“YOU CAN LET THE PAST REST BUT THE PAST WON’T LET YOU REST”

My name is Zainab Al-Hariri, I’m an Iraqi filmmaker who lives in the UK, and the producer of “The House of Silence" project.

"The House of Silence" is a fiction based on a true story, occurring in the late seventies, the film tells the story of a young Iraqi girl who, after losing her father, experiences loss, longing and pain. She seeks answers to the same questions; “Why did my father go and never return? How could he suddenly disappear from my life?” Vague excuses are all she has to keep alive the hope of again meeting that father. A father who refused injustice and tyranny, leaving behind his loved ones, believing he should work for the salvation of his oppressed people.

That man was my father, Dr Ghazi Al-Hariri, who stood up against Saddam’s dictatorship and his brutal regime of repression. He was arrested and executed at the hands of Saddam’s henchmen on 19th March 1980,when I, his daughter Zainab, was six years old.

This film tells the story of every child who suddenly lost a parent without farewell or explanation. It tells the story of children, widows, parents and siblings who suffered greatly for news of their loved ones in detention, learning nothing of their fate after all. So that we neither forget and so those martyred souls are not lost with the wind.

As you may know, a project such as this requires much practical and financial input. I am therefore appealing to the conscience of all those who lived through that dark era or suffered at the hands of tyrants, and to all who wish to keep alive the stories of the oppressed, for their generous financial help in completing this humanitarian project.

With my sincere gratitude and thanks for your interest and support, I ask God to grant you the best of His rewards.