The Academy of Social Science is organizeing a two-day conference in the Yazidi town of Shengal (Sinjar) in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq). It is a response to the 73 waves of killings that the Yazidi community has suffered throughout its history.
The conference is entitled “The Response to 73 Genocides” and “The Call for a Democratic Society is the Beginning of a Renaissance for the Yazidis” and has been very well received so far.
The conference continues with messages from participants. Messages representing the cultures, religions, and beliefs of Iraq and the Middle East were delivered at the conference, expressing the power of peoples to live together and the support of the peoples of the Middle East for the Yazidi community and the people of Shengal.
Speeches by female activist Semira Muhammed Hüseyin on behalf of the Kakais, Nasır Kirêt, advisor on genocide crimes to the Kurdistan Region Parliament, religious scholar and peace envoy Mele Nadir Ali, journalist and political activist Sebhi Bedri, leader of the Takaddüm Party Seid Beduş, PUK Shengal Representative Dawid Cindî, and Maxmur Ishtar Council Coordination Member Şilan Deniz highlighted messages regarding the struggle of the Yazidi community and the determination of peoples to live together.
Following the messages, Riham Hesen, a member of the Yazidi Women’s Freedom Movement (TAJÊ), spoke at the session titled “The Social Existence of the Yazidis in the Flow of History.”
Hesen noted that more than 73 genocidal attacks had been carried out against the Yazidi people throughout history and that the majestic geography of Kurdistan had demonstrated a perfect example of motherhood in preserving this ancient people.
Hesen pointed out that until 1792, the Yazidi community existed semi-freely as nomads in the desert and mountains, and continued: “From this date onwards, the process evolved into physical genocide. In other words, this process began with the first attack in Mila, Sherqa, and Dina and continued until the Firiq Pasha attack on Shengal in 1892. Since that date, the Yazidis have been erased from human history by the Ottomans and the British. Since that day, the Yazidi people have been unable to recover.”
Stating that the Yazidis face serious issues of existence and freedom today, Hesen said, “In order to redefine our identity as Yazidis and secure our existence and safety, we must correctly define our social existence in the flow of the sacred river of history.”
Then, author Osman Çelik joined the conference discussions online. The conference continues with discussions and presentations.
Source: ANF News
