By confronting the shadows of the past, AMAR builds for the future

For Iraqis around the world, the month of August brings back painful memories of 2014 when the Islamic State invaded and occupied large parts of the country’s territory. The month of August is also significant because it marks the anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide. 

When news broke of the Yazidi’s fleeing up Mount Sinjar, the international community sprang into action. The US Air Force and the Royal Air Force worked in cooperation with the Iraqi Government, to first drop aid supplies onto the mountain and then opened up a humanitarian corridor so that people could escape back down. 

The world heard how female Yazidi’s were being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery, and men were being indiscriminately murdered by the international terrorist organization known as Daesh. Young boys were also routinely separated from their families and forced to undergo terrorist training in a brutal system known as ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’. 

Among the first voices to declare the actions of Islamic State a 'Genocide’ was the UK’s Baroness Emma Nicholson, who for over 30 years has led the AMAR International Charitable Foundation. AMAR’s work started in Iraq, to support the Marsh Arabs who had been forcibly displaced by then President Saddam Hussain. 

As the scale of the genocide by ISIS became apparent, Baroness Nicholson and the AMAR Foundation sprang into action, by first providing material support to those displaced. Looking to the future, AMAR then launched Escaping Darkness in 2015. They recognized that victims of genocide needed assistance in escaping the darkness of Post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Nearly a decade after ISIS launched their campaign to eradicate Iraq’s Yazidi community, the AMAR Foundation have provided mental health assistance to over 50.000 members of this ancient community. As part of their wider approach to trauma recovery, AMAR have also been working with hundreds of young Yazidi’s; teaching them to play traditional musical instruments and documenting traditional Yazidi songs. 

For the Iraqi community in Britain, these efforts by the AMAR Foundation in Iraq, follow on from a long tradition where music has played a therapeutic role in treating the hidden wounds of war. During the 1990’s, the Iraqi community in Manchester would often hold concerts, where people of all ethnicities and religions would gather to hear the sounds of the Oud. 

Numbering at around 20.000 Iraqi’s, the city of Manchester is home to many people who have survived war, persecution, torture and political repression. The actions of ISIS against the Yazidi community spurred Manchester residents to donate to charities like AMAR and even take a more active role by hosting events at the University of Manchester and participating on the city’s annual fun-runs.