Winnipeg Yazidis call on the Canadian government to act after beheaded women were found in Syria.
Supposedly, those women belonged to the Yezidi sect. On Wednesday afternoon, a few dozen refugees gathered on the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for a rally.
"Our message is clear — to help the international community raise the awareness, help the remaining people that are still captive, still missing," said Nadya Omar in Kurmanji — the Yazidi language.
Yazidis are a religious minority. They were attacked by ISIS fighters. Their brutal campaign was called genocide by the United Nations.
Omar was captured before she managed to escape and reach Canada. Hadji Hesso, Yazidi Association of Manitoba director, is very concerned about the situation.
"Every time we hear a story about one child or when women are returned, we're hoping that we know there's more," he said. "That's why we're calling on the government to … help us, to find those people. Where are they?"
At the rally, many people had purple scarves. Their scarves were symbols of purple veils which Yazidi women wear very often.
Omar said that news of the mass grave returned her to 2014 when her home was attacked.
"It just kind of repeated itself — a genocide after the other one that happened to the Yazidi people."
Canada opened its doors to more than 1,400 refugees from Syria.
"These women and girls have endured and survived unimaginable trauma and face long journeys towards healing and rebuilding their lives in Canada," said Mathieu Genest, the Press Secretary for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Hadji Hesso calls on the Canadian government to find those people who left in ISIS captivity in Syria.
'We're calling on the government to … help us, to find those people' who may still be in ISIS captivity in Syria, said the man.
Canada provides all necessary assistance to refugees, including legal advice and mental health services.
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