Who are the Yazidis?
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to violence, sexual assault, and violence against children. Please take care while reading.
Art credit: Denise Kohi
At Yazidi Legal Network (YLN), we aim to empower and support the Yazidi in their struggles to access justice for the crimes committed by ISIS in 2014. We do so by building bridges between the Yazidi community and domestic and international justice mechanisms. An essential part of this mission is to ensure that a wider audience is aware of the Yazidis and their culture and history. This blog is the place where you can find such information. Here, we share information about the Yazidis, the work of Yazidi Legal Network, and the people behind the organisation.
Who are the Yazidis?
The Yazidis are an ethno-religious minority originally concentrated around the mountainous region of Sinjar in northern Iraq, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria. They are one of many religious minorities in Iraq, with estimates putting the global numbers of Yazidis at roughly 700.000. The Yazidi speak a language called Kurmanji (Ezidiki in Armenia), but many Yazidis also speak Arabic. Yazidis are people who have been misunderstood since time immemorial, as they have repeatedly faced oppression and violence because of their beliefs. The Yazidi call it a "firman" when the majority culture decides to deprive them of their land. According to them, the 2014 genocide perpetrated by ISIS was the 74th firman in their history.
Yezidism
The Yazidi follow a religion called Yezidism, one of the longest surviving ancient religions in the world. Yazidis once had a holy book, but it was destroyed in one of the "firmans". Because of this, Yezidism changed to a primarily oral tradition based on the reasoning no one can take your memory from you. Despite being one of the world's oldest religions, Yazidis have accustomed their beliefs and traditions to those surrounding them. Yazidis in Sinjar accustomed themselves to the Arabic tradition, those in northern Iraq to the Kurdish traditions, and similarly in Armenia to Armenian traditions.
It is impossible to convert to Yezidism; one can only be born into it. Yazidis believe that God entrusted the world to seven angels, the most important being the angel Taus Melek. The story goes that all seven angels were told by God to bow for Adam and Eve, but Taus Melek refused because he would only bow to God, as God had ordered before. God then sets Taus Melek to govern the Earth in God's place. It is their belief in the angel Taus Melek that has led to the century-long persecution of Yazidis. Other religions have seen the story of the angel Taus Melek as similar to the story of Satan, which is why Yazidis have been wrongly perceived as devil worshippers throughout history. ISIS used the perception of Yazidis as devil worshippers to justify the atrocities perpetrated against them in 2014.
The Genocide in 2014
On August 3rd 2014, ISIS started a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi community in Sinjar in northern Iraq. It is believed that close to 10.000 Yazidis were either killed or kidnapped during the attacks. Almost all Yazidis who were not murder or kidnapped in the villages fled to nearby Mount Sinjar, where they remained trapped without food and water for days until Syrian Kurdish forces managed to open a humanitarian corridor down to Kurdish areas. Despite the humanitarian corridor, many people remained trapped on the mountain, and many died from hunger, thirst or exhaustion. Estimates say that around 3.000 Yazidis were killed or died from lack of water or food during the attacks.
In addition to those who died during the attacks, 7.000 Yazidi women and children were enslaved and brutalised by ISIS fighters, and many were victims of sexual assault. Reports from survivors document torture, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and forced religious conversion. Among those kidnapped during the attacks, roughly 3000 are still missing. In the area surrounding Mount Sinjar, there are still many mass graves that are yet to be investigated.
The Aftermath and Yazidis Today
The Yazidi community of Sinjar has been completely devastated by the ISIS attacks of 2014. Of the roughly 400.000 strong community of the Sinjar region, not a single Yazidi remained in the aftermath of the attack. They had all been either displaced, captured, or killed. ISIS intentionally left explosive devices behind to hinder their return. Many Yazidis still live in IDP camps (camps for internally displaced people). Some Yazidis have since returned to Sinjar to rebuild their communities where this was possible to the north of the mountain. The south of the mountain is still nearly impossible to return to because of the mines and destruction.
Survivors of the attacks, kidnapping and sexual slavery struggle with trauma, depression and other mental illnesses. While some psychological support is available, access is limited. Over 1000 women and children are undergoing trauma therapy under a government-run programme in Germany.
