RONÎDA HACÎ

Hasakah- On July 8, 2024, a car carrying reporters of the Çira TV and Çira FM was targeted by a Turkish drone while going to Tal Qasab, a village of Shelgal (Sinjar), to do interviews on the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide committed by ISIS on August 3, 2014. The attack injured three employees of the Çira TV and Çira FM and four civilians from the same family. Journalist Mirad Mîrza, who was seriously injured in the attack, died at the hospital on July 11. “No one can silence the truth,” said Yazidi women living in Hasakah, a city in Jazira Canton of North and East Syria, condemning the Turkish attacks targeting journalists.

 ‘No one can prevent the truth’

Hediya Şemo, member of the Yazidi Women’s Union, draw attention to the genocide committed against the Yazidi community in 2014 and said, “In 2014, ISIS committed a genocide against the Yazidi people and the Barzani family betrayed the Yazidi people. The Peshmerga withdrew, resulting in the killing and abduction of thousands of women. Journalists were targeted to be prevented from reporting the truth in Shengal. Many journalists such as Martyr Shengal and Çira TV reporter Mirad Mîrza were targeted while journalist Sîlêman Ehmed was arrested (by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Journalists are targeted not only in Shengal but also everywhere where the revolution took place. A revolution took place not only in Rojava but also in Shengal. Journalists are a mirror reflecting society and play an important role in society. The aim of the attacks is to silence society. They try to hide the truth by attacking journalists but they will fail. We always say that no one can prevent the truth.”

‘We are rebuilding our lives’

 Journalists are targeted because they reflect the voice of people, said Saad Hiso, member of the Yazidi Women’s Union. “The Turkish state and its partners do not want the Yazidi people to develop. All these policies are aimed at annihilating the Kurdish people. We know very well who betrayed the Kurdish cause. We call on them to wake up and not to support their enemy. We call on them to protect the future of the Kurdish people. As the Yazidi community, we chose to resist and are committed to the thoughts and ideology of leader Öcalan. If there were no YPG and YPJ, there would be no Yazidi community after the genocide. Now, we organize ourselves in Shengal and everywhere. We are rebuilding our lives. We vow that we will keep following in the footsteps of martyrs Nûjiyan and Mirad.”