“All I Want To Say Is That They Don’t Really Care About Us.”

On August 3, 2014 ISIS launched a genocidal attack against the Yazidi people living in the Sinjar district of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of lives were forever changed: over 7,000 people were kidnapped, an estimated 2,000-5,500 people were killed, and 85% of the Yazidi are now displaced and scattered around the world.[1] The Yazidi’s homes have been destroyed, they have fled their homeland, and they are experiencing a loss of identity, loss of culture, and a mental health crisis. What can be done to help them preserve their culture and rebuild? 

This article will be divided into 3 parts. It will contain background information on the Yazidi and their culture, what has happened to them since the most recent genocidal attack in 2014, and finally what should be done going forward to help them preserve their culture, both locally and internationally.

Who are the Yazidi?

A peaceful Kurdish-speaking people, the Yazidi has historically lived predominantly in what is modern day Iraq, Turkey, and Syria until August of 2014. They practice their own religion, Yazidism, a syncretic faith which is arguably the oldest practiced monotheistic religion in the world.[2] It is comprised of aspects borrowed from Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and other ancient religions once practiced in Mesopotamia.[3] Lalish, a 4,000 year-old-city, the holiest site for the Yazidi, is believed to be where Noah’s Ark landed after the Great Flood.[4] Here the Yazidi do not wear shoes, as it is tradition to walk barefoot.[5]  Within the sacred complex lies the tomb of Shaykh ?Adī, who is said to have created the rules of the Yazidi faith. Every Yazidi tries to make a pilgrimage to Lalish for this reason.[6] I will be referencing Lalish again later in this paper with how it relates now to the survivors of the most recent genocidal attack.

The Yazidi’s God, Xwedê, is said to have made the world and 7 angels; the head angel, Taw?sê Melek, was the first angel created by Xwedê, whose goal was to make the Earth beautiful, and so he blanketed the land in a myriad of color. This is why he’s often depicted as a peacock and referred to as the “Peacock Angel.”[7] Taw?sê Melek is actually the reason behind the persecution of the Yazidi people, and why they have experienced 74 episodes of genocide over the centuries. The oral histories of the Yazidi asseverate that after Xwedê created Taw?sê Melek, Xwedê instructed him to never concede to other beings. As a test, Xwedê created Adam and demanded that Taw?sê Melek bow before Adam, to which he refused, as Xwedê had told him to not acquiesce to other beings. 

Because Taw?sê Melek followed Xwedê’s orders, Xwedê rewarded him by making him his representative on Earth. The action of Taw?sê Melek in defying Xwedê’s order has often been viewed as dissenting, as in the Islamic religion, Satan refused to bow to Adam and was cast into Hell, thus creating the belief that the Yazidi are in fact devil worshipers. Because of this misconception, the Yazidi do not utter the word Satan or acknowledge him, as they fear even acknowledgement would create more persecution by misconceived association.[8] According to Kurdish political expert Thomas Schmidinger, “to this day, many Muslims consider them to be devil worshippers. So, in the face of religious persecution, Yazidis have concentrated in strongholds located in remote mountain regions.”[9]

           Prior to the most recent genocidal attack in 2014, the Yazidi community was structured within a strict social caste system divided between two religious factions, the sheikhs & p?rs, and the mur?ds, who are the “ordinary” members of their society.[10] The Yazidi were only allowed to marry within their caste, and marriage to someone who was not a follower of Yazidism was not allowed. Since this most recent attack, however, exceptions are now being made to allow Yazidi within different castes marry.[11] One of the most important cultural facets of the Yazidi is that Yazidism isn’t a scriptural religion. The sheikhs historically were the only ones who could read and write, and any texts that exist from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are fake, glamorous histories and records of the faith that were written by outsiders. In 1977 a few of the sacred texts were published, and since that time there have been a few other printed texts that were created. It is speculated that the Yazidi who still remain in Sinjar may create more written texts since the community has become so displaced and younger generations want to read about their religion. The fear though is that much of the old oral history may be lost in being written.[12] The religious leaders, however, have begun to allow displaced Yazidi abroad to begin to record the histories and oral traditions and put them into “The Black Book” as it has come to be called.[13] It is noteworthy, however, that “educated” Yazidi are now calling for the Yazidi histories and texts to be written based on scientific facts, rather than sounding like something out of a fairy tale.[14]

2014 Attack

           August 3, 2014 will be a day that no Yazidi forgets. ISIS fighters invaded Sinjar and began to carry out a premeditated plan of mass genocide, rape, and forced sexual enslavement. In the eyes of ISIS, the world would be better without the Yazidi, it is their duty to kill disbelieving men, and to “save” the women by enslaving them to bring them to Islam.[15] Over 1,000 Yazidi were murdered, and 200,000 civilians were forced to flee into the mountains and the desert, stranded without access to food and water. US forces, along with Peshmerga military forces were called in to try and help give aid to those fleeing.[16] There are different estimates published on the number of women and children who were forced into slavery, but most are between 6,000 and 7,000. These women and children were “enslaved and transported to Isis prisons, military training camps, and the homes of fighters across eastern Syria and western Iraq, where they were raped, beaten, sold, and locked away.”[17] According to Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and escaped sexual violence survivor, over 3,000 Yazidi women and children are still missing 5 years later.[18]

           Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (CRSGBV) is defined by NATO as “Any sexual and/or gender-based violence against an individual or group of individuals, used or commissioned in relation to a crisis or an armed conflict.”[19] ISIS purposefully and swiftly carried out one of the worst cases of CRSGBV in recent years. Nadia Murad states that, “Rape was used to destroy women and girls and to guarantee that these women could never lead a normal life again.”[20] Because of this, the Yazidi women are afraid to return home.

