The Shengali Êzidî society has had to live in exile for the last 3 years, but they are starting to return in groups with the liberation of Shengal and its villages.

Shengal’s Xanesor town Council Member Ömer Salih spoke to the ANF about the returns and said: “Many families have returned to Shengal center and villages up to date, and the returns continue daily. As the Xanesor Council, we are offering them all kinds of aid.”

Salih said the Council helps 3 thousand families monthly and that they set up an aid center. They deliver aid to 2 or 3 villages at a time and they take care of a hundred poor families apart from that. 

Salih said they deliver daily necessities like flour, rice and soap to the families who return to Shengal and added: “There have been returns to almost all villages of Shengal, and people continue to come back. Currently there are 3000 people who returned to the Borik village, and more are on their way.”

150 FAMILIES RETURNED TO SHENGAL IN JUNE

Xanesor Council Member Ömer Salih said over 150 families returned to Shengal in June alone and added: “We are expecting some 300 families to return in July. We believe this number will rise in the coming days, because in many families who stayed in Southern Kurdistan there are school-aged children. We expect the returns to accelerate with the school’s closing for the summer.”

CALL FOR SUPPORT

Salih said they try to fulfill the needs of the people of Shengal using their own means, and called on human rights organizations and aid organizations for support in better fulfilling people’s needs and reconstructing Shengal.