On Parliament Hill

Last week I joined my colleague, the Member of Parliament for Calgary – Nose Hill, Michelle Rempel, at an event commemorating the second anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. Yazidis are one of the oldest religious and ethnic communities in the world. There are an estimated 700,000 Yazidis around the world, with the majority located in Iraq. Only around 400 Yazidis call Canada home, and of them, approximately half live in Winnipeg.

In August of 2014, ISIL militants attacked the Yazidi homeland in northwest Iraq. The militants committed unspeakable atrocities against this population, killing thousands because of their religious identity. Thousands more were taken hostage and many others fled to the mountains to escape the brutality. Still today, Yazidis are continuously targeted by ISIL. An estimated 3,200 Yazidi women and girls are held captive by militants in Syria and thousands of men and boys remain missing.

At this event, I heard the story of one family who survived the ISIL attacks. With no notice, they left everything behind and fled for their lives. Departing with only the clothes on their backs, the family lived in the nearby mountains for several days before they moved on to refugee camps in the region. Today the family is in Winnipeg thanks to the support of Operation Ezra, a multi-faith grassroots group that helps Yazidis come to Canada. They are so glad to be sharing in the freedoms and security that many of us have enjoyed our whole lives.

Canada has a role to play in helping those around the world who need it most. For this family, remaining in their homeland may have meant enslavement or even death. Even within refugee camps, their status as religious minorities ?meant persecution was relentless. Now the family is able to build their new lives free from the persecution that once met them at every turn. When Canadians work together to help those who need it most, we are all at our best.