By Farangis Qaderi
LONDON – Heartwarming stories have been emerging from Iran, where despite their own poverty and difficulties Kurdish communities have rallied, campaigned and raised sizeable sums in support of the Yezidi suffering in Shingal.
The various cities of Iran’s Kurdistan province alone raised the equivalent of $330,000 – an astonishing sum given the depth of poverty and high unemployment in a region that is among the country’s most deprived. Average monthly income here is no more than $300.
After applying to the government for an official license to run campaigns and fundraising, volunteers from all sectors of society threw themselves into the work, delighted at the overwhelming response.
Similar campaigns have been launched in Kermanshah, Ilam, and the Kurdish cities of Western and Eastern Azerbaijan provinces. Volunteers report that people have given generously, despite their own financial hardships. There are touching stories of immense public generosity.
Hundreds of thousands of Yezidis fled Shingal and surrounding villages before an advance by the armies of the Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS), which has been especially brutal toward non-Muslim minorities. Yezidis have been especially vulnerable because they are regarded as “unbelievers” under the militants’ Islamic code.
The Yezidis of Shingal remain homeless, huge numbers sheltering in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which itself is vastly overstretched under a million refugees from Syria and other parts of Iraq.
It is for these deprived thousands that Kurds in Iran have been donating money, food, clothes, and whatever they can afford, some tearful and apologetic about not being able to give more.
In Saqez, volunteers at a collection point were startled when a young boy who earns his living by collecting garbage offered his whole daily wage – 30 cents – to the campaign. A working couple of farm day laborers from Sanandaj offered their combined daily earnings.
An elderly man in Saqez, passing a collection point and unable to read what it was for, burst into tears when he heard “Shingal,” as if he knew the place well. He urgently began searching all his pockets to donate all he was carrying.
In Sardasht, a group of young men offer to polish shoes to raise money, and open air concerts have been held with local artists to raise money in some cities.
In Baneh, a shy young man in his twenties handed in a black shopping bag to a donation point and slipped away. It had four wrapped cakes inside and a little note: “I am so sorry I could not afford more. But I know hunger very well!”
