For Nadia Cavner, a long-time philanthropist and activist, the Middle East is a region close to her heart, and the freedom of the persecuted people who live there remains the primary focus of her work.
This topic does not receive much attention in U.S. news, but there is an ethnic cleansing happening in Northern Iraq today, and it has been happening for years.
Since the middle of 2019, more than 300,000 Yazidi people have been displaced from their homes in Syria and have not been able to return due to the repeated and constant airstrikes and attacks from Turkish fighters. These attacks primarily take place in the Sinjar District of northern Iraq, which surrounds Mount Sinjar and is now “home” to thousands of Yazidis and members of the Yazidi Shingal Protection Units (YBS), a place where Turkey knows Iraq will effectively turn a blind eye.
While Turkey considers the YBS close affiliates of the People’s Protection Units in Syria or the Kurdistan Workers Party (groups they consider to be terrorist organizations), there has never been a documented attack from the YBS, nor has there been any implication of future attacks. Nevertheless, Turkey continues to use this as the foundation of their attacks on innocent lives.
Here are a few facts, originally shared by The Jerusalem Post, that can help bring you up to speed on what exactly has been happening:
- Since 2014, more than 30 “mass graves” of Yizidi people have been found
- More than 3,000 Yazidi women have been captured and remain missing to this day
- ISIS has been ‘allowed’ to kill thousands of Yazidis, including women and children, and force thousands more into slavery
- Turkish jets (F-16’s) have target homes of Yazidi villages, often civilians, to wipe them out, seemingly on a monthly basis since 2017
The Yazidi people have been chased out of their homes and villages in Syria, and they have tried to find peace and settlement in northern Iraq. But without the protection of the Iraqi government or the international community, it seems Turkey may continue these attacks until there is no more trace of the Yazidi people – which seems to be their goal. The international community must stand up for the lives of Yazidis living in Northern Iraq, and we must continue to work for the peace of the Middle East and our brothers and sisters around the world.
To stay informed, please visit http://www.theacero.org or http://www.syriacpress.com.
~Nadia Cavner
www.nadiatcavner.com
Leave a Reply