Gender Equality Iraq Project #21522

Yezidi Women's Services

by Free Yezidi Foundation

Project Report | Dec 31, 2020
FYF Monthly Newsletter - December 2020

By Pari Ibrahim | Executive Director

FYF Monthly Newsletter - December 2020

Yezidi child celebrating the holiday, December 2020 (photo obtained with informed consent of child and legal guardian)

Dear friends,

We at the Free Yezidi Foundation wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. Yezidis also celebrate an important holiday in December: Ida Ezid. According to tradition Yezidis fast for three days and then celebrate the holiday. Despite the suffering of the community, families do their best to mark this holiday occasion, even from tents in the IDP camps or from the huts or unfinished buildings where they live. At the same time, we wish those celebrating other religious holidays in December a pleasant holiday season.

December 9th marked the International Day of Commemoration & Dignity of the Victims of Genocide. FYF issued the following statement: "On the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of Genocide, FYF points to the promises made a long time ago that appear to have been forgotten. We need to ensure and reiterate that never again means never again. Justice for survivors of a genocide brings back some hope that they had lost in humanity. Around the world, there must be action, so survivors can believe in a system that will protect the most vulnerable. The lives of the next generation depend on decisions and actions that take place now. Impunity today will have deleterious consequences tomorrow."

Yezidi genocide survivors in August 2014 (photos Sebastian Meyer)

As the year comes to a close, FYF is wrapping up its 2020 trauma portfolio and preparing for service provision in 2021. Similarly, new elements of justice efforts, including continued and expanded collaboration with UNITAD, will be forthcoming in the new year. Operations will be continuing at the FYF Women's and Children's Centers, at our base of operations in Sheikhan, and through our mobile team in Shariya. FYF remains concerned by the spread of the COVID-19 virus not only in the camp but also in areas of Shingal which are still lacking adequate health and service provision for civilians. FYF and many other Yezidi and international actors are putting forth best efforts to warn all members of the community about the danger of COVID-19 and share prevention measures that can be taken.

FYF courtesy visit with Ido Baba Sheikh, who died recently due to COVID-19 complications. He and his late brother, the former Baba Sheikh and Yezidi religious leader, were pillars of strength and wisdom in the Yezidi community. FYF urges all Yezidis, especially in the camps, to wear masks for protection against the COVID-19 pandemic.

FYF is beginning to recruit trainees / beneficiaries for its Bakery Training Center, to begin classes and operations in 2021. The purpose of the Center is to provide the trainees with business and basic math courses, bakery training, and on-site practice working in and establishing a functioning business. The skills to be taught are transferrable to other locations and other businesses. If and when beneficiaries return to Sinjar, they will have gained some skills and tools to improve their economic opportunities in the future.

FYF Women's Center Graduation on 7 December 2020

On 7 December, FYF Women's Center beneficiaries graduated. This was the reaction from one graduate, Almas*: "My life has changed a lot after attending classes at FYF's Women's Center. I did not know how to sew and knit before, but since attending classes [here] I have been able to produce many different garments. Attending those classes helped me a lot: psychologically, mentally, and financially. In addition, I opened my own business. It is small, but it makes me feel happy and strong."

Finally, we ask our friends to bear in mind the forthcoming winter and the difficult conditions facing Yezidis living in and out of IDP camps, those who returned to Sinjar, and those living on Mount Sinjar. The bitter cold, danger of tent gas-fires, lack of basic goods and services, and COVID pandemic will make the next months extremely challenging. This is all the more reason to ensure that Yezidis have access to training, education, job opportunities, and a better chance to grow and participate in the modern economy. FYF will be addressing some of these systemic problems in the coming year. In the meantime, we wish strength, resilience, and health to our people through the harsh winter.

IDP camp residents struggle through harsh winters (photo courtesy @Ezidi2)

Finally we have nearly reached our goal for our end of the year fundraising! If you want to make a donation via GlobalGiving, please click here.

Thank you, friends, for your continued solidarity with the Free Yezidi Foundation and the Yezidi people. We wish you a Happy New Year and a prosperous and safe 2021.

Sincerely,

Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation

In the News

RED | De Free Yezidi Foundation probeert hoop te bieden | This article (in Dutch) outlines the Free Yezidi Foundation activities and its impact on its beneficiaries.

Kurdistan-24 | Prominent Yezidi Activist Ido Baba Sheikh Dies from COVID-19 | This article quotes Yezidi leaders and organizations, including the Free Yezidi Foundation, in lamenting the passing of Ido Baba Sheikh.

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Dec 1, 2020
Newsletter - November 2020 - Friends

By Pari Ibrahim | Executive Director

FYF Monthly Newsletter - November 2020

FYF hand-knitted items, fall / winter 2020Dear friends,

This month our staff members and beneficiaries have been preparing for another winter ahead in the IDP camps. As last year's winter was very cold, our women's center beneficiaries have been making winter products for their family members or for sale in the community. We are anticipating the opening of a formal storefront in the coming months, where FYF will sell hand-crafted items by Yezidi women. Stay tuned for more developments in 2021!

