Yazidi

A book about Operation Ezra

Operation Ezra in Winnipeg has expanded to include farming and selling local produce. (photo from Operation Ezra)

When the Operation Ezra committee in Winnipeg decided to produce a book about the efforts of Yazidi-Winnipegger Nafiya Naso and Operation Ezra, the local Yazidi community was very excited about the idea, about passing down their story in writing to future generations, as their tradition is largely oral.

Operation Ezra: Winnipeg’s Jewish Community-Led Interfaith Response to Survivors of the Yazidi Genocide was launched on Sept. 24 at the JCC Berney Theatre. The event included a few words from the author, Chana Thau, as well as from Operation Ezra (OE) leaders, and a panel discussion. The 71-page paperback includes photographs, interviews and various facts about the Yazidis and how OE came to be, among other things.

“When I first held the book in my hands,” said Naso, “it felt really special and I felt really proud of everything we had accomplished. Having it all in one text to give to people in the community and outside the community, to show what a small group of individuals was able to accomplish in the span of four-odd years, I’m very proud of it.”

Belle Jarniewski, director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada (JHCWC), who has been involved in OE since its inception, said it was a grant from the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba that allowed the book to be published.

“By the time the book was written, there was so much more that we had done, but we thought it would be a nice way to let more people know about this wonderful multifaith initiative,” said Jarniewski.

Each of the families that OE brought to Winnipeg was given a book, including the most recent new-to-Canada family of 10, who had arrived just before the book launch.

Apart from OE’s ongoing efforts to bring more refugees to safety in Winnipeg, the endeavour has been helpful in settling the families already there. Both Nafiya and her sister, Jamileh, were invited to separate events in Europe over the summer to share the story of OE and some insight as to why it is so successful.

“We don’t really know if Operation Ezra can really be done anywhere else,” said Nafiya Naso. “Just because the community here is so welcoming and open, and it would be ideal if every city and every country in the world was like this … realistically, it’s not. Within the larger spectrum of the refugee crisis, a lot of people have very negative perceptions of refugees, without knowing the different types and layers of what refugees are, who they are, and things like that. So, even for us, education was a huge piece – letting people know who the Yazidis are and what’s happening.”

A group of individuals in Germany has been eager to incorporate some of the OE approaches. Naso said one of the main things that has made a huge difference is that OE is multifaith. She suggested that people wanting to undertake similar initiatives start by reaching out to faith-based communities and local businesses to find out who might want to become involved.

One of the more recent aspects of OE that has caught the attention of other communities around the world has been the farming project that started up two summers ago on a small plot of land.

“We had one of our volunteers whose father was a farmer with a lot of land, a potato farm, so some of the community went and helped out and got huge bags of potatoes after, and we had media coverage of it,” said Naso.

“The pastor from Charleswood United Church connected us to the owner of Shelmerdine Garden Centre,” she added. “He donated about five acres of land this summer and the community was harvesting it and they were able to sell some of the leftover produce and make money, and that money then came back into the community.

“This is not only a way for them to work and be involved in the community, but it’s also very therapeutic, especially for the women who have gone through the brunt of what ISIS committed and is continuing to commit.”

The land is located just outside of Winnipeg’s city limits. The families worked together and carpooled there to grow and harvest the produce and sell the excess at Shelmerdine, the Rady Jewish Community Centre and Charleswood United.

“Almost all of our families have vehicles, so everyone will go pick up a couple people, and that’s how we transport everyone,” said Naso. “A couple of times, too, we’ve used a bus, bringing the whole community out there – the kids and everyone – renting a bus or two to get everyone out there.”

“This has been just such a wonderful experience for them,” Jarniewski said, “because this is what most of them already knew, what most of them did in Iraq. Not only have they grown food for themselves, but they have been selling the produce. So, this has been a very positive project and we hope to expand it more next year. They will be able to feed the Yazidi community all winter with the kinds of vegetables you can put into cold storage, like beets and potatoes.

“Now, it’s an exponential growth. They really grew all kinds of things. I would see them here, at the Rady, when they were selling celery, beets, onions, zucchini, you name it … even mint and basil.”

