‘US will continue to support the recovery of the Yezidi community’: Erbil Consul General

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The US Consul General to Erbil Robert Palladino assured the Yezidi community of the United States’ continued support on Tuesday.

“The United States will continue to support the recovery of the Yezidi survivors and the greater Yezidi community,” Palladino said in his speech to an event for victims of the Yezidi genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

“We are committed to finding permanent solutions to help the Yezidi community rebuild and recover, including to facilitate your return to your ancestral homes and to heal from these wounds,” Palladino added.

He stated that the United States has provided $470 million to support the recovery of religious and ethnic minority communities in Iraq.

“We will continue to provide significant support, including through our great United States Agency for International Development (USAID),” he said.

Palladino thanked the civil society organizations and the community groups for organizing the event. He said that such events are an important step for addressing the suffering endured by the Yezidi community and for ensuring such a genocide is never repeated.

“The United States is proud to support powerful events,” he said, “because such efforts ignite greater empathy in support for these communities.”

In August 2014, ISIS begun a vicious campaign of genocide against the Yezidis of the Shingal (Sinjar) region that killed thousands. The group also infamously took thousands of Yezidi women and girls captives as war booty or “sex slaves”.

“These stories must be heard so the world never forgets what happened and never repeats it,” Palladino said.