RESILIENCE AND HERITAGE: THE YAZIDI COMMUNITY ARCHIVE EXHIBITION IN ERBIL

„The Yazidi Community Archive is a glimmer of hope. We are only setting up the infrastructure. The ones who bring it to life, are the Yazidis themselves. The people of Shingal. The survivors. And finally, the world can see who they are, what their heritage is. A heritage that stretches back to ancient times. A heritage that is so rich and shines so bright that not even Daesh, or anyone who came before them, could erase.” – Düzen Tekkal, Founder of HÁWAR.help.

HÁWAR.help was honored to invite members of the Yazidi community, religious representatives and representatives of the German government as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government and other selected guests to our second Yazidi Community Archive exhibition, this time located in the Erbil Citadel in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. After opening remarks by HÁWAR.help representatives, H.E. Consul General of Germany in Erbil Albrecht von Wittke, Düzen Tekkal and Mr. Hussein Koro Ibrahim, Head of the Office for the Rescue of Yazidi Victims in the Kurdistan Region Presidency held speeches. The opening was accompanied by a Dengbêj and Tambur (traditional Yazidi folk music) performance by Darwesh Faqir Mirza and Salman Faqir Mirza, whose life stories have also been added to the archive, followed by a walk through the exhibition. 

The atmosphere was truly captivating: The Erbil Citadel, a place steeped in history, provided the perfect setting for an exhibition dedicated to heritage and identity. Guests included representatives of the American and Chinese consulates, artist and activist Dashni Morad, as well as representatives from other NGOs working in the region. Four major TV channels attended the opening and covered the exhibition on their channels. 

The exhibition was divided across different rooms, each presenting thematic clusters. Next to professional photographs taken by archivists, many of the photographs featured were taken by our participants from the IDP camps during a series of photography workshops conducted as part of the project. The exhibition therefore gave the Yazidi community the opportunity to be part of a cultural production that was not only made about them but co-created with them. The material shows different facets of their everyday lives, highlights constants and changes and opens up the space for conversations about what is no longer, what must not be lost and what is yet to come. Visitors expressed their gratitude, highlighting how meaningful it was to see Yazidi culture and history so prominently showcased to the public. Many emphasized that the focus on community strength, resilience, and hope made this exhibition so special and personal to them. They saw it as a crucial cultural and educational initiative – something that had never been presented in this way in Iraq before. 

Thank you to the Federal Foreign Office for supporting the Yazidi Community Archive and elbarlament for implementing the project with us! We would also like to thank Hussein Koro Ibrahim, Head of the Office for the Rescue of Yazidi Victims in the Kurdistan Region Presidency and H.E. Consul General of Germany in Erbil Albrecht von Wittke for their speeches and the Erbil Citadel administration for allowing us to host the event at the Citadel. Guests included representatives from the Kurdistan Region Presidency, representatives from the Directorate of Co-Existence, representatives from Ministry of Endowment and Religion in the Kurdistan Region, representatives from different consulates in Erbil, and the representatives from all religions in the Kurdistan Region. Thank you all for coming! And of course, thank you to all participants of the Yazidi Community Archive for participating in the project and trusting us with their life stories!