The cold numbers now reflect the scale of the tragedy faced by the Yazidi minority after six years of genocide committed by ISIS in the summer of 2014, as the number of victims of THE first days of the Isil invasion was 1,293 Yazidis, and 6,417 were abducted (3,548 women and 2,869 men). 83 mass graves were found, the number of destroyed religious shrines reached 68 shrines, and the number of displaced persons reached 360,000. The seriousness of these figures shows how large the Yazidi Diaspora is in the Shangal region, which is half a million people. ISIL terrorists carried out a full-scale genocide of the Yazidi people and the resulting Exodus led to approximately 100,000 people emigrating and leaving the country permanently, not wanting to return. This threatens to reduce this fragile demographic weight.

On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the genocide, the Yazidi people remember and honour the memory of the deceased victims of the genocide. This was the first genocide in the history of the Yazidi people.

The Yazidi community has proven its viability through changes in its religious social structure, such as the decision of the religious establishment to accept survivors in a way that contradicts the traditions of conservative middle Eastern societies, and the stories of love and heroism laid down by young Yazidis who applied to marry the survivors of desecrated Yazidis. Victory of the surviving winner of the Nobel peace prize, Nadia Murad, after her conversion, married a representative of the Yazidi nationality and lives in peace, harmony and love. Thus, the memory can represent a different, more positive and vivid side of Yazidi traditions, customs and culture, whose roots go back to the ancient civilizations of Iraq and does not represent a negative image of Yazidi society - as victims.

Finally, since the current Iraqi government is headed by an expert, it must recognize the potential value of perpetuating this memory in a new context; As with institutional thinking and in partnership with a new generation of Yazidi youth from all walks of life. The creation of a memorial monument can lead to the creation of civic spaces for discussion of the past, the development of strong symbols that make the memorial a factor of unity and consensus, and the promotion of Iraqi self-esteem and dignity, helping to heal wounds and deter military actions that threaten the future. Consequently, this may provide a promising opportunity to promote citizenship education for the cultural diversity of the Yazidi people.

Source yazidinews.com