Two Years After Shingal’s Genocide and the International Support is not at the Required Level
Two years have passed since the occupation of Shingal by the terrorist group of ISIL which resulted in the death of thousands of benign Yazidy women, children and men, not to mention thousands who went missing and got enslaved. This onslaught inflicted semi-complete damage to the infrastructure of Shingal in addition to the looting of possessions of our people and pulverization of their houses.
In commemoration of the second anniversary of Shingal’s crisis, I would like to point out that President Barzani pledged after the first anniversary to liberate Shingal. He delivered on his promise as the city was liberated by Peshmerga forces under direct supervision of him and with the support of American-led coalition forces. Liberation of Shinagl was the revival of hope for us Yazidies but repercussions of Shingal’s plight will last for years because of the unhurried provision of assistance by the international and United Nations organizations and because of the unfulfilled promises of the diplomatic delegations from the western countries and others whose vows are left unkept on the ground, contrary to our expectations. Thousands of our people are now living in camps resisting heat and cold and suffer from the lack of health care and food items. Furthermore, thousands of families seek the cadavers of their lost ones, others inquire about their missing ones from those who survive the captivity of the so-called Islamic State. As for survivors, they face the same destiny as others. They are in dire need of psycho-social and financial support to overcome this ordeal and to be reintegrated into the society. The sufferings of the still kidnapped ones under ISIS are revealed to us through the stories of survivors who have been subjected to various types of physical and psychological humiliation in addition to the blatant breach of their rights as they were treated as slaves in the 21st century! It rests with the International Community to support Yazidies who have been exposed to the most ferocious military campaign in their contemporary history. This campaign aimed for the complete extermination and uprooting of Yazidies but the will and determination of our people outweighed the filthy wishes and plots of our enemies. To regard what befell Yazidies constitute genocide is not a reward by the International Community to Yazidies but it is rather their right as they have suffered decapitation, mass killings, deportation, plundering, abduction, and faced the imposition of another religion on their captives which runs counter to all humanitarian norms and values. We, therefore, call upon the International Community and international organizations to
1. Accelerate and coordinate efforts to help our people return home dignified.
2. Liberate the remaining unliberated territories in Shingal, Bashiq, Bahzani and surrounding areas to avoid any potential risks.
3. Multiply efforts to liberate the kidnapped as soon as possible as their families await them no matter how long it takes and they will be received lukewarmly.
This crisis pained and is still paining our hearts but it does not preclude us from expressing our profound and sincere gratitude to the people and leadership of Kurdistan who generously extended the hand of help during the crisis. Despite the dire economic crisis KRG encountered, Kurdistan’s Government provided all that was possible to alleviate the sufferings of our displaced people. We, moreover, would like to thank Mr. Nechirvan Barzani and his cabinet who spared no effort contacting our friend, peace-loving and economically powerful countries to financially support Kurdistan as part of that support was allocated for our displaced population. It is to be noted that Shingal’s budget has unfortunately been stopped three years ago by the central government of Baghdad despite the desperate need for that. We can conclude that those who perpetrated the crime of invading Shinagl were after achieving some goals of which was tearing apart the Kurdish community and expelling Yazidies from their homeland but thanks to the wisdom of President Barazni and the courage of Peshmerga, this evil scheme was foiled. Here, we ascertain that never shall we give up on our Kurdish identity, the homeland of our ancestors, our sanctities, nor shall we under any circumstances do away with our beloved Kurdistan of which we are an original historical component. We are completely confident that the sun-centered flag of Kurdistan will prevail against the black flag of tyranny, darkness, destruction, and backwardness. With the advent of any anniversary of Shingal’s catastrophe, we would like to see some achievements in favor of the victims’ families and then in the interest of all IDPs whose case we hope to be closed after securing their areas and reconstruction of the collapsed infrastructure there to avoid any danger. This is to help us all work for achieving the wish of Kurdistan’s independence and stability, even if it is not some time soon. Blessed be the souls of martyrs of Shingal, glory and mortality for Peshemerga, freedom for our kidnapped, and shame and disgrace for the terrorist IS.
High Corporation of Lalish Cultural and Social Center
August, 2nd, 2016.
2-8-2014
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