#JESIDENBLEIBEN – HÁWAR.help FIGHTS FOR A NATIONWIDE DEPORTATION BAN AND PERMANENT PROTECTION STATUS FOR YAZIDIS

In Germany, many Yazidis found refuge after the genocide committed against them in Iraq in 2014 by Daesh (also known as the so-called “Islamic State”). An estimated 250,000 Yazidis live here – making it the largest Yazidi diaspora community in the world. But many of them now face deportation back to Iraq. As an organization founded on the ashes of the Yazidi genocide, we advocate for the rights and protection of Yazidis both in Iraq and in Germany, and are fighting against these deportations.

We are calling for a nationwide deportation ban and a permanent protection status for Yazidis. In October 2023, we addressed this urgent appeal to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in the form of an open letter. As of May 2024, nearly 28,000 people have signed the open letter. This is a great success!

In addition, we have joined forces with other organizations such as Münchner Flüchtlingsrat and Pro Asyl. Together, we launched the campaign #JesidenBleiben on social media, report on deportation cases, and continue to push against deportations at the political level. Some federal states have already responded: North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia, and Rhineland-Palatinate imposed deportation stops. However, these only apply to the respective federal states and are limited to three months, with the possibility of a single three-month extension. The federal states point to the federal government, which must take action. That is why we must continue to advocate against the deportations together!

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von HÁWAR.help (@hawar.help)

In Iraq, deported Yazidi families have nothing. They have no land, no house, no possessions there. Moreover, the country is still not safe for Yazidis. They continue to face discrimination and persecution. The social and societal conditions that enabled the rise and triumph of the terrorist militia Daesh in Syria and Iraq remain unchanged. Sinjar, the ancestral homeland of the Yazidis, is destroyed and controlled by various state and non-state actors and armed militias. Deported Yazidis from Germany have no choice but to return to one of the many camps for internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where over a hundred thousand Yazidis still live almost 10 years after the genocide. Being sent back to the country where they experienced genocide represents a severe re-traumatization.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Düzen Tekkal (@duzentekkal)

Almost on a weekly basis, we receive messages from Yazidis who have received deportation orders. Even having a job or a vocational training contract does not protect them from deportation. The terrorist militia Daesh once tore families apart during the genocide. Survivors feared they would never see their parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, or aunts again. In their new homeland, Germany, some families were reunited – only to now be torn apart again by deportation orders. What Daesh failed to do is now being done by a merciless remigration policy. The Yazidi community worldwide feels a deep connection to Germany and watches these developments with concern. The pain, despair, and disbelief are immense. Especially since the German Bundestag officially recognized the genocide against the Yazidis in January 2023 and, in its public declaration, emphasized once again the need to protect the Yazidi community.

The time to act is now! A permanent and nationwide solution is urgently needed. Support our work, stay informed about current developments, and join us in solidarity with the Yazidi community in demanding a nationwide deportation ban and permanent protection status for Yazidis in Germany!

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