No Place Like Home: Destruction and Displacement

Over 85% of Sinjar was destroyed by ISIS and it is now a desolate town.[21] When ISIS launched their attack in 2014 they purposefully targeted and destroyed Yazidi cultural and religious sites throughout Sinjar. To make matters worse, ISIS booby-trapped and laid land mines around these sites so if and when the Yazidi were to attempt to rebuild, many more lives would be taken. Forensic Architecture has been in collaboration with the Yazidi community remaining to try and help survey and record the damage.[22] These sites were also purposely used as mass graves by ISIS. Drones and helium balloons are now being used to collect the evidence of the genocide against ISIS. Unfortunately, with each passing day, the evidence is slowly wearing away.[23] University of Pennsylvania archaeologists are also working to undo the destruction by ISIS one heritage site at a time.[24] 

 [25]

In spite of ISIS destroying 68 Yazidi shrines and places of worship, Lalish was spared.[26]  Many of the women who were enslaved by ISIS are going on a pilgrimage to wash themselves in water there. This ritual is seen as wiping away their pasts and will allow them to return to the Yazidi community.[27] 

Iraq’s National Reconciliation Committee is working to rebuild Sinjar’s infrastructure to try and encourage displaced Yazidis to return home, and then are planning on addressing potential social obstacles that the Yazidi may face when returning to the area.[28] The issue with this is that the Yazidi do not want to return without their shrines being rebuilt. According to Baba Sheikh, the current head of the Yazidi faith:

“In Sinjar there are now around 100,000 people living in the area, according to statistics of the Iraqi State, yet so far they have not rebuilt the shrines, which sets a poor and dangerous precedent. For if they do not rebuild the shrine which were destroyed by ISIS, they will be forgotten over time and the existence of the Yazidis in these areas will be forgotten. Therefore I strongly support the rebuilding of Yazidi shrines, as the presence of these shrines and temples serves to preserve the Yazidi culture in these areas.”[29]

           There are currently 4,000 people living on Sinjar mountain in tents because of the remaining damage, and many of the tents they live in are made of plastic from US airlifts in 2014. They feel forgotten.[30] I would also like to note that the displacement and diaspora of the Yazidi is also a major threat to their self-identities and culture. The “cohesion of the Yazidi community has been significantly affected and there is considerable risk that Yazidi cultural identity and the memories and practices central to their ancient culture will disappear forever.”[31]

           When ISIS invaded, they were sure to destroy everything of cultural importance, including all musical instruments that were left behind. They knew that the tambur was one of the holiest of instruments that only talented Yazidi were allowed to play, so rather than take the tamburs that they found, they smashed them and left them as a message that they want to destroy everything about Yazidi culture that they can.[32] The talented musicians who played the sacred instruments, called qewwals, kept the hymns of the Yazidi secret for hundreds of years by not writing them down, so not much is known about their music. Before the attack in 2014, there were rumored to be approximately only 12 of these musicians remaining, and the exact number now is uncertain.[33] Without the music of their ancestors that only these select few knew, how will the Yazidi be able to even preserve their personal identities?

Destroyed Identity & Mental Health Crisis

Many of the displaced survivors are now apathetic to their religious traditions and way of life; all they care about now is just surviving. One Yazidi woman, whose name was changed to protect her identity, states: “I don’t care what will happen to the Yazidi identity in the future, or if all Yazidis live in foreign countries.”[34] Approximately 80% of Yazidi need some form of mental health treatment. There is an alarmingly high growing suicide rate, as many survivors are suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and clinical depression.[35] Psychologists and social workers are having to adapt and adopt new psychotherapy and psychoeducational practices in order to help many of the displaced survivors, especially since within the Yazidi culture, rape and sexuality are never discussed openly. Narrative therapy is helping the survivors to open up since the Yazidi are more primitive story tellers.[36] Some therapists are also looking into helping the Yazidi through art and music. Beating drums helps release anger, while expressing themselves through art has proven to be successful since many never learned to read and write.[37] The issue with this though, from a cultural standpoint, is that they’re not learning how to play music on their traditional instruments, so while they may be healing through music, their traditional culture is still becoming obsolete because ISIS destroyed their traditional instruments that only a select few knew how to play. Perhaps more focus needs to be put on finding if and where there are any qewwals and to have them come to sing to the women, and not only that, but teach them how to play the musical instruments and learn their sacred hymns so that they can pass them on to future generations. 

