Über uns:

Unsere Organisation

Farida Global Organization (Farida e.V.) is a non-profit organization founded and managed by survivors of the Yazidi genocide and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), who have been advocating for the rights of survivors since their escape from ISIS captivity. Farida Global aims to give voice and support to survivors and their communities in a participatory, survivor-centric, culturally sensitive, and psychosocially informed manner.

Warum wurde Farida e.V. gegründet? 

Im August 2014 attackierte der Islamische Staat (ISIS) das Sinjar Distrikt (Regierungsbezirk Ninawa, Irak). Die größte jesidische Gemeinschaft lebt im Sinjar Distrikt; sie haben unter Jahrzehntelanger Diskriminierung gelitten und sind eine der gefährdetsten Bevölkerungsgruppen im Irak. Jesiden praktizieren eine uralte Religion. Der ISIS betrachtet Jesiden als „Teufelsanbeter“ und griff diese Bevölkerungsgruppe gezielt an (siehe Cetorelli, Sasson & Burnham, 2017).

Beim sogenannten „Sinjar-Massaker“ am dritten August 2014 wurden zwischen 2.000 und 5.500 Jesiden getötet und mehr als 6.500 (vor allem Frauen) entführt. Genaue Zahlen sind nicht bekannt. Noch heute (Juli 2020) befinden sich fast die Hälften von ihnen in Gefangenschaft. Der Menschenrechtsrat der Vereinten Nationen hat erklärt, dass der ISIS Völkermord begangen und gegen das Völkerrecht verstoßen hat (siehe OHCHR, 2016). Während des Angriffs flohen Zehntausende Jesiden den Berg Sinjar hinauf und saßen in der Hitze des Sommers ohne Nahrung, Wasser und Unterkunft fest. Nach nur wenigen Wochen gelang es dem Großteil der Menschen, die Region Kurdistan im Irak zu erreichen. Viele Jesiden flohen über die Grenze in die EU oder andere westliche Länder (siehe Cetorelli, Sasson & Burnham, 2017).

Weibliche Überlebende der sexuellen Sklaverei durch ISIS erleben Depressionen, Traumata und Kummer. Junge männliche Überlebende leiden unter den Auswirkungen der militärischen Ausbildung, die sie absolvieren mussten (siehe HRC, 2016). Auch sechs Jahre nach dem Angriff haben die Folgen noch großen Einfluss auf das Leben vieler Menschen. 

Die vision of Farida Global is to take action on what has happened back in August 2014. Farida Global aims to give voice and support to survivors and their communities in a participatory, survivor-centric, culturally sensitive, and psychosocially informed manner.The history above describes the situation of the Yazidi minority in Sinjar (Northern Iraq). FGO is aware of other minorities facing similar difficulties and wants to step in for them as well.  From now on FGO wants to set up interventions and create new possibilities on reaching those survivors and other war-crime victims.

Unser Team

Farida Khalaf (Co-Founder and President)

is a Human Rights Activist and co-author of “The Girl who beat ISIS”. Farida is one of more than 6500 Yazidi survivors of ISIS enslavement and genocide. She was born in the village of Kocho near Sinjar in northern Iraq. She was a high school student when ISIS attacked her village, killing men and taking women and children hostages. Farida lost her father and her older brother. She was taken into captivity with her mother and her other brothers. Her mother escaped 9 months later. Farida was held in captivity for four months, where she was subjected to unimaginable suffering including physical and mental abuse.

Since her escape, Farida has been an effective part of a global advocacy campaign to bring ISIS militants to justice, raise awareness and bring international attention to the Genocide. She has met with many world leaders including Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Wolfgang Schäuble, and a number of other European Presidents and EU parliament members. Farida has spoken in many high-level international events throughout Europe and around the world. Farida’s book, The Girls Who Beat ISIS, has been published and translated in more than 14 languages.

Farida ist die Gewinnerin des Pro Dignitate Humana Preises 2017 des polnischen Außenministers und des Marsh Award for Peacemaking and Peacekeeping von Wilton Park 2017, einer Exekutivagentur des Foreign Commonwealth Office-UK der Regierung sowie des LiberPress Award 2017. Farida erhielt außerdem den Annual Human Rights Judith Lee Stronach Award 2020. Des Weiteren wirkte sie an dem Dokumentarfilm Mit Worten gegen den IS – Eine Jesidin erhebt die Stimme mit. Farida sprach mit zahlreichen internationalen Medien, darunter BBC, SWR, Reuters, DW, RT, CBC und andere.

