A letter from Kurdistan: “Yazidi beaten up by security forces while demanding help”

As previously reported, Yazidi who were able to escape from Mount Sinjar are in Kurdistan. They did not leave their problem behind and their struggle is far from over. They are actually facing a humanitarian crisis.  In the Kurdistan Region there are more than 300,000 Yazidi refugees but there is no external support. There are no camps and thousands sleep on the streets hoping to leave Iraq as soon as possible. “We are not safe here,” they claimed. The news flow from Kurdistan is slow and sporadic. There is a growing tension in cities such as Zakho and Dohuk, at the Turkish border, said Farhan a former US Army interpreter.

On August 23, a group of Yazidi decided to march around the city to draw the world’s attention toward their plight. “Everyone complains about the lack of food and water, hundreds of thousands homeless, sleeping on the sidewalks of the streets,” continued the letter.  Farhan explained that the KGR – Kurdistan Regional Government -does not provide any services to Yazidi and the UN has not yet arrived. Now, he continued, “we see the other side of the security forces to crush any demonstration. Today [August 23] they arrested a number of demonstrators and beat protesters and dispersed them by force.”

Ezat Tahseen was beaten up by the police. Below his picture.