[38]

Another obstacle is that Iraq is lacking psychologists, therapists, and psychiatrists.[39] According to Yazidi Dr. Mirza Dinnayi, “there’s roughly one psychologist or social worker for every 300,000 people in Iraq.”[40] A recent 4-year study performed shows that more than 50% of women held in captivity are suffering from what has been classified as complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or C-PTSD. C-PTSD “is conceived to be a more deeply-rooted disorder that affects the very core of one’s self-organization.”[41] Dr. Yaakov Hoffman of Bar-Ilan University, who led the study, has been stressing that the women who are suffering from C-PTSD will require intensive therapy than those suffering from PTSD, as they do not feel safe, and not having an actual home is also having an effect on them.[42] 

           International journalists have also contributed to mental health issues. Many women have reported that the way they were interviewed about their experiences by the journalists prompted psychosomatic responses, and that they felt pressured to speak about the horrors they encountered. While some felt better about speaking about what had happened to them, they felt a sense of “betrayal” because they thought the journalists reporting would help bring aid, but to no avail.[43] Many of the women suffering have had to give up their children who were conceived during the time they were in captivity.

The Children of Rape

           The Yazidi are currently torn into two factions, the modernizers who are willing to welcome back the women who were taken captive and who gave birth to ISIS militants’ children, and traditionalists who are only willing to allow the women to return to the community, forcing them to leave their children behind. In April of this year, the Yazidi Spiritual Council gave an edict that many Yazidi interpreted to mean the women and their children would be welcome into the community, but several days later they recanted, saying it was just for the children born of Yazidi parents prior to the recent genocidal attack. According to Cathy Otten of Foreign Policy, some of the families have rebelled and welcomed back the women and their children.[44] But many cannot welcome these children into the Yazidi community, as they cannot accept letting go of the traditional Yazidi belief that religion passes through the patrilineal line. Article 26 of the Iraqi constitution states: “a child born to a Muslim father, or an unknown father, must be registered as Muslim—and that act of registration automatically also changes the mother’s faith to Islam.”[45] This line though is in contradiction of Article 2 of the constitution which states, “ This constitution guarantees the preservation of the Islamic identity of a majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to free beliefs and religious practices such as Christians, Sabean Madaee, and Yazidis.”[46] The parliament of Iraq needs to consider changing the constitution because of what has been happening within their country at the hands of ISIS, as “it’s a further genocide by constitution.”[47] Supposedly, the Iraqi parliament is thinking about writing a law that would allow these other religious leaders to decide what the children’s faiths will be, according to a member from Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights, Ali Albayati.[48]

What should be taken into consideration by the Yazidi spiritual council is that the fate of the Yazidi could rest on becoming a matrilineal society, due to the number of men who were executed, the loss of the qewwals, and the displacement that has ensued. Take Judaism, for example. Harvard University professor Shaye Cohen found that “matrilineal descent evolved from an original policy of patrilineal descent.”[49] Since Yazidism draws from Judaism, why couldn’t this be a possibility? There is also the option of becoming an ambilineal society, which is a society that follows either just a child’s mother’s side of the family or the father’s, “depending on the situation.”[50] This type of situation should be acknowledged by the spiritual leaders, and I feel one of these two options could very well be their best chance of preserving their culture. If the Yazidi women can make a pilgrimage to Lalish to bathe in holy White Spring and be born again,[51] why can’t their children be baptized into the Yazidi culture of their mothers?  The Yazidi have had influences from Christianity in the past, and this could be another. Wouldn’t the Yazidi leaders prefer to try raising these children to be peaceful, loving Yazidi, rather than brainwashed ISIS child soldiers and militants who could very well one day seek retribution and lead another mass genocide? Jan Ilhan Kizilhan states it best, saying: “Renewals, reforms and changes must not necessarily be negative or problematical experiences.”[52]

What Has Been Done

           Though many have feared to speak out about the most recent genocidal attack, Nadia Murad has taken on the role of spokeswoman for the Yazidi. She and Yazda, a global Yazidi organization, have been seeking justice for the Yazidi by trying to have the ISIS fighters who engaged in genocidal acts held accountable for their crimes. Unfortunately, the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction within Iraq, so there is a bit of a stalemate as far as the legal proceedings.[53] In addition, she has been fighting for healthcare, Yazidi representation within Iraq’s security forces, development initiatives, and helping with the local governance of Sinjar.[54] She also works tirelessly to promote her organization “Nadia’s Initiative” to help with the reconstruction efforts needed in Sinjar as well as a survivors action response program to help survivors of CRSGBV.[55] But Nadia is only one woman, and while she has become the spokeswoman for the Yazidi, she shouldn’t have to do it all on her own.          Philippa Greer, an attorney for the UN, has spoken at length about the Yazidi genocide, and that the Yazidi women “[…] will continue to be at risk while they are unrepresented, unprotected, denied full access to education and unable to meaningfully participate in the peace, security and governance arenas.[56] In a recent podcast through CNN, and speaking in a personal capacity, Philippa gave a brief history of the Yazidi, and how they are not getting the assistance that they need right now in order to rebuild and move forward. There isn’t any justice for them, and what they require the most is a backing from the international community.[57]

