SHINGAL – Volunteers from the Mustakbal (Future) Charity Foundation on Saturday handed out the latest fruits of their fundraising labour in the long-suffering town of Shingal. Mustakbal is a local project with international support in the form of Marwan Babiri, a Yezidi clergyman who lives in Germany. Broadcasting Facebook Live videos encouraging people to donate to Mustakbal, Babiri raises up to 15 million Iraqi dinars ($12,569 USD) per video. Mustaqbal say they've managed to raise 260 million IQD ($217,871) in the past three months alone, with funds going to over 4,000 families in Duhok IDP camps, as well as 1,500 families in the wider Shingal area – to families Muslim and Yezidi alike. "May God accept the charity of the Yezidis in Germany. We received the money. We are Muslims and we are poor," one recipient of funds told Rudaw. At the foot of a mountain range nestled on the Syrian border, Shingal was once a safe home to a vibrant Yezidi community. But the area bore witness to horrific atrocities when the Islamic State group (ISIS) overran the area in 2014, launching a genocide against the long-persecuted minority. Five years have passed since Shingal’s liberation, and around 120,000 Yezidis have returned to the area – known as Sinjar in Arabic. But much of it still lies in ruins, and basic services have yet to be restored. Reporting by Tahsin Qasim Translation by Sarkawt Mohammed
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