iraq is covered with multiple mass graves, families of Christian and Muslim victims experience the compound grief, displacement, and socioeconomic distress due to the exhumation processes, but there is minimal evidence regarding the connection of forensic\/legal processes and culturally based psychosocial care. This paper examined the aspects of loss and grief, commemoration and memory, justice and accountability, psychosocial support needs, and healing pathways within the affected families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methods:<\/em><\/strong> Using Van Manen\u2019s hermeneutic phenomenology, we conducted semi\u2011structured interviews with purposively sampled relatives of mass\u2011grave victims (n=10; 7 men, 3 women; 37\u201366 years) in July\u2013August 2025. Interviews (70\u201390 minutes) were recorded, transcribed, translated, and thematically analyzed following Van Manen\u2019s six activities, and relevant themes and subthemes were extracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results:<\/em><\/strong> Five main themes emerged: (1) Experiences of loss and grief; (2) Memory and commemoration; (3) Justice and accountability; (4) Psychosocial support needs; and (5) Pathways to healing and resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion:<\/em><\/strong> Forensic truth-seeking and cultural attuned psychosocial care and pragmatic accompaniment should be applied to survivor-focused responses that combine interfaith and culturally sensitive approaches with forensic truth-seeking and trauma-informed justice. Memorialization that is inclusive, spiritually encompassing, and uses interventions that are intertwined can reinforce resilience, reinstate dignity and cohesion in post-atrocity environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords:<\/strong> Iraqi Kurdistan; Sorya mass graves; bereavement; psychosocial support; transitional justice; forensic identification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text Research<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rahand<\/span> Guhdar Hasan Aldoski<\/span><\/div>

Rahand Guhdar Hassan is a 4th year medical student at the University of Kurdistan Hewl\u00ear, passionate about medical education and the preservation of Kurdish culture. He is committed to improving healthcare learning while celebrating his heritage, striving to inspire others through a unique blend of academic dedication and\u00a0cultural\u00a0pride.<\/p><\/div>

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Jack<\/span> Jabar Ishaq<\/span><\/div>

My name is Jack Keka, a 21-year-old medical student in stage 4 from Shaqlawa. I am passionate about medicine and committed to becoming a compassionate and skilled physician. With a focus on continuous learning and patient care, I aim to make a meaningful impact in the field\u00a0of\u00a0healthcare.<\/p><\/div>

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Abstract Background and objectives: Iraq is covered with multiple mass graves, families of Christian and Muslim victims experience the compound grief, displacement, and socioeconomic distress due to the exhumation processes, but there is minimal evidence regarding the connection of forensic\/legal processes and culturally based psychosocial care. This paper examined the aspects of loss and grief, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":837,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientificconferenceofgenocide.krd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}