Stop Daesh from fleeing with its captives
A safe zone where Yazidis and other vulnerable civilians could take refuge from Daesh in Mosul must be created
he calls come to Khaleel’s phone every day, dozens every week: Women and girls, held captive by Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), beg us to rescue them. Like us, they are Yazidis. And in the wickedest of ironies, they are survivors of genocide, kept alive by Daesh to be raped and subjected to sexual slavery. They have heard about our rescue network and reach us on cell phones that they have managed to hide.
We save as many victims as we can and provide care to help rehabilitate them. Thus far, however, we’ve been able to help only a small number of the 3,700 who are enslaved. We believe most are in Mosul, which is Iraq’s second-largest city, Daesh’s most important stronghold after Raqqa in Syria and the largest urban centre under Daesh’s control. So intense is the suffering of these women and girls that they tell us that they want the United States and other countries to attack Mosul, even if the bombs pose a threat to their lives.
The bombs have already started to fall in Mosul. A coalition of troops led by the Iraqi army recently launched its initial assault on the city. But whether it leads to the liberation of Yazidi women and girls or to further suffering may depend on the current and future actions of the forces fighting Daesh — and the governments to which they belong.
Hundreds of thousands of people have already fled Mosul, and the pace of the exodus will surely increase in the coming days and weeks. We urge the US and other countries to support German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for the creation of a safe zone where Yazidis and other vulnerable civilians could take refuge. Beyond Mosul, thousands of Yazidis are living in internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. These camps are severely under-resourced and in need of financial support.
Essential to rebuilding and healing is mourning. Yet many survivors are having trouble finding and identifying their lost loved ones because their bodies — often located in unprotected mass gravesites — have been incinerated or damaged by the elements. The longer these sites go unprotected, the less chance there is that Yazidi survivors will be able to properly mourn. Surely it is not too much to ask that the Yazidis receive help securing these grave-sites.
Finally, we urge the US and its allies to seek the accountability that justice demands. The Iraqi government cannot refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it hasn’t ratified the Rome Statute. There’s a simple solution: The Iraqi government could ratify the statute, and under pressure, it might do just that. The United Nations Security Council could also make the referral to the ICC, yet this might require a diplomatic effort from the US to ensure that neither Russia nor China uses its veto. Whatever its path to the ICC, a referral would allow for an official acknowledgement of the genocide and other horrific crimes that Daesh has committed against the Yazidis.
Every time our phones ring, the voice on the other end could belong to a woman or girl enslaved by Daesh. It’s difficult to convey what it feels like to hear the agonised voices. Recently, a woman whom we were unable to help begged us to carry her message to anyone in power. She said, “Tell them: ‘If you can’t save us, please bomb us. We can’t bear to live’.”
We hope and pray that the US and its allies do everything they can to ensure that the liberation of Mosul is the liberation of the Yazidis as well.
Ameena Saeed Hasan and Khaleel Aldakhi are Iraqi Yazidi activists who run a rescue network saving Yazidi women and girls who have been enslaved by Daesh.