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Iraq
From left: Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, Angelina Jolie and a Yazidi woman in Shingal on February 1, 2023. Photo: submitted
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - American actress Angelina Jolie and Yazidi activist as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad on Wednesday visited the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, overseeing the development of renovation projects in the war-torn district.
Thousands of Yazidis were killed when the Islamic State (ISIS) tore through Shingal and other parts of northern and western Iraq in 2014.
Murad, who is one of the survivors of the violence brought upon by ISIS and a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Goodwill Ambassador, has launched “Nadia’s Initiative” to advocate for the survivors of the mass killing and rebuild the district.
Murad and Jolie visited a hospital which is under construction. They also visited “New Kocho” village - named after the Yazidi survivor’s Kocho village which is known for being the site of one of the terror group's most cruel and devastating acts.
The pair visited the city center as well where they met with a number of survivors, including those outside the Yazidi community but who were subjected to the same violence by ISIS.
‘New Kocho’, designed to find durable solutions for survivors of the massacre, is carried out with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project will also create memorial sites to commemorate the dead, and protection measures for the graveyard where victims initially left in mass graves are now being reburied.
More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped when ISIS attacked Shingal, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yazidis. Over 2,000 remain missing.
The United Nations, the European Parliament, and other nations including the United States, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and Germany have recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidis as “genocide.”
Murad said in a tweet late Wednesday that the trip was "a reminder to me that our work to protect minorities & women in Sinjar (Shingal) & throughout the world is far from over. If we want to ensure what happened to Yazidis never happens again, we must address the underlying causes of genocide & sexual violence."
"We cannot rest until women, girls & vulnerable communities around the world have gender equality, educational & economic opportunities & the right to make their own decisions. Thank you, Angelina, for joining me on this trip & being an advocate for those most vulnerable," she added.
Returning to my home & introducing my friend Angelina Jolie - a dedicated advocate for women, children & refugees - to my fellow survivors was a moving experience. I am honored to show her the strength of the Yazidi people & share our story of survival: https://t.co/XCwZVruGMS pic.twitter.com/Ez5V9rNlac
— Nadia Murad (@NadiaMuradBasee) February 1, 2023
Updated on February 2, 2023 at 4:31 PM
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