           While the Yazidi have found champions of their plight in the form of Nadia Murad and Philippa Greer, their next steps in how they determine to move forward will impact hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. Since they do not have religious texts and written textual edicts, is it out of the question that they make an exception for these children borne of rape so that they can come home with their mothers? The best way to solve this issue would be to adapt and consider becoming a matrilineal or ambilineal society. They could change Yazidi history and write this caveat into law. The Yazidi should also appeal to the Iraqi parliament that the Iraqi constitution be adapted to ensure that this generation of children are not forced into a life of Islam. But at the root of all of this, what really needs to be addressed, is the stigmatization that the survivors are facing. In order for the Yazidi culture to survive, and for Iraq to rebuild after the path of destruction that ISIS has wreaked across the country, women will need a seat at the table and to be involved at every stage, or there will be an even greater diaspora of people leaving the country, and the Yazidi may face yet another string of violent, genocidal attacks. Without their women, and without preserving their culture and ancient beliefs by adapting, the Yazidi could very well become extinct. It is time for the Yazidi women to be able to learn their songs, how to play the traditional instruments, be able to write, and to have a say in whether or not they raise their children to be Yazidi.

Works Cited

Abouzeid, Rania.  “When the weapons fall silent: Reconciliation in Sinjar after ISIS.” European Council on Foreign Relations, 2018-2019. https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/when_the_weapons_fall_silent_reconciliation_in_sinjar_after_isis. 

A?ikyildiz, Birgül. “The Sanctuary of Shaykh ?Adī at Lalish: Centre of Pilgrimage of the Yezidis.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, vol. 72, no. 2, 2009, pp. 301–333. www.jstor.org/stable/40379006. 

Allison, Christine. “The Yazidis.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Jan. 2017, pp. 1-23, https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/36072/ALLISONThe%20YazidisOxfordResearchEncyclopaediaofReligion%C2%A0.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y. 

Arraf, Jane. “Yazidis Remain In Fear On Iraq’s Mount Sinjar After Attempted Genocide.” NPR, 29 Mar. 2018. https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/03/29/597616117/yazidis-remain-in-fear-on-iraqs-mount-sinjar-after-attempted-genocide. 

Ayhan, Tutku & GüNE? MURAT TEZCüR. “5 years after Islamic state massacre, an Iraqi minority is transformed by trauma.” Chicago Tribune, 26 Nov. 2019. https://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-five-years-after-islamic-state-massacre-an-iraqi-minority-is-transformed-by-trauma-126917-20191126-story.html. 

Bar-Ilan University. “Yazidi women suffering from high percentage of C-PTSD, new study finds.” Medical Xpress, 31 Jan. 2018. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-yazidi-women-high-percentage-c-ptsd.html. 

Berger, Michele. “A quest to restore cultural heritage in Iraq, one site at a time.” Penn Today, 9 Oct. 2019. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/quest-restore-cultural-heritage-iraq-one-site-time. 

Clark, Meagan. “The Yazidi Community Five Years After Islamic State Massacre.” Religion Unplugged, 3 Aug. 2019. https://religionunplugged.com/news/2019/8/3/qampa-with-dr-widad-akreyi-advocate-for-yazidi-community-five-years-after-sinjar-massacre.

Clay, Rebecca. “Treating Yazidi rape survivors.” American Psychological Association, Sept. 2016. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/09/yazidi-survivors. 

Cuadros, Alex. “Songs from Sinjar.” Lapham’s Quarterly, accessed 16 Dec 2019. https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/music/songs-sinjar.

Dege, Stefan. “Who are the Yazidis?“ Deutsche Welle, 10 April 2018. https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-the-yazidis/a-43324003. 

Doucet, Lyse. “‘Only bones remain’: shattered Yazidis fear returning home.” The Guardian, 9 Sept. 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/09/yazidis-isis-only-bones-remain-fear-returning-home. 

Dozier, Kimberly. “The Caliphate Is Crushed, But ISIS Infants—Innocent, Abandoned, and Despised—Live On.” Pulitzer Center, 24 Mar. 2019. https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/caliphate-crushed-isis-infants-innocent-abandoned-and-despised-live. 

Efrati, Ido. “Yazidi Women Training in Israel to Help Their Community Cope With the Trauma of ISIS.” Haaretz, 6 Jul. 2019. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-yazidi-women-training-in-israel-to-help-their-community-cope-with-the-trauma-of-isis-1.7450648. 

Eislund, Seth. “Yazidism.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 24 June 2019. https://www.ancient.eu/Yazidism/.

Fatah, Khalid. “Children Born of ISIS Violence Stuck in Religious and Legal Limbo.” Navanti Group, 10 Jul. 2019. https://www.navantigroup.com/news-1/2019/7/10/a-generation-without-identity. 

