Reactions to the events following the referendum and the takeover by Iraqi troops of Kirkuk and other areas in the disputed territories by local WADI members and their partners
Recent events have stirred fears of violence and growing instability in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Once again the future appears very uncertain, and hopes for peace and prosperity are fading. Old fears and traumata are resurfacing again. Our local teams and partners shared their feelings, impressions and aspirations in public statements:
Statement on the current situation by Wadi’s Garmyan team (which currently is very active in promoting a stop of beating children at school):
The situation that developed in October 16th, 2017 in the disputed areas caused many tensions and more division between the religious groups and ethnicities in those areas. A lot of emotional and material damage happened to the people in those areas. Women and men, everybody was affected in one way or another. There were many injuries and dead people, and more than 5000 were displaced. Many people in Tuz Khurmatu were forced to leave their homes. They arrived here in Garmyan in bad conditions. They were in need of shelter, clothes, food and medication.
Because of the war and other violent conflicts the people now face many physical and psychological difficulties, especially the women and the children which are the main victims. Most of them are in a very bad psychological condition. It is absolutely necessary that every humanitarian organization helps the IDP’s and gives them psychological support.
Now more than ever it is necessary to prevent war, displacements and the other terrible outcomes of war. The divisions happening in terms of religion and ethnicity caused many damages on a personal level.
We demand peace and non-violent means of communication and coexistence.
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A message by our partners from NWE Organization in Halabja, the self-proclaimed Kurdish “Capital of Peace”:
To the citizens, civil activists and members of civil society,
We strongly believe, a campaign for peace and coexistenc should immediately be launched in coordination with IDP’s and Syrian refugees. It is very important in this bad and complicated situation to prevent the repetition of the genocide conducted with chemical attacks and to prevent a humanitarian disaster. And this can be achieved by helping those 125 thousand IDP’s of Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu who were displaced due to the recent attacks on the disputed areas. They currently stay in Erbil, Sulimaniyah and Halabja.
Our aim is to deliver the voices of those who survived genocide and the chemical attacks, those who were displaced by ISIS, and the Syrians who came a long way to live peacefully away from war.
From the Capital of Peace in Kurdistan, in one voice, without any religious, language and gender divisions, we ask for peace and coexistence between Kurds and Arabs, Shiite and Sunni. We condemn discrimination and demand an immediate stop of warfare.
With your support, through this campaign, NWE organization will collect donations for the basic needs of the IDP’s, and we will deliver our message of peace to other IDP’s and Syrian refugees.
To donate your goods and/or donations to this campaign, please contact this number: 07501127392
Thank you for support.
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Statement by Jinda Organization in Duhok which provided support to thousands of Ezidi women who had been abducted and abused by IS terrorists:
The political situation in Duhok is still a little bit more stable, and also the security situation is slightly better comparing to other provinces, but the fear and concern of the citizens is increasing due to the recent violent clashes in the provinces of Kirkuk and Khanaqin, the areas affected are going through severe hardship. Violations of human rights and acts of terrorism against civilians have been committed causing the displacement of thousands of people residing in those areas, the displaced people are feeling very insecure and they are under threat of losing their homes, livelihoods and lives.
Every day there are more IDPs and refugees coming through, we seek for the urgent provision of aid to the displaced families who have left their homes. We as Jinda established an emergency team to provide aid for the displaced people.
We demand to stop the violence and war, and hope for a better life for citizens to live in peace.
Wadi 
