Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
In an Iraqi TV interview, Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil defended an earlier statement that Yazidis would not return to Sinjar as they had lost their trust in their neighbors. "Of course there is a lack of trust," she said, adding that when ISIS entered Sinjar, the "tens of thousands [who] flocked to support them" were neighbors, whom we considered closer than brothers. Speaking on Dijlah TV on August 30, Dakhil said that she wanted the government to know that the Yazidis "would not return [to Sinjar] if things remain as they are today."
Following are excerpts
Interviewer: [You said:] "Even when we defeat ISIS, we will not be able to return to our homes, because we will have lost our trust in the other.
Vian Dakhil: Those were my words.
Interviewer: The pretext for not returning... I'd like to focus on the question of emigration, because most of the people who oppose you say that you have a hidden agenda - that you want to help people emigrate. Is there really a lack of trust in the other? Who is this "other"?
Vian Dakhil: This statement was a warning bell for the government, so that it knows that we will not return (to Sinjar) if things remain as they are today. If the law does not deal with each and every person who...
Interviewer: But why can't you return to your homes? Is there really a lack of trust in the other, or do you have an agenda?
Vian Dakhil: Of course there is a lack of trust. When ISIS entered Sinjar, how many of them were Afghanis? How many were Pakistanis, Tunisians, or people from neighboring countries? Let's say a thousand. But tens of thousands flocked to support them. Those tens of thousands were our neighbors. They came from neighboring villages and had been our friends. They had lived side by side with us for centuries like brothers. We considered them closer than brothers, although we were from different religions. How could someone who was closer to me than a brother help ISIS, kill my children, and kidnap our daughters?
Interviewer: Does this means that you will never return home?
Vian Dakhil: We should go back, but gradually.
[...]
Latest Clips
