A Yazidi friend of the NGO ‘Un Ponte Per…’ (A Bridge To…) once said, “After so much persecution, we’re not used to people giving us opportunities.” But this time, a life-changing opportunity is being made available for a small group of young Yazidi teenagers.
Thanks to the United World Colleges selections have just taken place in Iraq to identify young girls and boys of the Yazidi minority eligible for a scholarship (youngsters between 16 and 18 years of age). The candidate who came first is a girl who will come to our College in Duino thanks to the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, which has funded this scholarship. The other UWC schools and Colleges will work to find more funds, so that at least 5 Yazidi students will be successfully placed to complete their last two years of high school, either in Italy or elsewhere.
The logistical infrastructure, human resources and materials needed to carry out the selections were provided by the NGO ‘Un Ponte Per…’ (A Bridge To…), not only because the charity firmly believes in any initiative that strives to guarantee a future to Iraq and Iraqis, but also thanks to our alumni Domenico Chirico (1990-92) and Martina Pignatti (1996-98) who work there.
Yet despite the constant blackouts and icy temperatures that have blanketed the Kurdish highlands in recent days, the selections took place in Dohuk in northern Iraq, after publication of the call for applications which was circulated amongst all the NGOs and charities based in the Yazidi community. This was no easy task, as most of the Yazidi minority had fled by 2014, once Daesh (the Islamic State) had laid claim to the areas that they populated around the country. Very few have since come back home. Many young people have lost years of school, whilst there are numerous cases of young women being kidnapped.
Many had to abandon their studies to work and support their families. A large number of these evacuees have been living in tents in refugee camps for two years. In these parts, they are often referred to as the ‘lost generations’, whole generations that have been deprived of a normal education, being subjected to war and its consequences instead
In just a few days, the call for applications was circulated widely and received a lot of attention on social media and from Yazidi organisations. 30 hopeful girls and boys turned up to seize this opportunity of a lifetime. Diamonds are certain to be found amongst them; young women with boundless energy, who have escaped the shadows of Daesh’s persecution and say, quite candidly, that they have been living in a tent for the past two years.
They say that they love learning, books and art, have learnt more English with their mobile phones than through school at the refugee camps; that they dream of being able to do so many different activities, which unfortunately they can’t do because they have lost everything and find themselves in a difficult financial situation. But they never dream of giving up. Many of them volunteer at the camps to help those in need or who are worse off than they are.
Others get involved in politics, music or sport. Some proudly boast of their victory in the basketball league. Many of them, the cream of the crop, do not hate, but rather hope for a peaceful future where everyone can live together in their country. These are the ones that we hope to give this opportunity to, so that one day they can become examples of peace and solidarity, as taught by the United World Colleges.
Today, Iraq does not need another flood of humanitarian aid which, as occurred after 2003, serves only to create unstoppable rivers of corruption and inequality. Iraqis need to build a new generation, one that is not forged from hate or the violence of war. There are hundreds of young people hoping for their country to change. Many of them want to come back home and help once they have finished their studies at one of the colleges.
One of the young students that we met, who now lives in a tent in a refugee camp, said that he wants to study engineering because he needs to go back to Sinjar, where persecution of the Yazidis began, to rebuild his city and make it magnificent once more – just like the light in the eyes of these girls and boys, whose future should no longer be robbed from them.
If you wish to contribute to a scholarship for one of these selected Yazidi students you can make a donation with the button below.
