On August 3, 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacked Shingal (Sinjar), a region predominantly inhabited by the Yazidi people, resulting in the deaths of around 12,000 people and the abduction of approximately 3,000 girls and women who were taken as slaves. Some of these women now live in Canada, but despite their relocation, they continue to carry the heavy burden of severe trauma, emotional turmoil, and financial difficulties.
The survivors of this genocide are left with profound trauma—both physical and psychological—that continues to affect their daily lives. They have endured the loss of family members, escaped sexual slavery, and witnessed unimaginable violence and death.
Mahira Zindanan, a 19-year-old Yazidi survivor based in Surrey, BC, was only nine when ISIS overran her village and took her captive.
Sitting in the Guildford Library in Surrey, BC, Zindanan speaks in a haunted tone as she recalls how ISIS militants besieged her village, arresting residents and separating men, women, and girls.
“The ISIS militants took my father and other male relatives. Young boys were taken to be trained to kill their own families, and my mother, sister, and I, along with other women, were taken to Syria,” Zindanan shared. “In a school, they separated young girls from older women. I screamed and begged to stay with my mother, but they shot at the ceiling, beat me with a stick, and dragged me to another part of the school.”
ISIS systematically separated young women and girls from their families, forcing some into marriage with its fighters.
Zindanan recalls crying for her mother on July 14, but it wasn’t until she shaved her hair and eyelashes to appear younger and pretended to have mental health issues that the militants returned her to her mother.
Together with her mother and many older captives, she spent over a year in Syria, where she was forced to teach Arabic at a school. She never believed they would survive until one of her relatives managed to bribe someone in ISIS to secure their freedom. One night, they were secretly taken back to Duhok City in northern Iraq.
Zindanan was overjoyed to reunite with her father, brothers, and sister. However, her father, sister, and uncle were taken by ISIS and never returned—they were killed.
In 2017, Zindanan and her family moved to Canada, where she began a new life, though the trauma still lingers.
“When I’m alone at home or anywhere else, I feel unsafe. I think something might attack me. I still see the day when I was a child in the ISIS prison—beaten people, and young girls being taken away,” she said.
According to Britannica, the Yazidi are a Kurdish religious minority primarily located in northern Iraq. Data estimates suggest that there are about 550,000 to 600,000 Yazidis in Iraq, with additional Yazidi communities in southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, the Caucasus region, and parts of Iran.
The genocide forced many Yazidis to leave Iraq, with many resettling in Europe and North America. While exact numbers in Canada are unclear, over 1,000 survivors were resettled in Canada in 2016, and more than 1,400 arrived in 2021.
In 2023, the Journal of the American Medical Association Network reported that out of 230 Yazidi refugees, 74 (32.2 percent) had been diagnosed with mental health conditions. These diagnoses included issues like nightmares, panic attacks, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts, which were linked to their experiences with ISIS.
Ayman Jardo, another survivor of the Yazidi genocide, has been living in Vancouver since 2021. Like Zindanan, Jardo carries the weight of heavy trauma.
“When we escaped to Kurdistan from Khana Sor, a village near the Shingal district in Iraq, we left just minutes before ISIS arrived. They fired at us, and the bullets flew over our heads. I still can’t shake that memory,” Jardo said.
At the time of the genocide, the Shingal district and other Yazidi areas were under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) holding full power in the region.
Jardo and his family narrowly survived the genocide, but many of his neighbours were taken and have not returned.
“The Kurdish government and its militias betrayed us,” Jardo said. “They fled without warning us or the Yazidi militants who were part of them. We were left to face it alone.”
Chato Wany, president of The Greater Toronto Kurdish House, explained that since the Yazidi’s arrival in Canada, they have helped families settle by finding rental places, providing food and medical supplies, and handling logistics.
“We also helped them adjust to the new way of life, register their children for school, and connect with doctors, psychologists, and health services to recover from their trauma,” Wany said.
He also noted that after the genocide, they organized an international conference in November 2015, in partnership with the Yazidi Relief Fund, to raise awareness of the Yazidi genocide.
At the break of dawn, the Kurdish forces withdrew without a fight, leaving the town exposed to an ISIS attack. Once locals realized the betrayal, they fled in panic, much like Ayman and his family, abandoning everything. This led to the genocide that followed.
To this day, there has been no formal investigation into why the Peshmerga forces pulled out of Shingal without resisting ISIS or protecting the civilians.
The KDP and its leader, Masoud Barzani, bear significant responsibility for the Yazidi genocide, as they had full control over the region’s security. Barzani served as the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) from 2005 to 2017 and was the commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga forces. He was responsible for the safety of residents living in areas controlled by Peshmerga.
His nephew, Nechirvan Barzani, held the position of Prime Minister of the KRG, while Masoud Barzani’s son, Masrour Barzani, served as the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, with knowledge of the looming ISIS threat.
Zindanan and Jardo continue to struggle with trauma, often reflecting on the fall of Shingal. They remain concerned that their homeland has been neglected, with their cities and towns still in ruins and no accountability for the atrocities committed. Visiting family members and relatives remains a significant challenge.
Wany emphasized that Yazidi refugees, who endured some of the worst horrors, have not received adequate care and attention.
“Our organization has raised this serious issue with top government officials,” Wany stated. “The support provided by government agencies has never matched the scale of the tragedy the Yazidis faced.”
Jardo has no desire to return to live under the Kurdish government, but he hopes the Canadian federal government will assist in bringing his parents to Canada. They still live in their ruined village, and he is deeply concerned for their safety amid ongoing clashes.
“I’ve applied for my parents to come here, but unfortunately, the Canadian government has not yet offered any help,” Jardo said.
Jardo also expressed pain over the continued dire situation in Shingal.
“Instead of rebuilding our cities and compensating the people, there are still conflicts among four different groups in the area: the Iraqi government, the Kurdish government, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and the local Yazidi government,” said Jardo.
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
