Yezidi children in Hevia Sewyan. Photo: Rudaw TV
Hevia Sewyan, which means "orphans' hope" in Kurdish, is a centre for Yezidi orphans in Sheikhan, Duhok province.
The centre aims to create a safe space and help the 30 Yezidi children who currently live there readjust to life after being held under the Islamic State (ISIS).
Thousands of children were kidnapped and held captive by ISIS, some for the past five years, and many were pushed into fighting for the jihadist group.
Many have suffered severe trauma and are in need of psychosocial support.
According to the KRG, ISIS kidnapped a total of 6,417 Yezidi women and children.
Up to 3,000 Yezidis are still missing, and hopes for their return are getting slimmer.
There were hopes that scores of the still unaccounted for Yezidis would emerge during a two-week pause in fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS remnants in Baghouz, eastern Syria.
But few turned up among the thousands who streamed out of the tiny village.
Hussein Karo, who heads the Yezidi Rescue Bureau, said just 47 Yezidis were rescued.
With reporting from Rudaw TV's Ayub Nasri.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment