I would like to wish my community a happy Eda Rojiet Ezi. I extend my sincere congratulations and blessings to all Yazidis around the world today as they celebrate this Eid. Yazidis are courageous and resilient as we continue to fight for our right to practice our faith. I wish everyone a joyous and peaceful Eid.
Thousands of Yazidis will celebrate this holiday season in IDP camps – many still separated from family members. Yazidis deserve a safe and dignified return to our homeland, but this is only possible if the government takes deliberate and tangible steps to restore the community.
The immense destruction caused by ISIS requires a serious commitment to rebuilding. The Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Governments have a moral responsibility to end the suffering of the Yazidi people. They have a moral responsibility to help all Yazidi genocide survivors by rebuilding Sinjar, ensuring security for its inhabitants, providing reparations to the Yazidi survivors, and actively investigating those still missing and pursuing their return. Even the remains of our loved ones killed by ISIS is unknown – some bodies are in mass graves and the ones that were exhumed are somewhere in a building in Baghdad.
Nadia’s Initiative and other NGOs are working to rebuild what ISIS destroyed in Sinjar, but the government must take responsibility and provide tangible support to the Yazidi community. Let this be the time for action!
Nadia Murad