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Yazidi survivors of sexual violence await financial support

Most survivors continue to live in precarious conditions without access to forms of financial support.

'I don’t even have enough space to keep my old sewing machine. The sewing machine is not working anymore, but it reminds me of my son, who bought it for me a long time ago. I cry at least three times a day as I remember my children, my old life. Having a house again is not going to take my pain away because, for me, home is where I can see my children sitting near me, but at least it can alleviate some of my suffering. I can at least take care of my sewing machine,' said Gulan. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
By Raber Y. Aziz
Published On 8 Nov 2021

Duhok, Iraq – It was midnight when Vian’s phone rang. A person with a trembling voice on the other end of the line said, “I miss my mum so much!” and then burst into tears.

The caller was Salwa Saido, 24, a survivor of the genocide carried out by ISIL (ISIS). She hails from Tel Qasab village in Sinjar, a district in northwestern Iraq that is the ancestral home of Iraq’s Yazidi community.

Like thousands of Yazidi women and girls, Salwa was captured along with her mother and two siblings following ISIL’s attack on Sinjar in August 2014. Although she is now free, after five years in captivity, the fate of her mother, brother and sister is unknown to this day.

Vian Darwish is an Advocacy and Outreach Officer with Yazda, an NGO that advocates for the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq, including in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and Syria.

The assistance provided to survivors so far has come primarily from humanitarian organisations and the international community, active in areas with a high concentration of internally displaced Yazidis.

The Iraq government has provided one-off financial support to address urgent needs through the Yazidi Survivors’ Grant, and social welfare payments to a limited number of survivors. Yet most remain without this type of support and continue to live in precarious conditions, which only deepens their trauma and vulnerabilities.

In March 2021, the Iraqi parliament passed a “Law on Support to Yazidi Female Survivors,” hailed as a landmark piece of legislation – the first of its kind in Iraq, whereby different acts of sexual violence in conflict are recognised as acts of genocide and put at the centre of legislation.

The law provides for reparations to be paid to the survivors of sexual violence, and several other categories of victims. It includes provisions to address many of their needs through support in areas including physical and mental health, housing, livelihoods, employment and resuming education, among others.

However, challenges to the law’s implementation are numerous, many stemming from the current tense political situation and a lack of budgetary allocations. The Directorate for Survivors Affairs, a body established to implement this law, is seeking resources to launch the application process that individual survivors must go through to benefit.

While waiting for justice and reparations in the aftermath of the genocide, everyday life for survivors is filled with painful memories and a lack of hope.

This photo gallery was provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

'When she called me [that night], I was speechless for a while because I truly didn’t know what to say to her. We both started to cry; it was a kind of an emotional release,' recalled Vian, who coordinates the Yazidi Survivors Network (YSN) whose 15 members, including Salwa, act together to advocate for the rights of the other survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. 'These individuals need access to clinical psychology, not just psychosocial support,' she said of the survivors, 'and that’s only one of their needs.' [Raber Aziz/IOM]
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'It took me five years to finally find a way to escape from ISIL captivity. I try to read books, take English classes, or participate in activities organised by the Yazidi Survivors Network in order to forget, but I keep remembering what I went through at the hands of ISIL for five years – and it’s not just one or two bad memories.' [Raber Aziz/IOM]
Haifa Barakat, 23, is from Til Ezer village, Sinjar. When ISIL attacked the village, they took the women and children into captivity, rounded up the men – including her father and brothers – summarily executed them and threw them into a ditch they dug on her family’s farm. Her brother Sultan is the only male survivor in her family. They believed he was dead, but he escaped from the ditch and survived his injuries. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
'When I escaped from ISIL in 2019, I had already lost five years of school. And I couldn’t go back to school and pick up where I had left off because of my age difference with the other kids. The schools don’t take into account why I am so many years behind. My friends have either finished or are currently in university. I am very happy for my friends but in pain for myself and others like me. My mum always said education was very important. Now I can see why, better than ever. If I finished my education, I could get a job and have my own source of income. Instead of being financially dependent on my family, I could assist them. I lost my childhood and my education. Prior to the ISIL assault on Sinjar in 2014, I wanted to become a doctor, but now I really want to become a lawyer so I can fight for myself and others as well. We want legal solutions for this education issue so we can go back to school,' said Haifa. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
Ameena Qassim was only 15 when she was captured by ISIL in her village of Tel Qasab in 2014, along with her parents and six siblings. After three years in ISIL captivity, she managed to escape. Three of her siblings also escaped; one of her sisters committed suicide while in ISIL captivity; and her parents and remaining brother and sister are still missing. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
'Many of us survivors sustained injuries while in ISIL captivity, both from air strikes and ISIL bombings. All four of my limbs were injured on three different occasions. Both my legs are burned, my right hand is torn up from shrapnel, and my left hand does not open fully due to injuries to the tendons,' said Ameena. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
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'These scars on my body are always there to remind me of what I went through. I want them to be gone from my body, to be able to forget, but I cannot afford any medical treatment due to our financial situation. I have been to doctors in Duhok, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad. They all told me that the treatment to get my hand fully working again is not available here in Iraq,' said Ameena. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
Layla Shammo, 45, was captured together with all of her children by ISIL on August 3, 2014, and brought to Syria. ISIL forces killed her husband and Layla was sold several times, passing from one family to another until one family finally sold her to her relatives for $30,000. She currently lives in a rented house in Khanke, Duhok governorate, with three of her five children – the other two have been missing since the family was abducted in 2014. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
Many Yazidi families lost their heads of household – and in some cases, all their male family members – during ISIL’s 2014 genocide. This left many women who had previously depended entirely on their husbands or sons in the difficult situation of financially supporting their children alone. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
Gulan is from Gohbal village in the Sinune area of Sinjar. She was captured with her husband and two sons by ISIL on August 3, 2014. After nine months in ISIL captivity, Gulan was freed. Her children and husband are still missing. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
'I always think about how we had everything, and now I am left alone with nothing. We had a good life. My elder son had just finished high school and was going to university. My younger son was 12 years old. We had a car, we had money, we had jewellery, we had a store and a big house. My house was very big and spacious. It had a huge living room, a big kitchen, three bedrooms and a central courtyard. We had everything a family needs. ISIL took everything from me. Now I have no family, no money and the house is destroyed. I am confined to this tent. It is too suffocating in here,' expressed Gulan. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
Khanke camp is home to more than 14,000 displaced Yazidis. Tens of thousands of Yazidis continue to live in displacement - primarily in Duhok governorate, concentrated in multiple camps and informal settlements such as Khanke, Sharya, Kabarto, Qadia, Mam Rashan and others. [Raber Aziz/IOM]
'Providing reparations to survivors based on this law will not act as a magic spell – it will not take away all the pain and consequences of ISIL’s devastation – however, it can help survivors in rebuilding their lives with dignity and demonstrate that the state is committed to being a partner in achieving justice for what they have gone through,' said Sandra Orlovic, Reparations Officer with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Iraq. [Anjam Rasool/IOM]