Kurdistan: Shelter Now continues to provide aid for Yazidi refugees

Support began after the massacres in Sinjar ten years ago The international Christian relief organization Shelter Now continues to stand by the Yazidi refugees in northern Iraq. Ten years after the genocide committed by the IS terror militia against the Yazidis, at least 200,000 displaced people are still living in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan. “Shelter Now has been helping these people since autumn 2014,” explains Matthias Stechert, the German director of the aid organization. “We want continue to give them hope and a perspective for the future.” Shelter Now has used around 1.35 million euros in donations for aid projects there so far. August 3 marks the tenth anniversary of the massacre of the Yazidis in the Sinjar region. Shelter Now immediately decided to help the displaced people. According to the Shelter Now director, they are still living in vulnerable conditions in the camps. Despite this, returning home is not an option for many. The situation there is too unstable and threatening. The aid for the Yazidis began with the distribution of blankets and kerosene heaters as well as a temporary school in Erbil. In other places, refugees were supported with food, hygiene articles, water filters and winter clothing. In Suleimaniya, for example, families received live poultry – to improve the nutritional situation and as a source of income. Children were given fresh fruit in the winter months. The trend is now towards long-term support: in 2018, a trauma recovery center for girls and women enslaved by IS began to be set up in Baadre. There, they have a safe space to share their experiences, learn crafts, play sports and make music. “The experience weighs heavily on the women,” says Lena, the center’s director. Trauma can only be dealt with with systematic and long-term support. As Lina reports, the employees have just completed several years of psychological training in order to be able to help the victims of abuse even better. A Montessori children’s center, also in Baadre, has been a great success. Following an expansion, 300 young guests from the nearby refugee camp come here every day for learning courses, sports and fun activities. Ten years ago, up to 10,000 Yazidis were murdered by IS, and more than 6,000 women and children were kidnapped and enslaved. 400,000 people fled to the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan. The Yazidis are being discriminated as “infidels” by parts of the Muslim majority.