FYF has also been producing thousands of masks and PPE for free distribution in the camps to combat COVID-19. Through a generous grant, FYF has been able to employ local Yezidi women to produce and distribute masks in the IDP camps. We remain extremely concerned by the prospect of COVID-19 spread through the camps and in Sinjar. In both locations, health provisions are low and the risk of spread and danger to vulnerable individuals is very high. We call on all organizations and leaders within the Yezidi community to emphasize the importance of adhering to WHO safety and health guidelines.

Toward the end of November, FYF participated in marking the global effort to highlight the importance of combating gender-based violence, sexual violence, and promotion of women's rights and women's equality. Organizations all over the world are taking 16 days of to highlight activism in this important field, which is also part of all FYF projects. As a women-led organization working with countless survivors of sexual violence and gender-based violence, we call for protection of women in every community in the world, including our own.

FYF Harikara discuss justice and women's rights in an IDP camp

The Free Yezidi Foundation also participated in two discussions hosted by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum this month, highlighting the situation facing Yezidis six years on from the ISIS genocide. FYF's Executive Director and Justice Project Manager participated in the two events.

This month, Samantha Elhassani was sentenced to more than six years in Indiana, United States, for her role in providing material support to a terror organization. The full US Department of Justice press release can be found here.

The Free Yezidi Foundation has been advocating for appropriate criminal charges for all members of ISIS, male or female, in all relevant jurisdictions in response to the genocide perpetrated against Yezidis. The role that all forms of financial, material, and human resource support that were extended to ISIS to help it achieve its ghastly aims - especially the sale, purchase, and rape of Yezidi 'slaves' in the ISIS caliphate - should be prosecuted.

In the News

Al-Monitor | Indiana Woman Gets 6 Years in Prison after Smuggling Cash for the Islamic State | This article quotes FYF comments on the Elhassani case.

Kurdistan-24 | Yezidis Suspicious over Syrian Opposition Leader Visit to Town in Afrin | This article includes comments from FYF on the situation of Yezidis in Afrin.

El Periodico | la Lucha del pueblo Yazidi seis anos despues del genocidio | This article (in Spanish) includes excerpts of an interview with the FYF Executive Director on post-genocide recovery.

Kurdistan-24 | Yezidis Official in KRG Responsible for rescuing Yezidi Awarded with Sergio Vieira De Mello Prize | This article includes the FYF position on continued efforts to rescue kidnapped Yezidis.

Finally, as we enter the Giving season, we again ask you to consider supporting the Free Yezidi Foundation.

Please donate to one of the FYF projects on GlobalGiving. To donate on GlobalGiving click here.

Thank you, friends, for your continued solidarity with the Free Yezidi Foundation and the Yezidi people.

Sincerely,

Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation

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Nov 30, 2020
Support FYF Tomorrow on Giving Tuesday

By Pari Ibrahim | Executive Director

You Can Make a Difference!

Support FYF Tomorrow on Giving Tuesday

FYF beneficiary, Kafia, 2019

Dear friends,

This holiday season, we are highlighting stories of Yezidi staff members and beneficiaries. Here is a reflection from FYF Women's Center beneficiary, Kafia, in 2019:

"When I was younger, in Sinjar, I asked my family why I was not sent to school like all the other girls. My family tried to register me in school, but the school didn’t accept me because I have a disability with my legs. In the IDP camp, I heard about the Free Yezidi Foundation registering women to participate in their projects. They told me they even have bus drivers to pick up women who live far away or are unable to reach the center by themselves. I was not sure if they would accept me because I am not like others, because of my disability. It was the first time I was ever accepted to enroll in classes. I was so happy. I was amazed that people like me could get a chance to get an education. I love learning, especially English and Arabic. I learned so much about women’s rights, and I felt more empowered than ever before. I never expected to be enrolled and equally accepted like everyone else. I will keep trying hard to learn and achieve something, so I can become more independent. I don’t like to be the 'disabled woman' that is a burden on her family or other people."

Kafia has been an IDP since August 2014, like many others from Sinjar. Life is generally very difficult for IDPs, but those with disabilities can face considerably more hardship.

FYF beneficiary, Kafia, prepares for her future role as a paid FYF Children's Center helper

The Free Yezidi Foundation offers courses at our women’s center regardless of beneficiaries’ prior educational experience or capabilities. Two core values at the FYF Women’s Center are inclusion and resilience. No one has taken those values to heart more than Kafia. In 2019 Kafia registered to take classes at the center for the first time, where she blossomed into a star student. Now, she is preparing to work as a helper in the FYF Children’s Center.

“As a girl I never had dreams for my future. Today I am excited by my future and I have the right to get an education just like the other women. I can do something with my life. I have new dreams, especially to work with children and earn an income for my family.”

Kafia told us that FYF embracing her as a person, rather than focusing on her disability, has given her a newfound confidence that has inspired her. Kafia wants the world to know that people with disabilities, if given a chance, can do great things. “We can support our family and have something to offer the community. We can contribute."

On Giving Tuesday we ask you, our friends and donors, to consider supporting the Free Yezidi Foundation. Our provision of care, education, treatment, and services for vulnerable and disenfranchised members of the Yezidi community is possible because of people like you.

*This story and associated photos have been published with permission and informed consent from Kafia and her legal guardian*

Please donate to one of the FYF projects on GlobalGiving. To donate on GlobalGiving click here.

Thank you, friends, for your continued solidarity with the Free Yezidi Foundation and the Yezidi people.

Sincerely,

Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation

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