74 by Christian Werner

The Yazidi religion is one of the oldest religions. The Yazidis have faced persecution more than other religious community, because they are regarded as devil worshippers. They believe in Tausi Melek, a fallen angel in the form of a peacock. Since its founding years, 74 genocides have been committed against them. The youngest and most systematic of these persecutions have been conducted by the ISIS. Since the invasion of the ISIS in Iraq, hundreds of thousands Yazidis have been uprooted and are on the run. Thousands of men and boys were shot and beheaded, women abducted and sold at auction as sex slaves.

Only a few made it to the camps set up by NGOs. Most live in concrete skeletons of unfinished houses, improvised tents made of tarpaulin and branches or on the road. They had no chance to prepare for their flight, nor to pack essentials. Winter has come to Kurdistan and saps the forces of refugees who have no winter clothes or blankets to protect themselves. Until the beginning of the year, 10,000 Yazidis were encircled in the Sinjar Mountains of the IS militia. Over 4 months, they fought with little food, little ammunition and weapons to survive, until the Kurdish Peshmerga fought to open a land corridor, enabling the Yazidis to be evacuated.

With this story, I wish to draw attention to the situation of the Yazidis, who are the main victims of this conflict. I wish to show a broad spectrum: the current life situation, the despair of the encircled, the struggle for survival, the war with all its horrors, the religion, the destruction of religion, individual fates and their background.