1ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE YAZIDI GENOCIDE
HOST:
Yazidi Community in Houston and Yazda Organization
PHONE:
832-638-4348
WHEN:
MONDAY, AUGUST 3 FROM 06:00 PM TO 8:30 PM
WHERE:
A.D. Bruce Religion Center 3800 Cullen Blvd Houston, TX 77004
Dear Hindu friends,
You are cordially invited to join the Yazidi Community of Houston and Yazda Organization on the first anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide, for the first Yazidi Genocide Remembrance Day.
On August 3rd, 2014 the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” conducted a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi ethnoreligious minority in their homeland of Sinjar, in northern Iraq. During the first five days of the attack, ISIL killed over 3000 civilians, including women, children, elderly, and disabled people, and kidnapped at least 5000 civilians, mostly women and girls which were targeted for sexual enslavement. In some cases, ISIL jihadists buried Yazidis alive or burned them inside their religious temples. They destroyed over 20 Yazidi shrines and religious sites, and forcefully displaced 350,000 Yazidis in an attempt to permanently ethnically-cleanse them from their traditional homeland. This included a campaign to demolish hundreds of Yazidi homes with explosives to discourage the community from ever attempting to return.
Thousands of abducted Yazidi women and girls were forced into sexual slavery and over 2000 Yazidi children were separated from their families. After being taken from their parents, many young boys were brainwashed and trained as child soldiers to fight for ISIL’s jihadist objectives.
The small Yazidi-American community in Houston experienced the trauma of the genocide from a distance and was directly affected in many ways, including those who lost family members and friends.
Our community is delighted to have you join our memorial and is thankful in advance for your time to allow us share some of the stories, photos, and memories of the loved ones we lost in this genocide.
On our behalf, Please invite family, friends, the Hindu community Leaders in Houston or those you think might be interested in learning about the Yazidi people and their plight.
Kindest Regards!
Yazda Organization and Leaders of Yazidi Community in Houston
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