Bundestag approves three million euros for Yazidi memorial in Germany
The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag has released three million euros for the construction of a memorial for the Yazidi community. This "place of remembrance" is intended to commemorate the genocide of the Yazidis in Iraq and Syria in 2014, the Bundestag told AFP. The Bundestag's budget committee requires a broadly supported motion from the Yazidi community in Germany in order to implement the project.
The project was largely driven forward by SPD human rights politician Derya Türk-Nachbaur. "The planned memorial will be a central place of collective remembrance for the Yazidi community," Türk-Nachbaur told AFP. "With this project, we are putting our application for recognition of the genocide into action and making an important contribution to coming to terms with the past and integration."
Around 250,000 people with Yazidi roots live in Germany - it is the largest Yazidi diaspora in Europe. Many victims of the genocide by the jihadist militia IS have found a new home in Germany and could therefore contribute to the work of remembrance.
In 2014, the Islamists conquered the Sinjar Mountains in northern Iraq, where the non-Muslim Yazidis have lived for centuries. In their territory in northern Iraq and Syria, the IS militia forced women and girls into slavery, recruited boys as child soldiers and killed thousands of men.
An estimated 5,000 people were murdered and there is still no trace of around 3,000 missing people. Around 300,000 Yazidis are currently living in camps for internally displaced persons in northern Iraq.
The three million euros approved by the Bundestag's Budget Committee will be used to construct a memorial site in Germany, honoring the Yazidi community who experienced genocide in Iraq and Syria in 2014. This memorial serves as a place of remembrance, furthering Germany's application for recognition of the atrocities committed against the Yazidis. Approximately 250,000 Yazidis reside in Germany, many of whom were victims of this genocide and can now contribute to the work of remembrance. The project, which aims to foster reconciliation and integration, is being largely driven forward by SPD human rights politician Derya Türk-Nachbaur.
Source: www.ntv.de