There is also profound anger and disappointment with the international community due to the slow and reluctant action to rescue Yazidis still held by ISIS. After the defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the focus on the Yazidi community has diminished, and efforts to rescue girls missing since 2014 have declined. The Yazidi community does not see the attack in August 2014 as a stand-alone event but part of long historical oppression and violence against them. The repeated attacks and oppression of Yazidis have led to transgenerational trauma across the Yazidi community.
In addition to this, Yazidis fear for the future. Having lost faith that local authorities will protect them against future atrocities, they are now turning towards the international community. Still, there is limited trust that the international community can help bring justice for the crimes committed against them. To this day, the Yazidi diaspora remains scattered in countries worldwide, with large immigrant communities in Germany, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Canada, the US, and Australia.
The Work of Yazidi Legal Network
Yazidi Legal Network is an initiative launched in 2019 to create a victim-centred and justice-oriented response to the 2014 genocide against the Yazidi people in Sinjar. The Yazidi community, through our ambassadors, direct our work according to their needs. We help the Yazidi achieve recognition of and accountability for international crimes committed by ISIS through investigation, documentation, training, capacity building, and advocacy. The core of our work is building bridges between the Yazidi community and domestic and international justice mechanisms. We also work closely together with fellow NGOs focussing on helping the Yazidis.
Follow this blog to learn more about the Yazidis and the work of Yazidi Legal Network. You can show your support through sharing, donations, volunteering or by becoming a partner.
Sources:
Asher-Schapiro A. (2014, Aug 11). Who are the Yazidis, the ancient persecuted religious minority struggling to survive in iraq? National Geographic. Retrieved March 2st, 2021 from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/140809-iraq-yazidis-minority-isil-religion-history
Cetorelli, V. and Ashraph, S. (2019). A demographic documentation of ISIS’s attack on theYazidi village of Kocho. LSE Middle East Centre reports. LSE Middle East Centre, London, UK.
Christine A. (2004). Yazidis 1: General. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://iranicaonline.org/articles/yazidis-i-general-1
Jalabi, R. (2014, Aug 11). Who are the yazidis and why is ISIS hunting them. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/who-yazidi-isis-iraq-religion-ethnicity-mountains
Kenyon, P. (2014, Aug 8). Embattled Yazidis say they are now enduring atrocity no. 74. NPR. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/08/18/341403231/embattled-yazidis-say-they-are-now-enduring-atrocity-no-74?t=1616241084742
London School of Economics. (2017, May 5). LSE survey shows the extent of ISIS violence against Yazidis in Iraq. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2017/05-May-2017/LSE-survey-shows-the-extent-of-ISIS-violence-against-Yazidis-in-Iraq
Norwegian Refugee Council. (2018, Dec). Five things you should know about the Yazidis. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/december/five-things-you-should-know-about-the-yazidis/
Norwegian Refugee Council. Rape as a weapon of war. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.nrc.no/shorthand/stories/rape-as-a-weapon-ofwar/index.htmlfbclid=IwAR2b6e_mbtisa_ 36gnBt8rg RfVK8 G4 emLzyym3g2J JxfsfqY73HWUKUvVME
OHCHR. (2016, June 16). UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: ISIS is committing genocide against the Yazidis. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=20113&LangID=E
UN News. (2016, June 16). UN Human Rights Panel Concludes ISIL committed genocide against Yazidis. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/06/532312-un-human-rights-panel-concludes-isil-committing-genocide-against-yazidis
UN Security Council. (2016, June 15). They came to destroy: ISIS crimes against the Yazidis. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/A_HRC_32_CRP.2_en.pdf
Yazda. The Yazidi case. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.yazda.org/yazidi-case
Yazidi Cultural Heritage Project. (2009). History. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from https://www.yazidiculturalheritage.com/ history/
Yezidis International. (2015). About the Yezidi people: Glossary. Retrieved March 21st, 2021 from http://www.yezidisinternational.org/abouttheyezidipeople/glossary/