Why We Speak: Help Spread Refugee Stories

The amount of forcibly displaced people has been rising steadily in the last ten years. By the end of 2020 there were 82.4 million refugees worldwide. That’s a staggering 3 million increase from 2019. At 3 Generations we work to bring attention to the devastating effects of this ongoing refugee crisis. 

In 2021 we highlighted a few stories about refugees from Myanmar and Syria and the hardships that they faced. We finished editing the video testimony of Lamiya, a Yazidi refugee. In the video the ISIS survivor tells the harrowing account of her and her son’s enslavement by ISIS and how they managed to survive. Despite all of their pain and suffering they were able to continue to fight for survival because of their love for each other. Here is a link to a short clip from it.

We also hosted a livestream on the anniversary of the beginning of the Yazidi genocide. Our founder Jane Wells spoke with Debbie Rose, founder of the charity Project Abraham in Canada, and Souriya Naso, a volunteer at Project Abraham. The discussion touched on the incredible amount of trauma that the Yazidi refugees had experienced and the difficulties of adjusting to life because of it. Here is a link to excerpts from the livestream.

3 Generations believes that the refugee situation is a humanitarian crisis that demands a more humane response. We will continue to spread awareness about the plight of refugees and document their stories so that they can get the support and compassion that they deserve.

To learn more about this and our other issues please visit our website.

Links:

• Our Video for World Day for Migrants & Refugees

In August, we hosted a livestream on the anniversary of the beginning of the Yazidi genocide in Iraq by ISIS. 3 Generations had recorded the stories from some of the survivors of this genocide and wanted to take a deeper dive into this under reported tragedy. 

In 2014, in the Northern Iraq town of Sinjar over 6,000 Yazidi women and children were kidnapped by members of the terrorist organization ISIS. Many older women, men and boys were killed on the spot. Younger women and children were processed and taken across the border to ISIS controlled sites, including slave markets, and training and indoctrination centers. Today over 3,000 women and girls are still missing.  

In observance of the anniversary our Founder Jane Wells spoke with Debbie Rose, Founder of the charity Project Abraham in Canada, and Souriya Naso a volunteer at Project Abraham. Project Abraham has helped several hundred Yazidi women and children who were victims of ISIS reach safety in Canada. Souriya is a Yazidi who was born in Syria but whose family migrated to Canada during the Iraq War. 

The discussion touched on the amount of trauma that the Yazidi refugees had experienced, the worst that Canadian experts had ever encountered. They also spoke about the lack of will at the UN to label what happened to the Yazidis a genocide and offer assistance to find the thousands of still missing Yazidi women and girls. 

For more in depth information about the livestream and the Yazidi Genocide please read our blog post Let's not forget the Yazidi Genocide. 

3 Generations will continue to document the stories of Yazidi refugees and shine a spotlight on the plight of the missing Yazidi women and girls. To learn more about this and any of our other issues please visit us at 3generations.org.