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Press Release:
Yazidi Kurd refugees ; Pic Rudaw
Demonstration called by the Kurdish Human Rights Advocacy Group and Kurdish Community of Southern California
Time: August 12 / 11:30-3:30
Place: 1000 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
The immense suffering of the Yazidi Kurds has reached such colossal and unprecedented levels of death, destruction, displacement, and despair that is now being appropriately called ethnic and religious cleansing.
After the vicious onslaught of the Islamic State terrorists on Shingal ( Arabic Sanjar) and Zumar, and other Kurdish towns and villages, hundreds of Yazidi ( followers of an ancient Kurdish pre-Islamic faith with rich musical and oral traditions) Kurds and other religious minorities were massacred; a mass grave of 500 was just recently found; hundreds had reportedly been buried alive; hundreds of women have been kidnapped as war booties and reduced to slaves; the ensuing terror had caused a mass exodus of over 65000 traumatized women, children, and men who in the intense and unbearable heat of the Nineveh desert fled, many to Duhok, tens of thousands to the nearby mountain of Sanjar Mountain where hundreds of children and elderly have died of starvation and dehydration, For those who had stayed behind or could not flee in time, it is a doomed fate: either conversion to Islam or decapitation.
The barbaric attack eventually prompted the United States to respond to the grave urgency of this human tragedy to conduct and deliver humanitarian aid and launch airstrikes against IS to protect the displaced people and American citizens in Kurdistan. While 20000 to 30000 have been reportedly taken to safety through dangerous rescue operations, and some relief aid has been transported and dropped on the barren mountain range, there are still thousands trapped in the barren mountains. As reported by CNN, the need for food and water is much greater than so far provided and would require a more concerted and organized relief operation. An all-out international relief effort has to be initiated to save the tens of thousands who are still trapped without any food, water, or shelter.
We as Kurdish Americans in solidarity with the victims of this great tragedy, express our support for the US government’s humanitarian relief operations. We appreciate and support our government’s effort in providing military support to the Kurdish security forces (Peshmergas) to fight the IS and to providing assistance to the tens of thousands of displaced Yazidis who are living under deplorable conditions; however, as President Obama has recently stressed the magnitude of the tragedy calls for a more concerted and sustained effort and commitment to protect both the lives of innocent and defenseless displaced people and American citizens who live in Erbil. Although the Kurdish Regional Government is actively trying to help the displaced population, its resources have been exhausted by the presence of over one million refugees who had previously taken sanctuary in the area. The current needs of the refugees far exceed the ability of Kurdish Regional Government; as a corollary, global involvement and response is imperative, even for those who have been lucky enough to reach relative safety in overcrowded camps with acute shortages of food and medical supplies.
A state of emergency prevails in Kurdish regions as the Islamic State continues to threaten not only those stranded on the mountains but other Kurdish areas . We call on the US government, the United Nations, all relief organizations, and Western governments to organize expeditious and efficient emergency humanitarian assistance to Yazidis and ensure their protection against a common enemy. Only an increased and a much more needed commitment to international solidarity and collective moral responsibility can save the Yazidi Kurds and other ethnic and religious groups from the monstrosity of Islamic State. It is our duty to defend and protect the Yazidis. We cannot let an ancient people and their cultural heritage and religion be vanquished by the dark forces of history.
Kurdish Human Rights Advocacy Group
Kurdish Community of Southern California
For further information, please contact: Ardishir Rashidi: 909-2602226 ; Nyma Ardalan: 818-6331390 ; Dyari Ahmed: 619 7928896
