Ethnic cleansing
Copenhagen, December 21st, 2014
Along with Christians and other non-Sunni Muslims, Yezidis are little tolerated by the hardline Sunni Muslims from Islamic State. According to several reports, in the beginning of August, more than 1,000 Yezidis were killed when Islamic State conquered the area of Northern Iraq where Yezidis have lived for centuries.
A total of around 500,000 of the Yezidis survived and managed to escape, and now all of them live as displaced in the neighboring state of Kurdistan, with the largest group in the province of Dohuk where Mission East has worked for months with the distribution of aid to the displaced. The sufferings the Yezidis have gone through are beyond comprehension. And now – months after their escape – by far most of them still live under completely unacceptable conditions, most of them in unfinished concrete buildings or in thin summer tents. And most of these displaced still have not received any help to enable them to survive the cold of winter.
The temperatures are now around zero degrees Celsius, and there is an urgent need to get blankets and winter clothing to the many displaced that are freezing. Mission East is fighting a battle against time to be able to assist as many displaced as possible as quickly as possible.
Kim Hartzner, MD, Managing Director
Read MoreAlong with Christians and other non-Sunni Muslims, Yezidis are little tolerated by the hardline Sunni Muslims from Islamic State. According to several reports, in the beginning of August, more than 1,000 Yezidis were killed when Islamic State conquered the area of Northern Iraq where Yezidis have lived for centuries.
A total of around 500,000 of the Yezidis survived and managed to escape, and now all of them live as displaced in the neighboring state of Kurdistan, with the largest group in the province of Dohuk where Mission East has worked for months with the distribution of aid to the displaced. The sufferings the Yezidis have gone through are beyond comprehension. And now – months after their escape – by far most of them still live under completely unacceptable conditions, most of them in unfinished concrete buildings or in thin summer tents. And most of these displaced still have not received any help to enable them to survive the cold of winter.
The temperatures are now around zero degrees Celsius, and there is an urgent need to get blankets and winter clothing to the many displaced that are freezing. Mission East is fighting a battle against time to be able to assist as many displaced as possible as quickly as possible.
Kim Hartzner, MD, Managing Director
