Iraqi Deputy Speaks Up on Ezidi People

Ezidi deputy Viyan Dahil became worldwide-known after her appeal to the Iraqi Parliament to help her people. 

On August 3, following an ISIS at Iraq’s Sinjar region, Dahil appeared crying on TV. 

On August 12, she was on an helicopter that dropped humanitarian aid to Ezidi people. Her helicopter crashed as they attempted to rescue too many people. 

While she arrived in Istanbul to be hospitalized on her means, bianet visited Dahil at her hospital bed. 

Suffering from broken left foot and rib injuries, Dahil’s condition is very stable. Among her notable visitors included HDP deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü. While Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called her, CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is also expected to meet her today. 

Daughter of a former minister, Dahil was born in Sinjar and roaming between Sinjar, Arbil and Bagdad due to her deputy post. 

Reminding that local press always covered the ISIS attacks towards Ezidi people, Dahil said the following: “For two days, they were calling me on the phone. Massacred people, raped or kidnapped women and children dying from thirst. I delivered that speech at the parliament with those emotions in order to proclaim it to the world.”

Subjected to 72 massacres in their history, Ezidi people could only prevent a genocide at the 73^rd massacre, Dahil said with a grief. 

Turkey must allocate them to camps 

Dahil continued that people who ran away to the mountains need immediate help.   

“The day that I was at the helicopter, there were 3 or 4 other helicopters carrying humanitarian aid to Habur gate. They were transferring those with a critical condition to the border. We could only go to Habur for 25 inites and remained there for 15 minutes. There was an accident on the way back. The first priority is to provide humanitarian aid to the Ezidi people in the mountains so that they won’t perish. The second priority is to save those people from the mountains. At the moment, we don’t even know what happened to those kidnapped women. 

Urging the officials in Turkey, Dahil said the following: “There is an accumulation on both side of the border right now. It is necessary to transfer those people to camps. It is also necessary for international relations."

She also added: “Sinjar is a place where Ezidi people feel protected, embraced, nourished and tolerated. Under today’s circumstances, there is no way that Ezidi people can return to Sinjar. We don’t know what will happen next.” (NV/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.