Five years after Daesh unleashed genocide in Iraq, survivors are still waiting for their homes and villages to be rebuilt.
In her five-point action plan presented at the recent Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize laureate called for “investing in reconstruction and sustainable development initiatives.” She pointed out that funds are required to rebuild housing and basic infrastructure in the region; “Without international funding targeted to development in Shingal, stability cannot be achieved.”
The destruction to the region caused by Daesh requires that a substantial amount of work be done to rebuild houses and general infrastructure. Some work has already been done by humanitarian organizations and states, including the U.S., Hungary and Poland, who are at the forefront of providing assistance directly to the affected communities.
During the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in July 2018, Vice President Pence announced the establishment of the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response program. Over the course of last year, the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response has been introducing various projects aimed at helping those affected by Daesh, for example, establishing employment opportunities, or helping women to build up their confidence and resilience after experiencing rape and sexual violence. Furthermore, at the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom (in July 2019), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced new humanitarian aid for Iraqi religious minorities consisting of an additional $27 million in humanitarian assistance for ethnic and religious minorities in the Nineveh Plains and Western Nineveh Province. This brings the total U.S. assistance for persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq to $373 million (since Fiscal Year 2017).
Poland is very clear that they want to provide assistance on the ground and in doing so, respect the culture, the religion and the background of any individual that requires help. Poland has been providing this aid to all independently of their religion or belief, with a particular focus on minorities persecuted for their religion by Daesh, namely Yazidis and Christians. Among others, Poland is funding humanitarian aid that is being distributed in Iraq via a charity EagleWatch. Poland is also funding several projects that aim to create jobs and ensure that people can engage in meaningful employment and be self-sufficient. For example, one of the projects in Sinjar assists in building farms for locals. Another project helps to create new jobs in small trade and local craft to give people a possibility of resuming their professional lives, professional lives that were frozen since Daesh’s attack in 2014. As explained by Minister Michal Wos at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Poland is working to ensure that the communities are resilient and independent from external assistance.
Another substantial donor is the new Hungarian initiative, Hungary Helps, that has been providing significant assistance to persecuted Christians (although they have been expanding the scope of their assistance to also include Yazidis, and hope to provide aid to the Rohingya Muslims displaced to Bangladesh). Similarly to Poland, Hungary provides humanitarian aid directly to the affected communities cutting out any unnecessary intermediaries. Among others, Hungary Helps has been providing humanitarian assistance to the communities targeted by Daesh and funding to rebuild villages in the Nineveh Plains. In addition, Hungary Helps provides assistance to the persecuted, including a scholarship to students from these persecuted communities to continue their education in Hungary.
Apart from these three countries that place the assistance of communities persecuted by Daesh at the heart of their humanitarian work, there are several other states and non-governmental organizations extending their helping hands. However, considering the damage done by Daesh, a lot will need to be done before the communities and the area will be ready to return to the usual business. For example, Yazda, an organization assisting Yazidis persecuted by Daesh, identified the need to provide better medical assistance to the survivors of Daesh atrocities or provide it at all. Survivors need expert medical assistance to deal with trauma such as sexual abuse, torture and bereavement. This assistance is urgently sought. As reported by Yazda, “suicide is on the increase, and many survivors are voicing suicidal ideation.”
In the aftermath of the Daesh genocide, the affected communities must be assisted so that the genocidal atrocities combined with our failure to provide assistance do not take their toll.
