WUNRN
Yazidi Life through a Lens – Courageous Young Women Who Escaped ISIS Use Cameras to Rebuild Their Shattered Lives
18 August 2015 - The worn faces of the Yazidi
girls who have escaped the evil grasp of ISIS
have become all too familiar to the world over the course of the last year.
Their sad eyes have stared out of thousands
of photographs, as they wait, trapped in the camps on the edge of the country
that is their home.
But now some of those girls have got behind
the camera themselves, allowing the west an insight into their world no
outsider can recreate.
Talent: Photography student Bushra (second
from right), 16, stands listening to Seiven, her instructor, as she reviews a
portrait she has just taken of the man sitting behind her
Ambitions: Bushra, pictured here with her
sister, has been inspired by the workshop and now wants to be a photojournalist
UNICEF has brought together a group of young
women who have found themselves living in a camp in northern Iraq, and given
them a camera - and a new-found confidence.
For one participant Bushra, 16, it has been a
transformative experience.
But mainly, it has allowed her to forget the
sadness of the last year.
Bushra and her family were forced to flee
their village in the middle of the night when ISIS
marched on the Yazidis: they joined thousands of others on top of Mount
Sinjar.
The day before, her aunt had given birth:
later, after they survived, she would name the little boy Sinjar, a permanent
reminder of what they had all survived.
They were trapped for nine days, eventually
running out of food and water. The young girl watched as the weak and elderly
died around her, unsure of what their own fate would be.
But then they were saved, finally walking to
the camp which has been home for the last year.
'I witnessed so much tragedy [on Sinjar],'
she says. 'But now I feel like things are changing. This workshop feels like a
breath of fresh air — to be a part of something again.'
Fashion: One participant Barfi, 18, took a
series of pictures of people in front of colourful backdrops wearing
traditional dress. This is her sister, who is in clothes fit 'for a
celebration'
Bushra decided to take a series of portraits
for her project - one of the most difficult skills for a shy teenager,
according to Nuha, coordinator of the workshop.
'Bushra is an entirely different person,'
Nuha said.
'At first, if we asked her a question, her
face would go red as a tomato. She wouldn't even lift her head to give a
response.
'Now look at her. She's walking up to people
on her own and taking their picture!'
The project is a chance for the girls to
learn a new skill, but has also allowed UNICEF and other partners to spot and
address other issues - like not going to school.
Safiya's determination to join the course
gave her the confidence and motivation to convince her father to let her attend
the UNICEF-supported tented school in the camp.
Before, her father had kept her at home out
of worry, fearing for her safety in a new and no doubt scary
environment.
The 14-year-old took matters into her own
hands after the photography instructor said if she wasn't going to school, she
couldn't participate in the workshop.
Her project captures the children living in
the camp, but others caught the tragedy of the Yazidi with their pictures - and
their strength.
Another of the students Xulud, 17, took
pictures of a woman who had been captured, but had been released.
Not all of her relatives were as lucky,
however. Three are still missing, leaving the woman to look after her six
remaining grandchildren,
'My heart was touched when I took these
photos,' recalled Xulud. 'It was not easy to see a woman [dealing with] all
this calamity and misfortunate.'
Another participant Nasrin, 17, followed the
journey of a woman who found herself hopelessly alone after her husband died,
just before she gave birth to his child.
The illiterate woman was devastated, but
realised she needed to pick herself up for the sake of her child.
She taught herself to read and write - and
then set up her own business, a salon, which is now going from strength to
strength.
Fittingly, Nasrin titled the photo story
'Never Give Up'.
Tears:
Bafrin, 19, took this picture of her mother. 'It was so hard to take such a
photo... when she started crying I also cried,' she recalled
Future: During the workshop, Bafrin also
pictured her mother at Lalesh, making her wish for the future
She wasn't the only one to find a glimmer of
hope in the pictures: another of the workshop participants, Bafrin took a
picture of Lalesh, 'the most blessed place for Yazidis'.
The 19-year-old explained: 'If anyone has a
wish (to be married, to have children), we visit there and make a wish.
'I was happy when I took this photo because it
was good to see that there is still hope.'
And it seems that in finding stories of
inspiration, the girls have inspired themselves.
Bushra joined the project because she 'wanted
to become something'. Now she knows what that something is: a photojournalist.
'I thought that if I participated in the
workshop I could learn something, become something, and achieve something
great,' she explained.
'And I've learned so much. I've learned to
communicate with people. But most importantly how to communicate with people -
what is the right approach.
'Until this, there have been no services where I feel like I'm part of something bigger, part of society. So with this program it feels like a breath of fresh air - to be a part of something again.'