For some, it’s the first time they've taken part in such an event since their liberation from ISIS, and the fate of thousands of missing Yezidis, numbering close to 3,000, played heavy on the mind of those in attendance, with prayers made for their safe return.
"Our women and girls are still in their hands. We ask from you to free them from those infidels and tyrants. We want to free our Yezidi women and children, we don’t want them to be victims," ISIS survivor Jane Alyas says.
Thought to be held captive in the homes of ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria, Yezidi leaders have decried the disregard for the missing members of their community.
"We know they [missing Yezidis] are even in Iraq. They’re in Mosul and the surrounding villages. Our people are everywhere. But I see a slow-moving situation. It’s been five years," said Yezidi spiritual leader Baba Chwish.
Both the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and federal government in Baghdad have faced criticism for not doing enough to protect Yezidis from Islamic State harm between 2014 and 2017, and presently doing too little to aid their rehabilitation.
Much of the Yezidi heartland is currently under the control of multiple armed factions, leaving many still living in camps for the internally displaced and fearfully reluctant to return home.
Lalish has become a symbolic centerpoint for post-ISIS rehabilitation and reconstruction. The site was granted $500,000 for its repair from the US government in July, while a volunteer-run restoration project began late last year, funded by Yezidi philanthropists.
by Ayoub Nasri
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