Forensic Architecture. “The Destruction of Yazidi Cultural Heritage.” Forensic Architecture, 20 Sept. 2018. https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-destruction-of-yazidi-cultural-heritage. 

Foster, Johanna. “Voices of Yazidi women: Perceptions of journalistic practices in the reporting on ISIS sexual violence.” Science Direct, Volume 67, March-April 2018, pp. 53-64. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277539517301905. 

Garrahan, Rachel. “How Yazidi Refugees Are Using Drones And Helium Balloons To Collect Evidence of Genocide.” Independent, 16 Sept. 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/how-yazidi-refugees-are-using-drones-and-helium-balloons-to-collect-evidence-of-genocide-a8531661.html. 

Graham-Harrison, Emma. “’I was sold seven times’: the Yazidi women welcomed back into the faith.” The Guardian, 1 Jul. 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/01/i-was-sold-seven-times-yazidi-women-welcomed-back-into-the-faith. 

Greer, Philippa. “To address the plight of the Yazidi women we must look beyond the notion of wartime ‘sex slaves.’” LSE, 12 Oct. 2018. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2018/10/12/to-address-the-plight-of-yazidi-women-we-must-look-beyond-the-notion-of-wartime-sex-slaves/.

Hafiz, Yasmine. “Yazidi Religious Beliefs: History, Facts And Traditions of Iraq’s Persecuted Minority.” HuffPost, 13 Aug. 2014, updated 6 Sept. 2016. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yazidi-religious-beliefs_n_5671903. 

Holland, Rebecca. “Inside Lalish, The Heart of The Yazidi Faith. Independent, 11 May 2017. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/lalish-yazidi-kurdistan-sheikh-adi-ibn-musafir-erbil-peacock-angel-sinjar-isis-a7726486.html. 

Jackson, Michael. “They Don’t Care About Us,” 16 June 1995, track 5 on HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I, Michael Jackson, 1995. CD.

Kizilhan, Jan. “The Yazidi –Religion, Culture and Trauma.” Scientific Research Publishing, Inc., Advances in Anthropology, 15 Nov. 2017, pp. 1-7. https://www.scirp.org/pdf/AA_2017111415123379.pdf. 

Lumen. “Reading: Lines of Descent and Family Stages.” Lumen, accessed 4 Dec 2019. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-lines-of-descent-and-family-stages/. 

Luongo, Michael. “Fighting Back with Faith: Inside the Yazidis’ Iraqi Temple.” The Daily Beast, 12 July 2017. https://www.thedailybeast.com/fighting-back-with-faith-inside-the-yezidis-iraqi-temple. 

Malik, Nikita. “Surviving Islamic State: The Plight of The Yazidi Community.” Forbes, 18 Sept. 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nikitamalik/2018/09/18/surviving-islamic-state-the-plight-of-the-yazidi-community/#6b62f888770d.

Murad, Nadia. “My people were massacred five years ago. The genocide continues.” The Washington Post, 31 July 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/my-people-were-massacred-five-years-ago-the-genocide-continues/2019/07/31/b4ee1352-b24f-11e9-8f6c-7828e68cb15f_story.html. 

My Jewish Learning. “Who Is a Jew: Matrilineal Descent.” My Jewish Learning, accessed 4 Dec 2019. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-matrilineal-descent/. 

Nadia’s Initiative. “About Nadia’s Initiative.” Nadia’s Initiative, 2019. https://nadiasinitiative.org/about/. 

New York Times. “The Culture of Rape Within ISIS, and the Questions that Arise.” The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/world/middleeast/the-culture-of-rape-within-isis-and-the-questions-that-arise.html. 

Nichols, Michelle. “Yazidi woman begs U.N. Security Council to wipe out Islamic State.” Reuters, 16 Dec. 2015. https://www.reuters.com/article/islamic-state-un/yazidi-woman-begs-u-n-security-council-to-wipe-out-islamic-state-idINKBN0TZ33B20151216. 

Nobody’s Listening. Twitter Post. Artist: Nahrin Malki. 15 Dec 2019. https://twitter.com/NbdyListeningVR/status/1206215670523932672. 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Sexual Violence in Conflict.” NATO, Factsheet 2019. https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2019_07/20190709_1907-factsheet-sexual-violence-in-conflict.pdf. 

Open Cultural Center. “Yazidi: The Genocide No One Talks About.” Open Cultural Center, 10 Aug. 2018. https://openculturalcenter.org/yazidi-the-genocide-no-one-talks-about/. 

Otten, Cathy. “A Broken Homecoming.” Foreign Policy, 2 May 2019. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/02/a-broken-homecoming-isis-rape-yazidi/. 

Otten, Cathy. “Slaves of Isis: the long walk of the Yazidi women.” The Guardian, 25 Jul. 2017.  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/slaves-of-isis-the-long-walk-of-the-yazidi-women. 