Operation Ezra: Winnipeg’s Jewish Community-Led Interfaith Response to Survivors of the Yazidi Genocide explains the background of the Yazidis, a monotheistic religious minority in northern Iraq that was displaced and persecuted by the Islamic State group in 2014. It also goes into the efforts of the Jewish community to lobby the federal government to bring Yazidis to Canada and to resettle families in Winnipeg via private sponsorship. Sales of the book ($10 each) support the ongoing Operation Ezra efforts – it can be ordered from Jewish Child and Family Service Winnipeg by calling 204-477-7430.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Operation Ezra update

Khalaf and Gawre’s family is the 10th to come to Winnipeg thanks to Operation Ezra. (photo from Michel Aziza)

What started as a small local initiative has grown to be a leader, by example, and a reminder of what can be achieved when an intention is set and action is taken.

About a year ago, the Jewish Independent ran a story about Operation Ezra in Winnipeg that, at the time, was aiming to sponsor five Yazidi refugee families. Led by Michel Aziza, a local businessman and once a refugee himself (from Morocco), and a small group of individuals connected to the Jewish community, the initiative was a response to the plight of the Yazidi people being viciously persecuted by ISIS in Iraq.

Nafiya Naso, now a young woman, who came to Winnipeg as a child with her family, has been an instrumental figure in Operation Ezra.

“She was reaching out to people outside their community to raise awareness of the genocide that was going on, March of 2015,” said Aziza, recalling Naso’s early involvement. “I was semi-retired and looking for something to occupy myself, and this was a good opportunity for me to get involved with a volunteer-type of project. Essentially, that’s what I have been involved with over the last almost three years.

“At the beginning,” he said, “we knew nothing about the Yazidi people. After talking with Nafiya, we identified a family of eight people and thought we could raise the necessary funds to submit a sponsorship application. We started lining up a few speaking engagements for Nafiya…. We started speaking to people, making calls, and … the original target was $34,000 for this family of eight … [and] within three or four weeks, we raised $34,000. And that number kept on growing as people talked to other people.”

To date, with the generous help of people in Winnipeg and elsewhere, Operation Ezra has raised just over $500,000. This has made it possible for them to sponsor 10 Yazidi families – 55 people – with the last family having arrived in March.

“As soon as we realized this was bigger than a grassroots project, we decided to incorporate Operation Ezra within the organized Jewish community,” said Aziza.

Jewish Child and Family Service (JCFS) saw this as an opportunity to do something in line with what they were already doing – helping with the settlement of immigrants and refugees – so they came on board, gradually reaching out to other organizations and agencies.

Gray Academy of Jewish Education and the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba joined the effort and, currently, Operation Ezra is an umbrella group of some 20 different agencies and organizations. Most of the members are Jewish, but not all. There are two churches involved, the Salvation Army and a number of corporate partners, with IKEA being the biggest name.

Many volunteers help Operation Ezra in various aspects of the settlement process. Naso has been hired by JCFS to manage everything.

One service Operation Ezra offers is an English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) program, which takes place at a synagogue every Thursday, with 70 to 80 refugees attending and about 20 volunteer teachers. Some Yazidi participants are government-sponsored.

Out of the total 250 refugees who are government-sponsored, about 100 have asked for help from Operation Ezra. “So, we are touching the lives of about 200 people,” said Aziza. “We have organized and have helped organize many community events for the Yazidi people. We celebrated Yazidi New Year’s 6768 on April 18, 2018, with a very large number of people coming out for that dinner,” he said by way of example. “We’re trying to help this group of newcomers to get organized, and to organize themselves as a community … to socialize and to help each other and so on.”

According to Aziza, Operation Ezra is the only multifaith group doing this work in North America.

One recipient family of Operation Ezra is Majid and Safya, along with their children. They shared their thoughts on their experience to date, with translating help as needed from Naso.

“My name is Majid. I was born and raised in a small village…. I am married with two kids – one boy who is 4 and one girl who is 6. My wife, Safya, and I are currently enrolled in EAL classes, hoping to learn English and find work in the near future.

“On August 3rd, 2014, at around 9 a.m., my family, community members and I fled to Mount Sinjar. We were lucky to have escaped when we did. If we had stayed any longer, I would be in a mass grave with many other Yazidis. I can still hear the rapid gunfire as ISIS members surrounded everyone who wasn’t able to flee and started shooting.

