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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

The Yazidis in Iraq: between a rock and a hard place

Since the end of the conflict against the Islamic State in 2018, the humanitarian crisis in Iraq has evolved from an acute crisis to a protracted one.

The conflict forced 6 million people to leave their homes between 2014 and 2017. Although 5 million people have returned, some 1.2 million Iraqis remain uprooted.

About 400,000 Yazidis fled to the Kurdish region of Iraq after the assault of ISIS in 2014. Today, more than half remain displaced.

Many of them feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Their communities were almost completely destroyed. They lost family members and friends, but also their homes and livelihoods.

As time passed, humanitarian assistance has decreased. Although administratively their situation has become more secure, and the EU has helped them recover their civil documentation, not all Yadizis have managed to rebuild their lives.

An ECHO colleague sitting together with people around a room.
The day of the assault on their villages in August 2014 is still fresh in the memory of the Yazidi community. Alerted by people in nearby villages they set out using any means to get away. Many left without any documentation.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
An aid worker looking at a small child being hold by her mother.
For parents to register their newborns they need documentation, such as their own IDs and marriage certificates. The EU provides humanitarian assistance to the remaining conflict-displaced Iraqis, with a strong focus on legal aid and protection.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
Aid workers with 2 girls talking outside.
Stuck in displacement, many girls and women are particularly vulnerable, especially after the threat of enslavement by ISIS. EU partners provide mental health and psychosocial aid to girls and women and have helped set up community women’s committees.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
3 youngsters walking towards a settlement in a sandy area. In the background some mountains.
Many young Yazidis are thirsty for education and better job opportunities. They don’t see a future for themselves back in Sinjar because of the lack of services and jobs. But others are convinced that “the place you are from is where you belong.”
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
Aid worker talking to Naif and his family while being seated at the floor.
48-year-old Naif and his family lives in a camp in Duhok in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. They are among 13,700 displaced Yazidi in Khanke camp. They haven’t been back to Sinjar in 9 years. Their eldest daughter returned but doesn’t have a job.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
Naif and a son sitting in front of a cabinet.
Barely a year after finishing building a house for his family in Sinjar, they had to flee the advance of ISIS. The house in Sinjar had 3 rooms, a bathroom and kitchen before it got destroyed. “I was comfortable in my house back in Sinjar, not like here.”
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
Close up of the prothese leg. His hands folded on top of his lap.
Naif lost his leg in an accident in a cement factory. He earns a living selling phone accessories and his wife Aisha works in a recycling factory. They want to improve their 2 small rooms with cement. Currently, they are worried about the fire hazard.
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
View of one of the children partially reflected in a broken mirror.
The family got their civil documents in the camp thanks to UNHCR and the EU. Naif says it still is difficult to return with 6 kids: “In my poor situation I won’t be able to go back anytime soon. It will be difficult to start over.”
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
Aid worker talking to the mother and children while standing in a doorway.
“We need a solution. We need a house here or go back to Sinjar if it’s safe. But I’d need support to reconstruct my house,” says Naif. Over time humanitarian assistance has decreased and their debt is increasing. “Are we going to be here forever?”
© European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)
Photo of Anouk Delafortrie

Story by Anouk Delafortrie, Regional Information Officer, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

Photos: © European Union, 2023 (photographer: Sherko Mohamed)