Doneraile
TENT: SYMBOL OF THE GENOCIDE OF THE YAZIDIS PEOPLE – Nagle Rice Secondary School, Doneraile
5th Year Art Class facilitated by Art teacher Ms. Karen O Shea
This tent is a replica of the tent of one family of ten, who live in a camp for displaced people in Northern Iraq. We were introduced to the story of Mr. Aziz Alias Mhe, a 23-year-old Yazidis man living in Bersive 1 camp with his family and 4,000 other families who all practise Yezidism and who are from the Sinjar district. He lives in this tent with his family of ten, his wife, child, father, mother and siblings. The family had to leave their home due to the genocide of the Yazidi people in 2014, by the so-called Islamic State (IS), who are recognised by the United Nations as the perpetrator of genocide of Yazidis in Iraq. A 2016 UN report says IS has subjected members of the religious group it has captured to the “most horrific of atrocities”, killing or enslaving thousands. According to the UNHCR, there are currently 65.6 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, with 22.5 million of these being refugees. “There was something about making the tent”, one young person said. It was a very physical and emotional experience, an experience you cannot feel if you are just reading online. We want action”.
The young people from Doneraile can be heard speaking on the Global Hub radio show at Community Radio Youghal, presented by Gertrude Cotter.
A class of second year Digital Humanities students at UCC also worked on this project and you can find the full story at: www.yazidisgenocide.com