“We then reached Mount Sinjar, where we stayed for seven days with little to no food or water. As we were coming down the mountain closer to the Kurdistan region, we were able to hop into a truck. But, soon after, we saw ISIS members driving at us, firing round after round. I still don’t know how we escaped that day. Everything was such a blur. All I really remember was covering my kids and wife, hoping they would make it. Fortunately, we all made it to a refugee camp in Dohuk.

“The conditions in the camp were very scary. We were always worried about getting enough to eat, drink … about medical treatment. And we stayed for a few months, but couldn’t make it. So, we left for Turkey hoping for better living conditions.

“After spending almost two years in Turkey,” he said, “we heard about Operation Ezra and reached out. And, by some miracle, we were sponsored. Everything felt like it was going to be OK after we received confirmation we would be coming to Canada.

“I will never forget the welcome we received coming down at the airport. I was in awe of all the people who had come to greet us and welcome us into their community.”

Majid said they arrived in Canada in December 2016. “My experience in Canada has been great and could not be any better!” he said. “I have many friends and family who are in refugee camps in Iraq and Turkey who call me and tell me that the situation in the camp is getting worse by the day. My dreams are that my family and I are able to live in Canada without the fear we faced back home – the constant fear for our lives, hate and discrimination we faced because of our religious beliefs.

“I encourage all Canadians to reach out to Operation Ezra and learn about this amazing program, the only program of its kind in the world today. We have thousands of Yazidi still living in segregated refugee camps, fearing for their lives and waiting for anyone to reach out and lend a helping hand. I also encourage the Canadian government to support groups like Operation Ezra to help out more refugees.”

Khalaf and Gawre’s family are the most recent Operation Ezra arrivals to Winnipeg. (Although they were the last family Operation Ezra had planned to sponsor, the group has unanimously decided to continue their efforts.)

“My name is Khalaf and I arrived in Winnipeg on March 29th with my mother, who is 83 years old, my wife, and five kids – two boys and three girls, ages ranging from 12 to 24. I was ripped away from my four older kids after ISIS attacked our village (Dugere).

“At 8 a.m., we heard gunshots and got calls from other Yazidi villages that ISIS had murdered hundreds of men and was kidnapping all the women and young girls. Ten minutes later, my family and I started walking toward the mountain. My mom and dad were so lucky they were able to get rides to the refugee camp in Dohuk. My wife, Gawre, and five children were stranded on the mountain for seven days.

“We were able to escape the mountain with the help of PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party]. We lived in a refugee camp on Dohuk for six months. The conditions were horrible and heartbreaking. Many people died in the camps, because there was no humanitarian aid, no water and no medical care. My father passed away, because we could not get him the medical attention he needed.

“Shortly after, we decided to go to Turkey. It was no better there, but we did not have a choice and could not afford to move back to Iraq again.

“My sister and her family were sponsored by Operation Ezra just over a year ago. We got on the list when we heard about this amazing project from the people in the refugee camp.

“Months after contacting Nafiya [Naso] and Asmaeil, we were told we would be sponsored! My family and I definitely won the lottery here. We will always be grateful for everyone who made this possible.

“My dream is to see my family and Yazidis around the world live free of persecution. We hope and encourage all Canadian and other countries around the globe to support groups like Operation Ezra and help them in saving lives.”

Naso added, “Operation Ezra is working to raise more funds and keep sponsoring Yazidi refugees. There are thousands waiting who are in desperate need of help. They have no voice, so we must be a voice for them and speak out for them.”

For more information and to make a donation, email [email protected] or visit jewishwinnipeg.org/community-relations/operation-ezra.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Sponsoring Yazidi refugees

Yolanda Papini Pollock, co-founder of Winnipeg Friends of Israel, which initiated Operation Ezra. (photo from Yolanda Papini Pollock)

The Jewish community in Winnipeg has ramped up its efforts to help the Yazidi people, including the sponsorship of families to the city.

“When you look at the plight of the Yazidi people, it kind of mirrors the Jewish reality of 1945,” said Al Benarroch, executive director of Winnipeg’s Jewish Child and Family Services (JCFS). “I’m not going to be one to say that it’s like the Holocaust, but the Yazidis have suffered, over the last 500-600 years, a very significant genocide.

“The Yazidi people have been displaced from that region of the world and have been heavily victimized, murdered and devastated in the millions. And they have nowhere to go to. So, our community and other communities across Canada have really taken this to heart saying, you know, it was a mere 70 years ago that we ourselves were in a similar situation.

