Statistics

Census and the presence and absence of Iranian prisoners in the camps. What we call Statistics in English, is "Ihsaiya" in Arabic, and it is a branch of mathematical science that can be defined as follows: a branch of applied mathematics involving the collection, description, analysis and inference of conclusions from quantitative data. As regarded captivity, the use of statistics had nothing to do with its scientific meaning and application, and it meant more the census and counting of people, which began from the first moment of captivity and continued until the last moment of the exchange of prisoners. (interview with Ali Mohammad AhadTajari, 1395). This was carried out with a view to establishing the total number of prisoners to inform the high officials of the Iraqi army, international organizations and media. The daily statistics was done in all camps and the goal was informing and ensuring the accuracy of the initial information. As to these statistics a few important things can be considered: the frequency of statistics, the method of statistics, extracurricular statistics , statistics of the Red Cross and statistics of the sick and injured. The frequency of statistics 1. According to the statements of the liberated captives in their memoirs: In the morning before leaving and in the evening before entering the sanatorium, it was the usual frequency of census done by calling the roll in all camps. Under normal conditions, in most of the camps, the Iraqis called the roll three times a day, morning, noon and night, such as the annexed camp in Tikrit and the Nahrwan camp. Sometimes they even called the roll at midnight. In Camp 8 Ramadi (Al-Anbar), the Iraqis counted the prisoners several times during the day. The first census was done at 8 am and the next census after breakfast. Some days, the census schedule was carried out four times by Iraqis. 2. In each camp, depending on the condition of the prisoners, the number of censuses differed. In the first days of captivity, the number of times the Iraqis called the roll was unusually high; For example, at the beginning of captivity, the Iraqis took us out ten times, counted us one by one and sent us back to the sanatorium (Rajaei, ibid.). Before the names of the prisoners were registered by the Red Cross, the number of censuses was more than usual. For example, in the camps in Tikrit, where there was no Red Cross yet, the number of times the Iraqis called the roll, was so high that everyone got fed up. In the morning, they kept a tally of our total number while we were at the sanatorium, then during the break the process repeated this time by beating us with a length of cable(which was a makeshift for a whip) while we were sitting in the yard ,again back at the sanatorium, and at lunch and dinner and before going to bed, an officer came and took one last census of the day. (Shakuri, 2014: 127) Before or after each conflict, which occurred between the prisoners and the camp officials, they increased the number of times they called the roll and its duration (interview with Ahad Tojari, ibid.). After the successful or unsuccessful escape of a captive, the number of times they called the roll increased; For example, the number of counting times during the day increased to ten or more times and three to five times during the night. In Camp 16 Tikrit, the unsuccessful escape of an Iranian captive caused them to increase the daily number from three to five times. The censuses before noon and afternoon were added to those of morning, noon and night. (Hosseinipour, 2014: 500)

Counting harassed the prisoners, and the Iraqis understood this, and for this reason, they increased the number of counting times. The main cause of the prisoners' discomfort was sittiwere not present in theng on the ground for a long time; In some cases, it took them one to two hours to keep tally of the total number of captives, and all along the prisoners had to sit on the ground. Sitting in the queue for a long time, five times a day, was tiresome and agonizing. (same) Methods of statistics In the ordinary course of matters, the statistical methods in different camps were normal. The census was sometimes carried out by counting captives without their names, and then at other times by calling the captive`s name, his father`s as well as his grandfather`s since surnames were not officially acknowledged. This kind of census took more time. In Salah Al-Din (11 Takrit), the prisoners at 8 clock on hearing the whistle of Iraqis, filed in the sanatorium in their uniforms to be counted. After collecting statistical data from the sanatoriums and giving a written report to the commander of the camp, the commander left the camp and the captives entered the compound with the permission of the Iraqis. But in some camps like Mosel, this census was taken outside the camp from a group of five captives. Most of the time censuses were effected outside and in front of each sanatorium. But sometimes, during the winter season or when the weather was rainy, the censuses were taken inside the sanatorium. In several camps in Mosul, censuses were taken under the balcony in front of the sanatorium (interview with Ahad Tajari, same). In the early stage of captivity, the Iraqi counted prisoners one by one. They often made mistakes and were forced to repeat counting. After two or three months, they managed to make captives sit five by five so that a soldier could count these groups of five. In the 12th and 16th Tikrit camps, the census was done sitting in groups of five or in a row, in the sanatorium. The Iraqis forced us to lower our heads while censuses were being taken. To prepare captives for censuses, one of the officers first blew a special whistle and they had to stay where they were stock still when they heard the first whistle ,and had to run towards the sanatorium after the second whistling, and on hearing the third whistle a few seconds after it was blown, they had to sit in rows of five in front of the sanatorium, so that the Iraqi officer could begin with censuses. If a prisoner were not present in the row after the third whistling, the Iraqis would whip him severely using a cable. In Tikrit annexed unit, as soon as we heard the whistle, we had to line up in front of the sanatorium at the appointed hour and had to squat, hugging our knees, with our heads sunk down until the commander or one of the senior officers came over and took censuses. We were not allowed to leave the queue until the censuses of all 24 sanatoriums ended. It really jarred on our nerves. Sometimes they kept the captives in a squatting position for such a long while that their legs went stiff. Sometimes the prisoners were made to prostrate while being counted. At times, to make matters worse, at each census, the prisoners were kept in the sun for three hours without shoes or clothes, or in another place, where the census was not supposed to take longer than 45 minutes, they deliberately kept the captives in the sun or exposed to a cutting wind for one hour and a half. Usually, after Iran's successful military operations, Iraqis' attitude changed, which was more evident during the census process. So that in the morning, when they opened the door of the sanatorium, the prisoners guessed by their behavior what had happened last night. The statistical method of Iraqis altered when once in a while an Iranian captive succeeded in escaping from the camp : "They kicked us out of the sanatorium. The cold winter weather, lack of proper clothes and extreme hunger, all united to defeat us. We sat down and lowered our heads. "They started calling names and everyone whose name was called had to say naam (yes in English)."

Extracurricular Statistics In many cases and in different camps, the establishment also resorted to extracurricular statistics. During the captivity, the Iraqis lined us up and started counting us whenever they wanted or at any moment it suited them best. Even when they wanted to send some people to another place, a census was taken from all the prisoners. Sometimes the census was taken as captives were ordered to stay indoors, for the Iraqis wanted to bring some new prisoners into the camp. During the physical inspection at sanatorium, the statistical data was collected again . Sometimes, the census was done in order to distribute clothes and various items among the prisoners, and sometimes it was done because of the presence of representatives of international organizations or the visit of high-ranking commanders.

Statistics of the Red Cross When representatives from the Red Cross came to the camps for initial registration, a census was done with names and the representatives were left with captives to accomplish their mission which was learning about the total number of prisoners and how they were treated by the Iraqis. In the case of the camps t previously identified and registered by the Red Cross, statistical data was collected and compiled by Iraqis or representatives of the Red Cross.

Statistics of the sick and injured In the Mosul 2 camp, the censuses for the wounded who had serious injuries were taken separately and in the sanatorium. In some camps, the Injured were only exempted from standing at attention while the officers were taking censuses, provided that the camp`s commander saw that fit. For example, at my camp the commander named Jasem had exempted the wounded captives including me from standing at attention during the census, .   [[fa:آمار]