Sibling survivors of Yazidi genocide tell their story to help others find their way to Canada

Members of the Yazidi community who now call London, Ont. home gathered to remember missing family members Thursday on the ninth anniversary of the genocide committed against them by Islamic state fighters in Iraq.

They met in Victoria Park and many brought pictures of family members and friends who were killed, are missing, or are still stuck in Iraq. 

The Yazidis are members of an ancient Kurdish-speaking community in northern Iraq who practice their own monotheistic religion that combines elements from Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. It's estimated as many as 5,000 Yazidis were killed in Aug. 2014 when the violence began.

At that time, Roza Alhento was 10 when her family tried to flee ISIS fighters who had attacked their hometown of Sinar. Eight months later, she and her two sisters, nine and three at the time, were kidnapped. 

"They separated us and then they sold us to some families with other girls my age. I had to live with these families and learn their language," Alhento said, who added that their parents and eldest brother Khiry are still missing.

The three sisters were separated and sold multiple times before a Yazidi family recognized Alhento when militants were trying to ransom her off to her relatives outside of the country.

"ISIS was trying to take me to Turkey and get money from my family. The family asked if I was Yazidi too but I couldn't say I was because I was so scared," she said.

She said due to that intervention, the ransom fell through and, ultimately, led to her escape from the country.

Her older brother Sherwan, who was 17 at the time, had escaped by hiding in the Sinjar Mountains in northern Iraq along with tens of thousands of other refugees.

He petitioned the Iraqi courts to have his sisters freed when the news of their locations eventually reached him. In 2018, the four of them were reunited and they immigrated to London where they now live with extended family.

"Now we are are safe and hopefully the Canadian government brings more families from Iraq, because they are not safe now," Sherwan said.

Stories like that of the Alhento family are unfortunately common among the approximately 600 members of the Yazidi community in the city, said Hazem Aslan, president of the London Yazidi Association. 

"We have people with siblings back in Iraq who were in ISIS captivity and were freed, but they're not allowed to come to Canada. We have single mothers here whose children are still in Iraq or their husband were killed in front of them," Aslan said.

Alhento said that she finished high school this year and now enjoys the little things in life, like drawing, chai tea and spending time with her family. Her comforts also remind her that there are others who aren't so lucky and she said she hopes that more is done to get them out of Iraq.