02/09/2021 Iraq (International Christian Concern) – An Iraqi parliament bill seeking to offer reparations to female survivors from the ISIS genocide failed to meet quorum for voting again. The bill, titled the Yazidi Female Survivors Bill” was first introduced in April 2019 and would guarantee jobs for the ISIS survivors, a fixed salary and land.
Not long after the failed quorum, Iraqi President Barham Salih met with Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. The Yazidi community also recently held an official funeral and buried 104 men who had been killed by ISIS militants over six years ago. The men had been identified from mass graves and exhumed in order to be properly buried in their homes in Nineveh province.
Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities are still reeling from the impact of ISIS, even though the declared military defeat happened over three years ago. Hundreds of thousands of Christians and Yazidis were driven from their homes in Nineveh, and thousands were killed, enslaved or raped. Most of those who were driven out have not returned, both for fear of their safety as well as the lack of infrastructure for a promising future. Jobs are scarce and homes require rebuilding. Christians and other religious minorities are still burying their dead and seeking justice for the wrongs done to them.
For interviews, please contact Alison Garcia: press@persecution.org.
