On August 3rd, 2014 the quiet agricultural village of Kocho, Iraq was attacked by the Islamic State. The harmony and peace between the Yazidis communities was destroyed as a form of hate campaign towards them. Men, women and children were all taken captive and then given a choice: convert to Islam or be executed. A 19 year old girl among the captives, named Nadia Murad, saw her peace being destroyed as 6 of her 9 brothers were executed alongside her father and mother. Nadia and her two sisters were taken hostage inside an ISIS building where she watched thousands of crimes being committed against her people. Small children were given as sexual ‘gifts’, women were raped and tortured, Yazidi men were killed.
As years passed, Nadia had begun to get used to her new, painful and slow life. She had started to forget her mother’s face. She couldn’t remember what peace was. Her screams started to fade away with the sound of her body being beaten. Until one day, she managed to scape.
She left the land that watched her born and alongside with other survivors Nadia migrated to Germany. She was given medical attention and her body started healing, but her mind could only think about the 18 family members she had lost. She thought about her people still being held, she thought about all of those families being hurt and how peace was ripped away from them.
Nadia told TIME that “more than 6,500 women and children were taken into captivity, about 1,200 children boys were taken to be trained to be future jihadists”
Now Nadia has taken her thoughts and transformed them into difference. Yazda, a non profit organization, provided her with support in order to help and defend Yazidi survivors Now, at the age of 23, she is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and has spoken at the United Nations about the human genocide taking place in the middle east and ways to bring back the peace her people deserve and need.
Nadia believes there is a way to help women and children who have been victimized by human traffic and war. For her it’s not just about getting middle eastern citizens away from that situation, but also helping them live a long and happy life after all of those horrors. Her organization is now a voice for those who are not heard. Every person should be granted the justice, support and life they deserve, which is why she is now fighting alongside her lawyer, Amal Clooney, in the International Court.
ISIS has made several threats against Nadia and her cause, but despite all of this, she is not backing down. She has taken all of this sadness and hatred and transformed it into initiative.
On September 2016 Nadia spoke at the UN General Assembly, but despite having a strong message, her speech did not form part of international news. It is crucial we listen to young activists that don’t have any type of privilege. Only by listening to them we will be able to truly understand the situation.
’If beheadings, sexual enslavement and the rape of children, if all those acts do not force you to move, when will you do that? You and your families are not the only ones to deserve life. We also deserve life.’
Find out how you can help Nadia and her cause by visiting her website.
Comments are closed.