When noting her outlook for the future in relation to the rights of victims of terrorism, Iman added that “I hope the programme will also help other victims as there are thousands in camps who are in need of support. I hope that we will return to our regions and live a normal life like any human being, as these are our rights.”

 

This story, which is the fourth in a five-part series, marks the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism which takes place on 21 August. This series is originally featured as part of the UNODC “Victims’ Voices, Silencing Terrorism” campaign which was conducted in June 2023 through a combination of social media outreach and on-the-ground presence in Baghdad, Iraq. The campaign reached 23 million people in Iraq and the Middle East and North Africa region and was done in collaboration with Iraqi authorities, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Association of Victims of Terrorism in Lebanon (AVT-L) and funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The campaign focused on providing an alternative narrative to that of terrorist groups by raising awareness of the resilience of victims of terrorism and the importance of having their voices heard. The messages and stories they tell have the power to silence the negative and harmful fear-oriented messages spread by terrorist groups. The campaign featured several victims of terrorism supported by the project, as they used their voices to tell their own stories of resilience and overcoming and spoke of how more victims should be encouraged to do the same. The campaign also highlighted the importance of understanding who is a victim of terrorism, what are victims’ needs, the role of the community, and the achievements of the project.