Rashid International. “Report: Destroying the Soul of the Yazidi.” Rashid International, EAMENA, 2 Aug. 2019, pp. 19, 30. https://rashid-international.org/publications/report-destroying-the-soul-of-the-yazidis/. 

Relief Web. “The Gendering of Genocide: ISIS’s Crimes Against the Yazidis.” Relief Web, 4 Aug. 2016. https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/gendering-genocide-isis-s-crimes-against-yazidis. 

Rudaw. “Yazidi town marks rebuilding of shrine destroyed by ISIS.” Rudaw, 15 Feb. 2017. https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/15022017. 

“Seeking Justice After Genocide in Iraq.” SE Cupp’s Weekend Warriors Podcast, CNN, 13 Sept. 2019. https://podtail.com/en/podcast/se-cupp-s-weekend-warriors/seeking-justice-after-genocide-in-iraq/.

Servant Group International. “Yezidi Theology, Oral Tradition, and Ritual.” Servant Group International, 17 April 2017. https://servantgroup.org/yezidi-theology-oral-tradition-and-ritual/. 

Sp?t, Eszter. “Religious Oral Tradition and Literacy among the Yezidis of Iraq.” Anthropos, vol. 103, no. 2, 2008, pp. 393–403. Accessed 4 Dec 2019. www.jstor.org/stable/40467419.

Vanderbilt Law. “Executive Summary.” Vanderbilt Law, April 2015, pp. 1-18. Accessed 4 Dec 2019. https://law.vanderbilt.edu/academics/academic-programs/international-legal-studies/Yazidi_Genocide_Opinion_KRG_4.15.pdf. 

Vidal, Marta. “Music and art help Yazidi genocide survivors to health.” Equal Times, 1 July 2019. https://www.equaltimes.org/music-and-art-help-yazidi-genocide?lang=en#.XfrEcuhKjIV.

Westcott, Tom. “Iraq’s Yazidi survivors fight to start over.” The New Humanitarian, 2 Sept. 2019. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2019/09/02/Iraq-Yazidi-survivors-fight. 

“Why Daesh Destroyed Yazidis’ Musical Instruments.” The Kurdistan Tribune, 2 Oct. 2016. https://kurdistantribune.com/why-daesh-destroyed-yazidis-musical-instruments/.

Yezidis International. “Religion.” Yezidis International, 2015. Accessed 4 Dec 2019. https://www.yezidisinternational.org/abouttheyezidipeople/religion/. 

[1] Nikita Malik, “Surviving Islamic State: The Plight of the Yazidi Community,” Forbes, 18 Sept. 2018, accessed 4 Dec. 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nikitamalik/2018/09/18/surviving-islamic-state-the-plight-of-the-yazidi-community/#6b62f888770d. 

[2] Seth Eislund, “Yazidism,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 24 June 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.ancient.eu/Yazidism/.   

[3] Stefan Dege, “Who are are the Yazidis?“ Deutsche Welle, 10 April 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-the-yazidis/a-43324003. 

[4] Rebecca Holland, “Inside Lalish, The Heart of The Yazidi Faith,” Independent, 11 May 2017, accessed 4 Dec. 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/lalish-yazidi-kurdistan-sheikh-adi-ibn-musafir-erbil-peacock-angel-sinjar-isis-a7726486.html. 

[5] Michael Luongo, “Fighting Back with Faith: Inside the Yazidis’ Iraqi Temple,” The Daily Beast, 12 July 2017, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.thedailybeast.com/fighting-back-with-faith-inside-the-yezidis-iraqi-temple. 

[6] Birgül A?ikyildiz, “The Sanctuary of Shaykh ?Adī at Lalish: Centre of Pilgrimage of the Yezidis,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, vol. 72, no. 2, 2009, pp. 301–333. JSTOR, accessed 4 Dec 2019, www.jstor.org/stable/40379006. 

[7] Yezidis International, “Religion.” Yezidis International, 2015, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.yezidisinternational.org/abouttheyezidipeople/religion/. 

[8] Seth Eislund, “Yazidism,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 24 June 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.ancient.eu/Yazidism/. 

[9]Yasmine Hafiz, “Yazidi Religious Beliefs: History, Facts and Traditions of Iraq’s Persecuted Minority,” HuffPost, 13 Aug. 2014, updated 6 Sept. 2016, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yazidi-religious-beliefs_n_5671903.  

[10] Christine Allison, “The Yazidis,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Jan. 2017, pp. 1-23, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/36072/ALLISONThe%20YazidisOxfordResearchEncyclopaediaofReligion%C2%A0.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y. 

[11] Jan Kizilhan, “The Yazidi –Religion, Culture and Trauma,” Scientific Research Publishing, Inc., Advances in Anthropology, 15 Nov. 2017, pp. 1-7, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.scirp.org/pdf/AA_2017111415123379.pdf.

[12] Christine Allison, “The Yazidis,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Jan. 2017, pp. 1-23, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/36072/ALLISONThe%20YazidisOxfordResearchEncyclopaediaofReligion%C2%A0.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y. 

