Story
By:
  • Megan Giovannetti | Strategic Communications Officer

On August 3rd, 2014, Daesh invaded West Ninewa in Iraq, targeting thousands of Yazidis. In Sinjar, militants waged a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi community. Iraq’s Yazidi, Shabak, Turkmen and Christian communities are still recovering from this and other atrocities 10 years later – calling for justice, reparations and support to rebuild their lives.

 

The Survivors’ Voices Network (SVN) is a group of Yazidi and other minority women survivors, supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Iraq, who advocate for themselves, their communities, and other women who are hesitant to speak up. Most notably, they aim to ensure meaningful, representative, and unified participation of survivors in the implementation of the Yazidi Survivors Law. Enacted in 2021, this reparations law allows survivors to apply for financial compensation and other benefits.

 

Ahead of the ten-year commemoration of the Yazidi Genocide, SVN gathered in Duhok for an art-based intervention to express themselves and convey their recovery and advocacy messages through art.  Artworks produced will be showcased at the Yazidi Genocide Memorial on 3 August, 2024, in Solagh, Sinjar.

 

The art-based activity brought together a wide range of ages, backgrounds and skill-levels. It was a unique experience for many; some of whom never engaged in any sort of art medium before this intervention. Photo ©: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
Participants learned various art techniques, including painting, clay molding, collaging, and ink-blotting. IOM provided materials such as paint, canvases, rocks, and sticks to encourage creativity. Photo ©: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti24
Many art pieces were deeply symbolic. A young woman explained the meaning of her painting: “It represents life and hardships we've faced – I've faced. And this is my hand here, meaning it can overcome hardships”. Photo: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
Another participant painted an image of a tree, explaining ‘After liberation and reuniting with our relatives […] I would think like this tree; to encourage myself, and be brave like this tree. Life would go on.’ Photo ©: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
To spark discussions and guide participants, IOM engaged its MHPSS staff (in the photo) and a professional facilitator with expertise in displacement, psychology and art. Photo: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
Many women filmed the creative process for the final art exhibition to take place at the Yazidi Genocide Memorial in Solagh, Sinjar, to remember the 10th year since the genocide. Photo: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
“We would love to have the old times back,” one woman explains about their clay scene of a family around a table with miniature sheep. “A clay oven, bread, raising sheep. It was nice.” Photo ©: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
Bringing survivors of war, and in some cases conflict-related sexual violence, to process their feelings in the community through art can be therapeutic. “We were distracted from our thoughts." said a participants. Photo: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti
In between sessions, IOM staff facilitated quick games and energizers to get participants laughing and moving during the full three-day workshop. Photo: IOM 2024/Megan Giovannetti

This activity was possible thanks to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of the Netherlands.

 

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SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
 

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