$100 Goes a Long Way in an Ezidi Refugee Camp

By Amy L. Beam, Ed.D:

Dear Barbara and Alan,

Yesterday I spent my birthday in the Sirnak Ezidi refugee commune. Here’s how I spent your latest $100 donation. I bought the last 12 stove-top electric burners in Sirnak at a cost of $4.45 dollars each for a total of $54 dollars. The shop owner discounted them by $1 each and promised to try to get more delivered this week. We tested each one in the Sirnak Ezidi commune and tried to keep it secret, but word got out, so I was surrounded by imploring parents and dozens of bleak-looking children.

I died a million deaths when I said no to a toothless grandmother holding her one-year-old grandson. Her eyes looked like she would cry, but she struggled to keep her dignity. It was the men who begged the most for their toddlers. I kept my resolve to give the burners to the mothers with the youngest babies so they could warm their bottles of milk. We now have four babies born in the Sirnak commune. The weather has turned cold and rainy here. Instead of feeling gratified, I felt really shaken inside.

Amy Beam is surrounded by families asking for a stove top burner

Over half of 1400 residents of Sirnak Ezidi commune are children. Mother on right received stove burner.

With your remaining $44 US dollars I purchased two Turkish SIM cards for two young Ezidi men who have been volunteering from morning until night in the kitchen preparing three meals per day for the 1400 people in this refugee camp. Their families have no phone numbers, so they are grateful to you.

The $1 in change was for a hand-held mirror for the Ezidi interpreter’s wife, who has decided this week to learn English after resisting her husband’s encouragement for years. We don’t realize how much we take for granted being able to check ourselves in a mirror.

That left $1 toward the $4.50 PayPal fee. I paid the difference.

The need is so great, and I am only one volunteer. In fact, as far as I can tell, I am the only outside volunteer. The other volunteers are the Kurdish party members who watch over the Ezidis like guardian angels and feed and shelter them. All the Kurdish businesses in Sirnak donate generously to support the Ezidis. The Ankara government does not contribute. I am not sure how they will make it through the winter, having to feed 1400 people in this one camp.

The camp managers and the municipality staff are so appreciative that one outsider has shown up to help, that they give me all the support I need, like driving me 5 km back and forth from town.

I have been contacted by Ezidi help groups on several continents. We are working to coordinate efforts. I am sure we will set up a vehicle for donations soon, but until then, for anyone who wants to trust me, I am happy to spend 96% of any contributions directly on the Ezidis. PayPal charges 4.5% fee.

After distributing the stove top burners, I worked with Dler Havend Khalaf, a young male nurse who was in medical school when the Islamic State attacked. He is translating stories of the Ezidi genocide from many of the refugees and compiling lists of kidnapped Ezidis. He showed me photos of many women from his village of Tel Qassab, kidnapped by IS and being held prisoner in Tel Afar village where they were forced to convert to Islam. His sister is one of them.

Dler Havend Khalaf shows Amy Beam photos of kidnapped Ezidi women from Tel Qassab, including his sister.

I don’t run an NGO or work for the UNHCR. Assisting refugees is not my profession. But when 27,000 Ezidi refugees flooded into southeast Turkey (North Kurdistan), I could not turn my back on them. I visited 12 Ezidi camps and have been documenting the Ezidi genocide in Shengal, northern Iraq. Shengal has been taken over by the Islamic State gangs which have looted and burned the houses. There is nothing left for Ezidis to return to.

I am making a contact list for all the camps, a list of all the Ezidi help groups, and a list of what is needed and how people can help.

Most people sincerely do want to help in a crisis, but unfortunately, few people these days feel their donation will get to the intended recipients or make a difference. I assure you, even $5 dollars makes a big difference and will not be used to support administrative overhead or salaries of professional aid workers. Everyone here is a volunteer.

Any small donations your friends can send will be put to good use for the Ezidi refugees. The Kurdish camp managers know which families are most needy. Anyone who wants to donate some time from their own home, can also contact me. The need is great. (My PayPal phone numbers are not current. My contact info is below.)

By the way, after publishing “Adib’s Story” this week, an Indian family man who just became a US citizen called Adib to offer to pay her monthly incidental expenses and maybe even school fees when she finds a university to accept her. He said, “I’m not poor; I’m not rich, but I think I can help one person on a monthly basis.” Adib didn’t stop smiling all day. We’re searching for a university to accept her.

Adib kissing one of the newborn babies in Sirnak Ezidi commune. Her mother received a stove burner.

Thank you for helping,

Amy L. Beam

Sirnak, Turkey

More Information about Ezidi Refugees

Amy Beam has visited 12 Ezidi refugee camps in Turkey since Sept. 3. For her other reporting about the Ezidis read:

Dr. Amy L. Beam promotes tourism in eastern Turkey (North Kurdistan) and writes in support of Kurdish and Ezidi human rights. Read her stories at KurdistantTribune.com. She is writing a book, “Love and Betrayal in Kurdistan.” Follow her on Twitter @amybeam or contact her at amybeam@yahoo.com or 240-696-1905 (U.S.) or 0090 537 502 6683 (Turkey).