30,000 Yazidi Kurds face imminent starvation as they huddle on Shangal Mountain in Northern Iraq. The Yazidi refugees are escaping ISIS, an Islamist, terrorist army that has pledged to destroy them because of their religious differences. The New England Kurdish Association (NEKA) held a rally on Tuesday to highlight the plight of the Yazidis. The Yazidi people, whose culture and religion is twice as old as Christianity, face extinction, yet the United States is reluctant to get sucked back into Iraq, so soon after pulling out our troops.
President Barzani of Kurdistan is not asking for troops, telling the Associated press, “We are not asking our friends to send their sons on our behalf.” What Barzani wants is weapons. Weapons that will provide his people a fighting chance against ISIS.
Steve Ahlquist is an award-winning journalist, writer, artist and founding member of the Humanists of Rhode Island, a non-profit group dedicated to reason, compassion, optimism, courage and action. The views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of any organization of which he is a member.
His photos and video are usable under the Creative Commons license. Free to share with credit.
"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Weisel
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." - Desmond Tutu
"There comes a time when neutrality and laying low become dishonorable. If you’re not in revolt, you’re in cahoots. When this period and your name are mentioned, decades hence, your grandkids will look away in shame." - David Brooks
30,000 Yazidi Kurds face imminent starvation as they huddle on Shangal Mountain in Northern Iraq. The Yazidi refugees are escaping ISIS, an Islamist, terrorist army that has pledged to destroy them because of their religious differences. The New England Kurdish Association (NEKA) held a rally on Tuesday to highlight the plight of the Yazidis. The Yazidi people, whose culture and religion is twice as old as Christianity, face extinction, yet the United States is reluctant to get sucked back into Iraq, so soon after pulling out our troops.
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