All is Fair in the Eyes of God

(The Yazidi Genocide committed by ISIS)

On August 3rd, 2014, the Islamic State (ISIL) launched an attack on the town of Sinjar,
Northeast Iraq. This town contained one of the largest populations of Yazidis, a long persecuted
ethno-religious group who have existed since around the 12 th century. After taking the city, ISIL
proceeded to execute thousands of Yazidis and kidnapped thousands of Yazidi women and children,
forcing them into sexual slavery.
The assault of Sinjar caused many Yazidis to flee the city towards the Sinjar Mountains,
where they were left stranded, trapped without food or water in blazing hot temperatures for days
on end. On top of that, they were surrounded by ISIL forces, leaving them stuck on the mountain. As
a result of the extreme conditions, many Yazidis, particularly children and the elderly, died on the
Sinjar Mountains.
At the request of the Iraqi government, the US, UK, and Kurds in the area began air drops of
food and water for the fleeing refugees, and the UK began sending helicopters to attempt an
evacuation of the stranded refugees via airlift. Around this time, the US also began to conduct air
strikes to prevent a possible genocide by ISIL of the stranded Yazidis/refugees. This, along with the
help of Kurdish fighters of Syria, helped around 50,000 refugees escape. The fleeing refugees had
nowhere to go, so most of them settled on nearby roads and unfinished buildings in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq (KRI), neighbouring Turkey, and Rojava. (Syrian part of the greater Kurdistan region)
Later, they would be transferred to refugee camps in the KRI, where 360,000 would reside for the
next 3 years, enduring terrible conditions like the tents not being replaced after 3 years, electricity
being available for only a few hours at a time, the constant burning of garbage, the deteriorating
sanitation, and not receiving adequate humanitarian support. Some refugees would reach
neighbouring countries like Turkey and apply for asylum, or apply for humanitarian visas from within
the camps.
Meanwhile, while the Yazidi humanitarian crisis was unfolding, ISIL began their genocide of
the Yazidis. ISIL reportedly killed up to 500 Yazidis on August 10 th, some of whom were buried alive in
mass graves around Sinjar. ISIL sent ultimatums to Yazidi villages, such as Kojo/Khocho, demanding
the residents to either convert or be killed. According to interviews, the entire male population of
Kojo (around 400 people), were rounded up and executed, and up to 1000 women and children
were kidnapped. ISIL had also set several Yazidi villages ablaze and blew up a shrine in the village of
Jidala. According to a report by the OHRCR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) and
UNAMI (UNITED NATIONS Assistance Mission for Iraq), 1,600-1,800 Yazidis had been killed from
either murder, execution, or starvation. Another estimate by Matthew Barber, a scholar on Yazidi
history in the University of Chicago, put the death toll on 5,000, as well as 7,000 women and children
who were turned sex slaves by ISIL. Women and children were also married off to fighters, while ISIL
took captives and forced them to convert to Islam.
After all of this talk of persecution and genocide, you might wonder, what prompted ISIL to
commit such atrocities on the Yazidis? Well, it might have something to do with their beliefs.
You see, the Yazidis believe that God (named Xwedê) created the universe and entrusted it
to seven holy beings, and most prominent of these angels is Melek Taus, or the Peacock Angel, who
the Yazidis consider to be an emanation of God himself. In the Yazidi creation myth, God creates
Adam, and commands the angels to bow before him. Melek Taus refused to bow, not wanting to
prostate himself to anyone else than his God. It was later revealed to be a test to see who was the
most loyal of the angels.
Now, if you’re Muslim, you might see a resemblance to the origin story of Iblis, who also
refused to prostate to Adam, although his refusal came from a place of arrogance rather than
loyalty. Nevertheless, this similarity was enough for the Yazidis to be called devil-worshippers by
Muslims and followers of other Abrahamic religions, and that accusation fuelled centuries to
religious persecution by the Kurds, Ottomans, and especially ISIL. The persecution also led the Yazidis
to settle in the remote mountain regions of Northern Iraq.
In my opinion, ISIL’s genocide of the Yazidis violated the following articles of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights:
- Article 1: the Right to Equality
- Article 2: the Right to be Free from Discrimination
- Article 3: the Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security
- Article 4: the Right to be Free from Slavery.
- Article 5: the Right to be Free from Torture and Degrading Treatment
- Article 16: the Right to Marriage and Family (included because the UN also specifies the right
to consent to marriages, with conflicts with ISIL’s practice of forced marriages)
- Article 18: the Right to Belief and Religion
- Article 19: the Right of Freedom and Information
And under the Rome Statute, could be tried for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
In my opinion, the way the Iraqi government and the US-led coalition dealt with the crisis
was mixed. On one hand, they did try their best to help the refugees trapped in the Sinjar Mountains
and were mostly successful, in my opinion. However, the terrible conditions of the camps the Yazidis
stayed at takes away several points from their successfulness at handling the crisis. A way to handle
the crisis better is to, first, fix the conditions of the camps so the refugees can live more comfortably.
Next, when the Yazidis resettle back to their homes after all ISIL territory is taken back, the
government should aid them in rehabilitating their destroyed towns and help them to get back on
their feet. By helping the rebuilding of Yazidi towns, the government could help the Yazidis adapt
back to normal life again.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/us-aid-iraqi-trapped-mountain-isis
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/13/us-ground-troops-direct-role-evacuate-yazidis-
iraq
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yazidis-islamic-state-massacre_n_5665655
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Countries/IQ/
UNAMI_OHCHR_POC_Report_FINAL_6July_10September2014.pdf
https://observer.com/2015/11/the-isis-victims-you-dont-see-world-snoozes-as-yazidis-massacred/
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/11/iraq-forced-marriage-conversion-yezidis
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/CIMM/Brief/BR9342569/br-external/Yazda-
e.pdf