On 3 August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—also known as ISIL, IS or Daesh—attacked Iraq's northern Sinjar province, the heartland of the Yazidi community, an ancient Kurmanji-speaking ethnic-religious minority. The terrorist group, which considered the Yazidis heretics because of their unique religious identity, massacred thousands of Yazidi men, enlisted boys, and kidnapped over 6,000 women and children to be sold as slaves. Jacklyn was one of them.
In 2017, Jacklyn was liberated and moved to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), where her family was displaced after the genocide. After nine long years, she feels safe and accepted for who she is by her neighbors. However, she has a story to tell all her neighbors worldwide and a message to deliver: the Yazidi Genocide is not over until all Yazidis still held captive are set free and justice is finally achieved.
"Dear Neighbor: A Journey to Yazidis' Freedom and Reintegration" is a documentary I produced for Jesuit Refugee Service in the Middle East and North Africa (JRS MENA) in partnership with JRS/USA to embrace our shared humanity and awaken solidarity as we all, as a global society, are neighbors living on this planet.
