Yazidis in Nebraska wait for news from Iraq

Transcription

1 Yazidis in Nebraska wait for news from Iraq By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 758 In this photo from Aug. 4, 2014, demonstrators march from the Nebraska Capitol to the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska, as they try to raise awareness about ethnic minorities who are under attack in Iraq. Photo: AP Photo/Lincoln Journal Star, Eric Gregory LINCOLN, Neb. When the Yazidis of Lincoln cook, they weep. They know their relatives in Iraq have nothing to eat. When they see their beds, they think of their family members trapped on a mountaintop who must sleep on nothing but rocks. Many members of the Yazidi community here say they have stopped eating, sleeping and going to work. Surrounded by cornfields and Husker football fans, they stare at their phones and wait for news from northern Iraq. Iraqi Yazidis could face genocide and die in great numbers, President Barack Obama said last week as he announced the United States would drop water and food to those who fled the Islamic State (ISIL). The al-qaida breakaway group has seized huge chunks of territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria, and declared its own nation under Islamic law. Tens of thousands of Yazidis took shelter atop Mount Sinjar when militants overran the city of Sinjar, the center of the Yazidi community.

2 The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has also been called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Levant is the English term for the region stretching from southern Turkey through Syria to Egypt. People Are Stressed, Worried Yazidis in Lincoln said some members of the community were so depressed that they could not get out of bed. Others had attempted suicide. A nurse, Sharifa Khalil, 26, said more than 20 people had been hospitalized for stress-related reasons, including dehydration and fainting. Hakima Antar, 26, sat on the floor of a crowded apartment where Yazidis had gathered, weeping quietly and clutching a napkin. I feel guilty when I see food or when I eat, she said through an interpreter. I look at the food and I can t even eat, because they are hungry over there I can t even sleep. Antar, who is five months pregnant, was among those who went to a hospital because of stress. She said her sister and her sister s five children have been trapped on Mount Sinjar. Antar said the doctor told her she needed to eat to protect her pregnancy, but she is having trouble following his instructions. This is a life inside of me, Antar said. I can t help them, but I can help this one but I can t eat. I can t eat. Many Stories Coming Out Of Iraq The Lincoln community is thought to number in the hundreds. Yazidis here have been flooded with videos and images of relatives and children begging for help. Horror stories from Iraq of starvation, dehydration and enslavement of Yazidi women have devastated what is thought to be the largest American community of this religious sect, related to the ancient Iranian religion, Zoroastrianism. Although the stories from Iraq cannot be independently confirmed, Yazidis in Nebraska have no doubt of their relatives suffering, and they are very afraid for them. Three former U.S. military interpreters gathered in a darkened living room of a Lincoln home, where they and their wives were staying to keep from being alone. If I was not here, I would kill myself, said Fares Baki, 29, who moved to the United States in December. Baki said his brother and his brother s four children have been trapped on Mount Sinjar without food or water, and the humanitarian airdrops have not reached them. The brothers have kept in touch by phone, he said, but many Yazidis said their relatives phones are dying.

3 Baki, whose wife in Lincoln gave birth to a boy days ago, was inconsolable about events on the other side of the world. If I call (my brother) and he says no water, no food, and the kids almost die, I ll try to kill myself, he said. Phones Are Lifelines Faisal, another former military interpreter, who moved to the United States in 2012, said one of his three sisters in Iraq was captured by ISIL militants last week. She was keeping in touch with him through a cellphone she had smuggled into a jail beneath her clothing. Faisal, 33, asked that his last name not be used to protect her identity from being known by ISIL. Before I come here, and just now, I tried, I couldn t" reach her, Faisal said on Sunday. Since yesterday, she s been telling me that she only has one bar of battery charge left. His sister told him ISIL militants had separated the older women from the younger women and had taken the boys away. She saw militants kill a pregnant Yazidi, he said. I m just shocked and frozen I can t even cry anymore, Faisal said.

4 Quiz 1 All of the following sentences should be included in a summary of the article EXCEPT: ISIL has seized large portions of Iraq and declared strict Islamic law. Even in the midst of hopeful events such as the birth of a child, Yazidis in the U.S. are grief-stricken over the events in Iraq. Yazidi families in the U.S. are devastated by reports on the circumstances of their families in Iraq. Iraqi Yazidis, a religious minority group, fear for their lives and have taken shelter from ISIL on Mount Sinjar. 2 Select the paragraph from the introduction [paragraphs 1-4] that provides the background context for this news article. 3 How does this article characterize the response of the Yazidis in Nebraska to the news from their families in Iraq? They are overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, sadness and helplessness. They are nervous about losing contact with their family members in Iraq. They are angry at the response of the U.S., which they feel has not done enough to help the situation. They are deeply disturbed by the situation in Iraq, but are trying to remain positive. 4 Why is Fares Baki mentioned in this article? He explains how Yazidis in the U.S. are coping with news of their families in Iraq. He is an authority on the experiences of Yazidis living in the U.S. He represents someone with ties to both the U.S. and Iraq as a former interpreter for the U.S. military. He provides specific details to illustrate the reaction of Yazidis in the U.S. to this crisis.

5 Answer Key 1 All of the following sentences should be included in a summary of the article EXCEPT: ISIL has seized large portions of Iraq and declared strict Islamic law. Even in the midst of hopeful events such as the birth of a child, Yazidis in the U.S. are grief-stricken over the events in Iraq. Yazidi families in the U.S. are devastated by reports on the circumstances of their families in Iraq. Iraqi Yazidis, a religious minority group, fear for their lives and have taken shelter from ISIL on Mount Sinjar. 2 Select the paragraph from the introduction [paragraphs 1-4] that provides the background context for this news article. Paragraph 2: Iraqi Yazidis could face genocide and die in great numbers, President Barack Obama said last week as he announced the United States would drop water and food to those who fled the Islamic State (ISIL). The al-qaida breakaway group has seized huge chunks of territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria, and declared its own nation under Islamic law. Tens of thousands of Yazidis took shelter atop Mount Sinjar when militants overran the city of Sinjar, the center of the Yazidi community. 3 How does this article characterize the response of the Yazidis in Nebraska to the news from their families in Iraq? They are overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, sadness and helplessness. They are nervous about losing contact with their family members in Iraq. They are angry at the response of the U.S., which they feel has not done enough to help the situation. They are deeply disturbed by the situation in Iraq, but are trying to remain positive.

6 4 Why is Fares Baki mentioned in this article? He explains how Yazidis in the U.S. are coping with news of their families in Iraq. He is an authority on the experiences of Yazidis living in the U.S. He represents someone with ties to both the U.S. and Iraq as a former interpreter for the U.S. military. He provides specific details to illustrate the reaction of Yazidis in the U.S. to this crisis.