Mother and Child Monument in Yerevan Captures Yazidi Tragedy and Hope
A monument in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, commemorates the victims of the 2014 Yazidi genocide, symbolizing resilience and remembrance.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A monument honoring Yazidi victims of the 2014 ISIS-perpetrated genocide has stood on Circular Boulevard in Yerevan, Armenia, since 2016. The memorial, described as a symbol of suffering and resilience, serves as a permanent tribute to those killed in the catastrophe, while also underscoring Armenia’s commitment to recognizing and condemning genocide.
The monument, which was created by the initiative of the Council of National Union of Yazidis «Midia-Shangal», represents a solemn silhouette of a mother saving her baby. The monument’s design symbolizes the future of the Yazidi people, embodied by the child being protected. The construction was funded by the financial means of benefactors Rashid and Agit Shamoyan, with assistance from the administration of Armenia and Yerevan Municipality.
This monument to Yazidis and other people massacred by ISIS in what the United States has recognized as genocide was formally inaugurated in a ceremony attended by parliamentary leaders of Armenia’s main political parties and the head of the European Union Delegation in Yerevan, Piotr Switalski.
The monument's opening came in the wake of international recognition of the atrocities. Back in 2016, the U.S. Secretary of State of the time, John Kerry, stated that ISIS was "responsible for genocide" against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic groups in both Iraq and Syria, emphasizing that perpetrators must be held accountable.
Armenia is home to an estimated 50,000 Yazidis, making them the country’s single largest ethnic component of Armenia. The Armenian government responded to the massacre in 2014, with former President Serzh Sarkisian condemning the mass killings and deportations of Iraqi Yazidis as "absolutely unacceptable" and instructing Armenia’s Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions abroad to "redouble their efforts to adequately raise the issue in the international arena."
This official action followed a series of street protests staged by Yazidis in Yerevan, who at the time expressed concern that the Armenian government was slow to react to the atrocities committed against their ethnic kin.
The Yerevan monument stands as a powerful symbol of the suffering experienced by the Yazidi people in Sinjar, with the mother and baby silhouette embodying hope for the future against a backdrop of historical and ongoing tragedy.
