When ISIS Attacked, She Inspired the World to Act
August 3, 2015 - In August 2014 Islamic State militants slaughtered hundreds of Yazidi men in northern Iraq and enslaved Yazidi women. Tens of thousands of Yazidi refugees fled to the Sinjar mountains. Knowing the terrible conditions her people were enduring, Vian Dakhil, a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and a Yazidi, made an emotional plea on the parliament floor. Her speech was widely credited with leading to a full-scale international attack on ISIS. She recently reflected on the events.
Transcript
ENGLISH SUBTITLES:
"Mr. Speaker, we get slaughtered under the slogan of
‘There is no God but Allah.’ Mr. Speaker, until now 500
Yazidis have been slaughtered ... I am calling out to you in the name
of humanity. In the name of humanity, save us! Mr. Speaker, I want …"
VIAN DAKHIL, MEMBER, IRAQI COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES:
My big challenge, because I’m only the Yazidi female in
the Iraqi Parliament, sometimes I feel alone. And I need someone to help me.
How can I help those communities, or those minorities.
ONSCREEN TEXT:
Vian Dakhil is a member of the Iraq Council of
Representatives and a Yazidi.
Yazidis are a Kurdish religious minority. They live
primarily in northern Iraq and neighboring countries.
Their religion, which dates to the 12th century, has
a rich oral tradition and integrates elements of several major faiths.
VIAN DAKHIL:
In the 3rd of August 2014, ISIS attacked the Yazidi
community in Sinjar and attacked the villages. And killing the men and
kidnapping the women and killing the children. And all of those Yazidi poor run
away to the mountain—to the Sinjar Mountain. And some of them died on the way. And
nobody made anything about them. And all day I think about the very sad story of
my people. And I ask everyone to help them and nobody hears me.
ENGLISH SUBTITLES:
"The Shiites, the
Sunnis, the Christians, the Turkmen, and the Shabak were slaughtered, and
today the Yazidis are being slaughtered."
VIAN DAKHIL:
I think this speech became a change. Everyone say, “Oh,
this is a very big problem for the Yazidi.” Even the Iraqi government.
After that, the humanitarian aids are coming from the
international countries. I think the United States had some idea to help, but
after my speech, I think the United States came faster.
BAYAN SAMI ABDUL RAHMAN, REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED
STATES, KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT:
Fighting ISIS is of course the priority for the Kurdistan
Regional Government and for the Iraqi government.
However, it has to be a priority for the international
community. And we appreciate very much the U.S., first in the airstrikes that
protected Irbil and other parts of Kurdistan last August, the airlifts that
helped the Yazidis and others on Mount Sinjar, and then the continuing support
that we are getting from the United States and other coalition partners.
So the international community can do much, much more in
providing humanitarian assistance to all of the displaced but particularly the Yazidis
who have gone through such incredible trauma.
VIAN DAKHIL:
It is not easy for women in Iraq to become a Member of
Parliament, especially if you are a Kurdish female and a Yazidi female. I think
it is difficult. Maybe it’s sensitive for some people. Because of that, I say
ISIS attacked everyone in Iraq: attacked the Muslim, attacked [the] Christian,
[the] Shabaks and Turkmen [who are] also are Muslim.
I have been threatened by some groups. Sometimes some of
those [who] escaped tell me, “You are at the top of the lSIS list.” But I don’t
care about that.