“When we say ‘Never again,’ are we just talking about the Jewish people? We see that image of ourselves in the Yazidi plight, and we feel compelled to come forward and act on it. That’s been the message we’ve been putting forward in Winnipeg.”

The group that started this effort in the city is Winnipeg Friends of Israel (WFI), awakening the community to the Yazidis’ situation and the possibility of sponsoring Yazidi refugees to Winnipeg.

“When we heard about the Yazidi massacre in August 2014, we reached out to the Yazidi community,” said Yolanda Papini Pollock, WFI co-founder. “We wanted to hear about the Yazidi plight and support their community by raising awareness.”

WFI invited Nafiya Naso, a Yazidi spokesperson, to share her and others’ stories with the Winnipeg community at the Asper Jewish Community Centre in March 2015.

“After learning about the dire strait conditions of the Yazidis in refugee camps, it was clear to us that we could not sit aside and do nothing,” said Papini Pollock. “We decided to do more than just listen.”

The group initiated Operation Ezra with the goal of sponsoring at least one Yazidi family and of raising awareness of the Yazidis’ plight. They began by partnering with Bridges for Peace, Calvary Temple, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and others. By December, $130,000 (enough for five-plus families) had been raised.

“When we heard Nafiya’s story, we recognized so many similarities to the plight of the Jewish people prior to the establishment of Israel and immediately empathized with her people,” said Papini Pollock. “The Yazidis are an ethno-religious minority and, just like the Jews, they are targeted solely because of their religious beliefs. Many genocide scholars perceive the Yazidis as victims of genocide. The Yazidis have been persecuted 74 times. At one point, there were more than 20 million Yazidis. Today, there are less than one million.”

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg has helped raise the funds to sponsor as many families as possible and JCFS has taken on the responsibility of managing the resettlement and other services, allowing WFI to do what they do best – connecting on a personal level with people.

Since Operation Ezra was announced, the congregation of Shaarey Zedek has taken on sponsorship of two families under the initiative.

“Collectively, we’re talking about 35 individuals to date who have applications that are or will be submitted,” said Benarroch. “At this point, I think we’re talking about bringing in as many as 50 individuals.

“The more we fundraise, the more we can help. We’ve gotten a hold of many people who are donating furnishings, old televisions and bedding. Someone came forward and said they will donate through their manufacturing company quilts and coats. We are looking for warehouse space.”

The sponsorships are being done through MCC, as they are the only organization in the city that holds a sponsorship agreement with the federal immigration department. This is something Benarroch would like to see change, not due to any lack in MCC’s services, but as an added insurance. “Historically, there was Jewish Immigration Aid Services of Canada (JIAS),” he said. “Located in Toronto, they were the national office for Jewish immigration.

“Because it was a national mandate for that sponsorship agreement and the national office no longer exists, my understanding is that the sponsorship agreement had to be given up. So, now we no longer have a national sponsorship agreement for Canadian Jewish communities. God forbid if we should have a worldwide crisis and the Canadian Jewish communities would be challenged at a national level to take on Jewish refugees.”

While he has been exploring the options regarding making an application to have at least a local sponsorship agreement – “If history repeats itself, as it usually does, you should have that safety” – Benarroch stressed, “I think it’s been amazing to be able to work in partnership with those groups, with the Mennonite community. The Manitoba Multifaith Council sits at the table for Ezra. We get ourselves out there. It’s the right thing to do.”

Some of the most-asked questions by people considering joining the effort, Benarroch said, are “Who are the Yazidis? Are they Muslim? Are they Christian?”

His response is, “They are not Jewish, Christian or Muslim, yet they do share many interesting customs that have a foot in all of those religions. They celebrate their new year … I’m not an expert … in the spring, in their month of Nisan. We, as Jews, also have a month of Nisan. They pray several times a day towards the sun, much like Islam. Yet, they have no formal book or liturgy … no formal Koran, Torah, New Testament, whatever you’d like to call it. It’s an oral tradition.”

Papini Pollock, meanwhile, is finding it hard to wait for the first arrivals. “We will be involved in taking care of the families when they arrive to the best of our abilities,” she said. “We will work with the rest of the Winnipeg community to ensure the refugees have the most natural transition to Winnipeg and to Canada.”

For more information on Operation Ezra, visit jewishwinnipeg.org/community-relations/operation-ezra.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.