Q&A: Farhad Shamo Roto on Truth for Ezidi Genocide Survivors Ten Years On
This summer, Refugees International Refugee Fellows Program alumnus and president of Voice of Ezidis Farhad Shamo Roto, set up the VETO-G camp, a tent outside the German Parliament, to mark the ten year anniversary of the Ezidi Genocide and call for changed policies in Iraq.
Refugees International’s Director for the Americas and Europe Yael Schacher interviewed Farhad on September 15, 2024, about this experience. The below interview transcript was edited for clarity and length.
Q: What is the VETO-G camp, and why did you set it up?
A: The camp began July 28, 2024, in front of the German Parliament. We call it Voice of Ezidis for the Truth of Genocide (VETO-G). By truth, we mean bringing to light the role of all actors – not only ISIS – but also co-perpetrators of the 2014 genocide of Ezidis and the ongoing situation of insecurity in Shingal. We need to finally give survivors a chance to speak the truth.
When ISIS came, Ezidis were abandoned by the Iraqi and Kurdish forces that were supposed to protect them. Part of Shingal mountain was liberated from ISIS in December 2014, and local actors – including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) – made it difficult for Ezidis to return to their land. And today, no prevention measures have been put in place to ensure Ezidis are not endangered. In 2024, there was a hate campaign against Ezidis in Kurdistan itself. Leaders affiliated with the KRG and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) prevented Ezidis from leaving and said there was nothing to fear, and Ezidis had flashbacks to what happened in 2014, when the Peshmerga told them the same.
We need to give survivors a voice. The situation for Ezidis in Shingal has not been, and cannot be, resolved through working with the KRG, the main actor that the international community has supported and worked with.
We need to give survivors a voice. The situation for Ezidis in Shingal has not been, and cannot be, resolved through working with the KRG, the main actor that the international community has supported and worked with. Millions of euros have been given to the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD), but mass graves remain un-exhumed. Ten years have passed, and Ezidis lack political voice in Shingal. Deportations of Ezidis from Europe to Iraq and Kurdistan must stop. Ezidis in Europe should also not be forced to remain separated from their families and worried about those in Iraq.
Q: Do you have particular audiences in mind? How have they responded?
A. I have had three audiences.
The first is Ezidis – and especially Ezidis of different generations, for whom the camp is breaking the chain of fear to speak the truth. Members of the older generation that grew up under the dictatorship in Iraq maintain the belief that they can’t speak freely, especially against the current authorities in Iraq and Kurdistan, and that the “walls have ears.” The young generation is more courageous. Many grew up in camps and came to Europe, and don’t remember what happened or know in detail what happened in Shingal. They are more fearless but need to be educated. I targeted them as students and made videos for them and shared them on social media. And, I asked the older generation to support the young generation. The elders don’t need to be the face of truth speaking. But being controlled by fear is painful and unhelpful. They need to support the young. (It’s also true that many Ezidi leaders in Germany are not from Shingal – but from Turkey or Armenia– and they need to support leaders from Shingal when it comes to the genocide.) The camp facilitated a large mobilization of the Ezidi community. One of our slogans was: the fearless voice shall rise in Germany and Europe and change should happen in Shingal.
A second audience was the general public – we made an exhibit and many people (Germans and those visiting Germany) saw it and some came to ask us questions. We also gained the attention of the media, including TV and newspapers from Germany, Italy and France, as well as Canada’s CBC radio, which wants to include our perspective in a broadcast on the situation 10 years after the genocide. We want to convey that commemoration isn’t only about memorialization but about truth telling because 10 years ago was the beginning of the genocide that has not been addressed. The situation for Ezidis in Shingal has not, and cannot, be resolved through working with the authorities as it has.
German officials were also a main target. It was hard to get a seat at the table – but we did it. First we met with local government officials, non-governmental organizations, refugee foundations, and members of Parliament. Then we met with the foreign ministry, including people who focus on Iraq. After significant protest outside a conference to which we were not invited, we also were able to get Commissioner of Global Freedom of Religion Frank Schwabe to come to our camp and an invitation to speak at Parliament in October.
Q: Can you describe the protest that made that happen – and other actions and events you have had at the camp?
