Victim of 2014 Camp Speicher massacre

Painter honors brother killed in Camp Speicher massacre by distributing cold water at Dhi Qar hospital

2024-09-22 | 19:26

DHI QAR — For the past three months, Hassan Al-Kanani has been distributing cold water every evening outside Souq Al-Shuyukh Hospital in Dhi Qar province. After completing his daily work as a painter, Al-Kanani brings 25 to 30 cartons of chilled water, stored in large ice-filled pots, to offer to hospital visitors and passersby. The gesture honors the memory of his brother, Hussein, who was one of the 1,700 victims of the 2014 Camp Speicher massacre.

On June 12, 2014, Islamic State militants killed unarmed Iraqi Air Force cadets at Camp Speicher near Tikrit, an attack that primarily targeted Shia cadets and remains one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Iraq’s history.

Supported by local doctors, hospital staff, and an ice factory owner, Al-Kanani’s family helps him prepare clean pots and water cups, which he transports to the hospital daily using a small motorized vehicle.

In Islam, charitable acts done on behalf of deceased relatives are believed to benefit them in the afterlife. Al-Kanani dedicates this daily act of kindness to his brother and makes a special niyyah (intention) for his reward.

“My brother was martyred in the Speicher massacre, and my grandfather, Mullah Ahmed, prayed for us to find my brother’s body. Thankfully, we did, along with two of his companions,” Al-Kanani told 964media.

Initially, Al-Kanani distributed ten cartons of water, but now he provides up to 30 each evening between 8 p.m. and midnight. Any remaining water is given to local police for further distribution.

Al-Kanani adds, “This has become part of my daily routine, and even my family helps. I used to use two blocks of ice to cool three cartons, but with cooler weather, one block is now enough.”

The 2014 Camp Speicher massacre was part of the Islamic State’s larger campaign of terror after capturing vast territories in Iraq and Syria. The group was expelled from Iraq in 2017, with their last strongholds in Syria falling in 2019.