America’s Heartland Helps Iraq's Yazidis

America’s Heartland Helps Iraq's Yazidis

KATY, TEXAS—

Attacks by the self-styled "Islamic State," also known as ISIL,  on the Yazidi religious minority in the mountains of northern Iraq have driven thousands of men, women and children into refugee camps -- where life remains¹ uncertain and difficult. Small Yazidi immigrant communities in the U.S. heartland are trying to provide relief to their brethren in Iraq and alert the world to their plight².

What haunts Murad Ismael is a cell phone call from a Yazidi woman after Islamic State fighters captured her and her companions last year.

“They shot four more women. I could hear them shooting. Then they threw them away, they threw their bodies away. They said their bodies had been kept for the dogs,” he said.

Harrowing stories

Ismael said women who have escaped tell many stories of young girls committing suicide rather than be used as sex slaves.

“It is not fair, it is not fair, and that is the fate of all the Yazidi women who are captured,” he said.

Last year, when the ISIL attacks began, Ismael and other Yazidis in the Houston area — along with members of a large Yazidi community in Lincoln, Nebraska — formed a group called Yazda.

Yazda President Haider Elias said it was difficult at first because few Americans had ever heard of the Yazidis.

“We had to introduce them to the Yazidi religion first and then present the issue,” Elias said.

Elias told people about the Yazidis’ religious traditions, which draw influences from Islam and other religions, but draw only scorn from radical³ Muslims.

Yazda's efforts

Yazda operates a relief center in Iraq and is now trying to provide psychological therapy for female victims of rape⁴ and abuse.

But Elias said the United Nations should do more than set up refugee camps for these victims of attempted genocide.

“We have been very frustrated⁵ with those great countries that are handling or making decisions for the UN. They have not been doing anything to help the Yazidis specifically,” she said.

At the end of this month, Murad Ismael plans to return to Iraq to assess the Yazidis’ situation and gather testimony⁶ from ISIL victims.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

3 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。