Canadian promise to bring in Yazidis hailed by refugees
Posted February 22, 2017 7:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DOHUK, Iraq – Canada’s promise to welcome hundreds of Yazidis by the end of the year is being welcomed inside Iraq, where Yazidi women and girls have endured horrific abuse and persecution at the hands of the ISIS.
Among those greeting the news with open arms is Saud Khalid, who was kidnapped by ISIS and sold as a sex slave three times before escaping last year.
The UN recently interviewed the 23-year-old about going to Canada and she’s hoping she and her young son will be among the 1,200 Yazidis and other ISIS survivors accepted by the Liberal government.
The government’s plan has also been welcomed by Dr. Luma Alhanabadi, who runs a special centre for women and girl survivors of ISIS, partly funded by Canada, in the city of Dohuk in northern Iraq.
Initially opposed to resettlement for fear survivors would face significant barriers abroad, Alhanabadi says she now supports the idea and recently submitted applications for 15 survivors to go to Canada.
The UN declared last year that the minority Yazidi population was the victim of genocide by ISIS and that they are among the most vulnerable people in Iraq and Syria today.