On September 12, 2024, there was a roundtable held by the ministry for economic cooperation and development about the German government’s diplomatic and financial commitment to rebuilding Shingal and about Ezidis in the diaspora. Representatives of the KRG and the Iraqi government were invited, as were some Ezidis, but not us. We mobilized the community to protest outside the event with the message that co-perpretrators of genocide and their allies do not represent Ezidis from Shingal. Another problem was that the people speaking about Ezidi deportations from Germany at the event were not people impacted by deportations! We were pretty loud outside the demonstration, and Commissioner Schwabe said one of us should be invited to speak. At first I refused, but then some of the participants inside claimed we were illiterate and radical and wouldn’t engage in dialogue. I needed to go in to clarify who we were. I entered as a “dangerous person” – after an extensive security check and with police accompanying me to the conference room. But after I spoke, everything changed. I came back the next day through the VIP doors and the commissioner came down to the camp. At Parliament next month, we will not be asking for more money for Iraq, which has gotten a significant amount to rebuild Shingal. We want Germany to pressure Iraq to resolve the security and administration of Shingal, so Ezidis can rebuild their lives and will choose to return there.
We had several other events: on the evening of August 2, a vigil to remember the 2014 genocide, and on August 3 an event with at least 5,000 people about what happened in 2014 that was more than a commemoration. People came with flags of political parties. I insisted on a moment of silence and unity; people dropped their flags. We agreed to focus on the terrible consequences of genocide. On August 9, we had a demonstration regarding ongoing dangerous hate speech against Ezidis in Iraq and Kurdistan. We protested on August 13 outside the U.S. Embassy, hoping that the U.S. too will pressure Iraq and Kurdish governments to protect Ezidis. On August 31, we had a big event on the truth of the genocide, and on September 7, an event on the long history of persecution against Ezidis.
Q: How has your experience at the camp affected you as a survivor and a refugee leader?
I have reconnected to my community. People who visited the camp said it felt to them like they were in Shingal. Dozens of Ezidis slept at the camp, though they have homes here in Germany. Some, when they visited, said the tent was a holy place, and they brought food, and insisted that we taste it even if we weren’t hungry, like during holy ceremonies in Ezidi temples. There is no Ezidi temple in Germany to practice Ezidi culture. This is a need. The camp was a place for Ezidis to visit and gather; a place of dialogue and family for Ezidis.
So many survivors came to the camp and told stories nobody has yet heard. We need a truth commission – when people can speak the pain in their hearts.
So many survivors came to the camp and told stories nobody has yet heard. We need a truth commission – when people can speak the pain in their hearts. I’m a survivor, but I am still learning about the genocide. We don’t know what will happen to the testimonies collected by UNITAD, whether testimonies that referenced collaborators will be turned over to them.
Personally, I feel a new feeling of responsibility to my community and the need to lead them in a new way to be effective. In the past, I helped raise Ezidi voices with my organization and through trips and reporting with Refugees International. But the young generation needs a leader from the community who understands them deeply but can be a bridge for them with the authorities. They are frustrated and their frustration needs to be guided so as to be effective; to not be misperceived as threatening but still push for a different approach to Ezidis and to Shingal.
It’s been a very rich experience for 50 days. I met young people here who are truly talented, including a young volunteer who faced deportation from Germany and created the entire website for the camp in a matter of one week. Just like we did after Refugees International and Voice of Ezidis visited Greece, we built a new Voice of Ezidis team here in Germany. Wherever we go, and there is Ezidi community, we can build teams who can and want to do effective advocacy. Though our encampment is ending here, it is not the end of the tent – but rather the beginning of new effective advocacy that is based on the truth. We will be taking the camp to Geneva in December and we also hope to take it to the Hague, once we set up a branch of Voice of Ezidis there.
In May 2024, Farhad Shamo Roto and Yael Schacher published “Humanitarian Pathways and Ezidi Family Unification in Europe Ten Years After Genocide,” a report calling for humanitarian and family unification pathways for Ezidis as a component of genocide recognition by European countries.
Featured Image: Farhad Shamo Roto speaking at the VETO-G Camp, September 2024. Photo courtesy of Voices of Ezidis.