By Suha Kamel
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – August 3 marks the ninth anniversary of the genocide committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) against Yazidi people in Shengal (Sinjar) District in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Thousands of Yazidis were killed and more than 400,000 were displaced, according to UNHCR.
When ISIS attacked villages of Sinjar in 2014, several Yazidi families fled to the KRI and settled in refugee and IDP camps in Duhok and Erbil governorates, while others stayed in small tents on the outskirts of the cities of the KRI.
Several Yazidi families in Erbil, who could not find shelter, use wood, nylon, and plastic to set up small tents to protect themselves from the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter. One of those is the family of Qassem Qawal.
On Aug. 3, 2014, a few months after the proclamation of the so-called “caliphate” by the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group’s militants attacked the Yazidi’s largest community in Iraq’s Nineveh Governorate, close to the Syrian border. Within hours, the Yazidis were displaced en masse, a majority of which sought shelter on top of nearby Mount Sinjar. According to official figures, more than 6,000 Yazidis were abducted, however, more than 2,000 remain missing.
Qawal told North Press that for about nine years, he has been living with his family in a small tent made from nylon and wood covered in worn-out fabric. They are deprived of the basic needs of life, such as water, electricity, and furniture.
He works in sheep husbandry. “I have some sheep. I tend to them near my tent. I sell yogurt to the people of the neighborhood. My family and I live off of whatever food happens to be available. No one cares about us. When ISIS attacked our village in Sinjar, we lost all our property and belongings and became displaced,” Qawal said.
Khafsha Khodeda, a displaced Yazidi woman, chops tomatoes to prepare lunch. She is making okra stew with bread. “I try to make food for my children and husband, but we do not have enough. When ISIS came to our village, we fled to the mountains in Syria. We traveled on foot. I have been sick ever since. I need medication and treatment. My husband is ill as well,” Khodeda said.
She lives in a small tent that forms a living area and a small kitchen in addition to an external bathroom. She told North Press, “We have been living here for nine years. Why do not relevant authorities help us? We want to return to Sinjar or relocate to a house with a roof and walls to protect us from this wilderness.”
On the other hand, Bassem Qassem works and studies at the same time despite the difficulties and challenges of displacement. He told North Press:
“I am a senior in the high school nearby. I work in my leisure time in moving furniture. We do not have another choice. ISIS destroyed our lives, raped our women, and killed our children. We have to fight and work to survive.”
Qassem finds it difficult to express his feelings on the ninth anniversary of leaving his land and home. “It is a heartbreaking memory, not just for the Yazidis, but for every humane person. We demand international organizations to help us. Winter is coming. Every year, we suffer from cold and rain. We hope our conditions be better this year,” he added.
ISIS practiced appalling forms of torture against the Yazidi minority in Sinjar, described by many as a mass genocide. They enslaved women, murdered children, and changed the demography of the Yazidi regions.
In October 2020, the federal government of Iraq and the KRI authorities signed the Sinjar Agreement, sponsored by the UN and US-led Global Coalition, which states to deport all armed groups from Sinjar in preparation for its rehabilitation and the return of the Yazidi IDPs. However, the agreement is yet to be implemented.