[13] Servant Group International, “Yezidi Theology, Oral Tradition, and Ritual,” Servant Group International, 17 April 2017, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://servantgroup.org/yezidi-theology-oral-tradition-and-ritual/.

[14] Eszter Sp?t, “Religious Oral Tradition and Literacy among the Yezidis of Iraq,” Anthropos, vol. 103, no. 2, 2008, pp. 393–403, accessed 4 Dec 2019, www.jstor.org/stable/40467419.

[15] Cathy Otten, “Slaves of Isis: the long walk of the Yazidi women,” The Guardian, 25 Jul. 2017, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/slaves-of-isis-the-long-walk-of-the-yazidi-women. 

[16] Vanderbilt Law, “Executive Summary,” Vanderbilt Law, April 2015, pp. 1-18, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://law.vanderbilt.edu/academics/academic-programs/international-legal-studies/Yazidi_Genocide_Opinion_KRG_4.15.pdf. 

[17] Cathy Otten, “Slaves of Isis: the long walk of the Yazidi women,” The Guardian, 25 Jul. 2017,  accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/slaves-of-isis-the-long-walk-of-the-yazidi-women. 

[18] Nadia Murad, “My people were massacred five years ago. The genocide continues,” The Washington Post, 31 July 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/my-people-were-massacred-five-years-ago-the-genocide-continues/2019/07/31/b4ee1352-b24f-11e9-8f6c-7828e68cb15f_story.html. 

[19] North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “Sexual Violence in Conflict,” NATO, Factsheet 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2019_07/20190709_1907-factsheet-sexual-violence-in-conflict.pdf. 

[20] Michelle Nichols, “Yazidi woman begs U.N. Security Council to wipe out Islamic State,” Reuters, 16 Dec. 2015,  accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/islamic-state-un/yazidi-woman-begs-u-n-security-council-to-wipe-out-islamic-state-idINKBN0TZ33B20151216. 

[21] Open Cultural Center, “Yazidi: The Genocide No One Talks About,” Open Cultural Center, 10 Aug. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://openculturalcenter.org/yazidi-the-genocide-no-one-talks-about/.

[22] Forensic Architecture, “The Destruction of Yazidi Cultural Heritage,” Forensic Architecture, 20 Sept. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-destruction-of-yazidi-cultural-heritage. 

[23] Rachel Garrahan, “How Yazidi Refugees Are Using Drones And Helium Balloons To Collect Evidence of Genocide,” Independent, 16 Sept. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/how-yazidi-refugees-are-using-drones-and-helium-balloons-to-collect-evidence-of-genocide-a8531661.html. .

[24] Michele Berger, “A quest to restore cultural heritage in Iraq, one site at a time,” Penn Today, 9 Oct. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/quest-restore-cultural-heritage-iraq-one-site-time. 

[25] Jane Arraf,  “Yazidis Remain In Fear On Iraq’s Mount Sinjar After Attempted Genocide,” NPR, 29 Mar. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/03/29/597616117/yazidis-remain-in-fear-on-iraqs-mount-sinjar-after-attempted-genocide. 

[26] Rudaw, “Yazidi town marks rebuilding of shrine destroyed by ISIS,” Rudaw, 15 Feb. 2017,  accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/15022017. 

[27] Lyse Doucet, “‘Only bones remain’: shattered Yazidis fear returning home,” The Guardian, 9 Sept. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/09/yazidis-isis-only-bones-remain-fear-returning-home. 

[28] Rania Abouzeid, “When the weapons fall silent: Reconciliation in Sinjar after ISIS,” European Council on Foreign Relations, 2018-2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/when_the_weapons_fall_silent_reconciliation_in_sinjar_after_isis. 

[29] Rashid International, “Report: Destroying the Soul of the Yazidi,” Rashid International, EAMENA, 2 Aug. 2019,  p. 19, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://rashid-international.org/publications/report-destroying-the-soul-of-the-yazidis/. 

[30] Jane Arraf,  “Yazidis Remain In Fear On Iraq’s Mount Sinjar After Attempted Genocide,” NPR, 29 Mar. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/03/29/597616117/yazidis-remain-in-fear-on-iraqs-mount-sinjar-after-attempted-genocide.  

[31] Rashid International, “Report: Destroying the Soul of the Yazidi,” Rashid International, EAMENA, 2 Aug. 2019,  p. 19, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://rashid-international.org/publications/report-destroying-the-soul-of-the-yazidis/. 

[32] “Why Daesh Destroyed Yazidis’ Musical Instruments,” The Kurdistan Tribune, 2 Oct. 2019, accessed 16 Dec 2019, https://kurdistantribune.com/why-daesh-destroyed-yazidis-musical-instruments/.

[33] Alex Cuadros, “Songs from Sinjar,” Lapham’s Quarterly, accessed 16 Dec 2019, https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/music/songs-sinjar.

[34] Tutku Ayhan & GüNE? MURAT TEZCüR, “5 years after Islamic state massacre, an Iraqi minority is transformed by trauma,” Chicago Tribune, 26 Nov. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-five-years-after-islamic-state-massacre-an-iraqi-minority-is-transformed-by-trauma-126917-20191126-story.html. 

