INSPIRING HOPE IN HUMANKIND. ON THE ASHES OF A GENOCIDE.
Every day, HÁWAR.help is dedicated to creating a world in which every human being, regardless of their ethnic background, faith, gender or lifestyle, can heal and grow in safety and with agency. A world in which human rights are respected as the highest good and in which women and children have no need to be afraid of embracing new opportunities and dreaming big. A world in which educational initiatives and open societies support especially those people who have been scarred by life and still have the courage to hope and heal. There’s still a long way to go, but we’ll keep on moving, no matter what.
Show moreIn 2014 the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS) in Iraq and parts of Syria carried out a systematic campaign of annihilation against ethno-religious minorities – including Christians, Shiite Muslims, Turkmen, and Shabaks. – but the Yazidis were hit hardest. In the summer of 2014, tens of thousands of people were tortured, raped, and executed. Yazidi women and children were separated from their families and sold into sexual slavery or as child soldiers. HÁWAR.help’s Founder and Chairwoman, Düzen Tekkal, who has Yazidi roots herself, travelled to Iraq as a German journalist to document the genocide being committed against her religious community. When she returned, she was a changed person. She had witnessed with her own eyes how quickly and easily genocide can become a reality in the 21st century, just 70 years after the Holocaust, while the whole world watches on their screens. In the Kurdish language HÁWAR means “cry for help” – and this cry by her people was exactly what Düzen Tekkal followed. In 2015 HÁWAR.help was born.
TESTIMONIALS
“Wonderful work is being done here, which helps refugees to not only better integrate through sports, but also to make many new connections, which, if one may say so, paves the way into life.”
Dr. Angela Merkel
Chancellor of Germany
“I deeply admire and support the important work of HÁWAR.help. We are making a difference.”
Dr. Gerd Müller
Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
“It fills me with pride that my Yazidi daughters from Germany have not forgotten where they came from. In light of the tragedy of the genocide, they left their safe home in Germany and came to help their sisters in Iraq.”
Baba Shek †
Spiritual Leader of the Yazidis
“HÁWAR.help stands for the aspiration to create a world in which every human being can unfold in a self-determined manner and within a safe environment, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion. I have taken on this mission. You too can help eliminate any form of persecution from the world.”
Düzen Tekkal
HÁWAR.help Founder and Chairwomen
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