CANADIAN TEAM IDENTIFIES PERSECUTED YAZIDIS:
Since the start of the Yazidi genocide in Iraq at the hands of ISIS, about 500,000 people have been displaced, thousands of men have been killed, and countless women and children have been abducted, raped and sold into sex slavery.
In a recent mission to identify Iraq's most vulnerable and persecuted individuals, a coalition including Rev. Majed El Shafie of OFWI and MPs Rachael Harder & Hon. Tony Clement identified around 400 Yazidis who have escaped the unimaginable brutality of ISIS and who are now highly at-risk refugees in their own country; Women and girls who had been held captive as sex slaves and who, along with their families, are in dire need of help fleeing the persecution.
(Click here to watch the full press conference about this mission.)
(Click here to read the powerful testimony of Nadia Murad, who suffered as one of ISIS' many Yazidi sex slaves.)
CANADA'S CURRENT LIMITATIONS:
OFWI and ORAT are asking the Canadian government to resettle these 400 Yazidi girls and women in Canada. However, because they are still located within their home country, these Yazidi women are not considered refugees by the UN and do not qualify to apply for refugee protection in Canada.
Canada is in a unique position to be able to help and we believe that our nation should be free to help save the lives of these Yazidi people.
GOOD NEWS:
On Oct. 4th, Immigration Minister John McCallum announced an upcoming "fact-finding mission" to determine the best ways to help Yazidi refugees fleeing genocide. We are hoping the government sees the suffering of these people and is moved to help them. In the meantime...
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
Pray:
Please pray for the persecuted Yazidi people and that the hearts of those in positions of influence on this matter would be moved to do whatever it takes to help save them.
E-mail:
Please write an e-mail explaining that the Yazidi victims of genocide urgently need our help and that you want to see Canada welcome these victims to safety.
1) Address the e-mail to your personal MP. Find your MP by postal code here.
2) Add the Minister of Immigration, John McCallum's e-mail address to your e-mail, or send a separate e-mail to john.mccallum@parl.gc.ca.
3) Add Prime Minister Trudeau's e-mail address, or send a separate e-mail to justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca.
Sign the Petition:
Please sign this petition to help save Yazidi and Christian minorities in Iraq and Syria.
STAY TUNED...
Our sources on the Hill tell us that a rally on Parliament Hill demanding that the government do more to help the Yazidi people is in the works! Stay tuned for more information when it becomes available.