[35] Meagan Clark, “The Yazidi Community Five Years After Islamic State Massacre,” Religion Unplugged, 3 Aug. 2019,accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://religionunplugged.com/news/2019/8/3/qampa-with-dr-widad-akreyi-advocate-for-yazidi-community-five-years-after-sinjar-massacre. 

[36] Rebecca Clay, “Treating Yazidi rape survivors,” American Psychological Association, Sept. 2016, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/09/yazidi-survivors. 

[37] Marta Vidal, “Music and art help Yazidi genocide survivors to heal,” Equal Times, 1 July 2019, accessed 16 Dec 2019, https://www.equaltimes.org/music-and-art-help-yazidi-genocide?lang=en#.XfrEcuhKjIV.

[38] Nobody’s Listening, Twitter Post, artist Nahrin Malki, 15 Dec 2019, 9:13 am, accessed 16 Dec 2019, https://twitter.com/NbdyListeningVR/status/1206215670523932672.

[39] New York Times, “The Culture of Rape Within ISIS, and the Questions that Arise,” The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2016, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/world/middleeast/the-culture-of-rape-within-isis-and-the-questions-that-arise.html. 

[40] Ido Efrati, “Yazidi Women Training in Israel to Help Their Community Cope With the Trauma of ISIS,” Haaretz, 6 Jul. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-yazidi-women-training-in-israel-to-help-their-community-cope-with-the-trauma-of-isis-1.7450648. 

[41] Bar-Ilan University, “Yazidi women suffering from high percentage of C-PTSD, new study finds,” Medical Xpress, 31 Jan. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-yazidi-women-high-percentage-c-ptsd.html. 

[42] Ibid. 

[43] Johanna Foster, “Voices of Yazidi women: Perceptions of journalistic practices in the reporting on ISIS sexual violence,” Science Direct, Volume 67, March-April 2018, pp. 53-64, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277539517301905. 

[44] Cathy Otten, “A Broken Homecoming.” Foreign Policy, 2 May 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/02/a-broken-homecoming-isis-rape-yazidi/. 

[45] Kimberly Dozier, “The Caliphate Is Crushed, But ISIS Infants—Innocent, Abandoned, and Despised—Live On,” Pulitzer Center, 24 Mar. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/caliphate-crushed-isis-infants-innocent-abandoned-and-despised-live. 

[46] Khalid Fatah, “Children Born of ISIS Violence Stuck in Religious and Legal Limbo,” Navanti Group, 10 Jul. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.navantigroup.com/news-1/2019/7/10/a-generation-without-identity. 

[47] Ibid.

[48] Tom Westcott, “Iraq’s Yazidi survivors fight to start over,” The New Humanitarian, 2 Sept. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2019/09/02/Iraq-Yazidi-survivors-fight. 

[49] My Jewish Learning, “Who Is a Jew: Matrilineal Descent.” My Jewish Learning,  accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-matrilineal-descent/. 

[50] Lumen, “Reading: Lines of Descent and Family Stages,” Lumen, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-lines-of-descent-and-family-stages/. 

[51] Emma Graham-Harrison, “’I was sold seven times’: the Yazidi women welcomed back into the faith,” The Guardian, 1 Jul. 2017, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/01/i-was-sold-seven-times-yazidi-women-welcomed-back-into-the-faith. 

[52] Jan Kizilhan, “The Yazidi –Religion, Culture and Trauma,” Scientific Research Publishing, Inc., Advances in Anthropology, 15 Nov. 2017, pp. 1-7, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://www.scirp.org/pdf/AA_2017111415123379.pdf.

[53] Relief Web, “The Gendering of Genocide: ISIS’s Crimes Against the Yazidis,” Relief Web, 4 Aug. 2016, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/gendering-genocide-isis-s-crimes-against-yazidis. 

[54] Nadia Murad, “My people were massacred five years ago. The genocide continues,” The Washington Post, 31 July 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019,  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/my-people-were-massacred-five-years-ago-the-genocide-continues/2019/07/31/b4ee1352-b24f-11e9-8f6c-7828e68cb15f_story.html. 

[55] Nadia’s Initiative, “About Nadia’s Initiative,” Nadia’s Initiative, 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://nadiasinitiative.org/about/. 

[56] Philippa Greer, “To address the plight of the Yazidi women we must look beyond the notion of wartime ‘sex slaves,” LSE, 12 Oct. 2018, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2018/10/12/to-address-the-plight-of-yazidi-women-we-must-look-beyond-the-notion-of-wartime-sex-slaves/.

[57] “Seeking Justice After Genocide in Iraq,” SE Cupp’s Weekend Warriors Podcast, CNN, 13 Sept. 2019, accessed 4 Dec 2019, https://podtail.com/en/podcast/se-cupp-s-weekend-warriors/seeking-justice-after-genocide-in-iraq/.  

#yazidi #genocide