Sanaa Ali Alneamat (Co-Founder, Board Member and Director For Women’s and Survivor’s Affairs) Sanaa was a student at Mosul University in the field of Geography when she was abducted by ISIS in Kocho. Today, Sanaa is a distinguished human and women’s rights activist, contributing to international, national, and local conferences throughout Europe, with a focus on survivors’ perspectives. She is currently working as an interpreter and is the Director for Women’s and Survivor’s Affairs at FG with a strong skillset in participatory and survivor-centric programming.

Intisar Oso (Co-Founder and Board Member) Intisar is a human and women’s rights activist known for her eminent work in advocating for safe and legal routes of entry to Europe. As a participant of Baden-Württemberg’s Special Quote Program and in the context of her personal and her family’s history, with one of her sisters rescued from ISIS just months ago, her work with FG particularly focuses on a new Special Quota Program to Germany for vulnerable survivors still living in Iraq and family reunification.

Miriam Weller (Communications Director) has an academic background in political sciences and international relations, with a focus on the fields of migration and climate change. She has professional experience working with international organizations and the European Parliament, focusing on the intersection of climate change and human mobility. At Farida Global, she is the project coordinator for the exhibition “The Women Who Beat ISIS” and responsible for the fields of communication and media.

Astrid komp (Co-Founder, Board Member, Psychological and Staff Care Advisor) when the crisis hit in 2014 astrid had just graduated from nursing (BSC) and child psychology (MSC); she was at work in south east Asia as a volunteer. September 2016 Astrid started working for an international humanitarian organization in northern Iraq (Sinjar, Kirkuk, Mosul and Dohuk) to provide healthcare and psychosocial support to refugees and internally displaced people. Astrid specialized herself, while working in Iraq, with a master in international humanitarian psychosocial interventions to be able to provide better quality and evidence based support. Astrid worked for over three years with different organizations in northern Iraq as health/psychosocial manager, protection project manager and area manager. She managed to learn the basics of the local language and gained a great understanding of the culture and context of the country/history. Astrid is touched by the stories of many people within Iraq and is deeply moved to support them in any way needed. Astrid was asked to join the board of Farida Global Organization and will advise the organization with her technical knowledge on psychosocial support, staff care and project management.

Saeed Qasim Sulaiman (Co-Founder) is a human rights activist and advocate for the protection of Yazidis, Christians and other minorities. Thanks to his involvement and hard work as a volunteer in the humanitarian sector from a very young age, Saeed was elected, at age 16, to the position of Youth Center Director in Kurdistan-Iraq. Saeed spent more than five years supporting refugees and IDPs, and in 2015, he established one of the first volunteer centers in Iraq. After moving to Germany in 2015, Saeed has dedicated his life to supporting Yazidi women and children who have survived ISIS captivity. This involves meeting with leaders and government officials from all over the world. Over the past few years, Saeed has volunteered his time to work with Mrs. Amal Clooney’s legal team. He supported the team during two cases against ISIS members for international crimes. These were the first of such cases anywhere in the world. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Duhok and an M.A. in Development and Governance from University of Duisburg-Essen.

Khalid Qasim Salih (Co- Founder and Country Director – Iraq) was living in Sinjar happily and having many friends around him. Khalid, holding a BSc. Engineering and humanitarian Leadership from American University in Beirut, was working in the Sinjar region. He is a humanitarian aid worker and a human rights defender for the vulnerable and poor families. In 2014, he had to forcibly flee his home with his family and run into Kurdistan Regional of Iraq (KR-I) for safety and thus he survived from the Genocide happened against his community “Yazidis”. From the very first days of the displacement, Khalid started advocating and asking for help for his people, especially around 120,000 people that were trapped on the Sinjar Mount. He helped with air dropping to the people trapped on the Sinjar mountain in August, 2014. While the crisis was getting more chronic and taking longer than anyone expected, Khalid started to be involved in more community centered activities. He joined and co-founded the voluntary center within the University of Duhok “Volunteers of Duhok University (VDU)”. Khalid, with proper and long training from IAHV, was able to be certified as a trainer and was assigned as a peace ambassador. Khalid trained hundreds of displaced people in displacement camps in Iraq to help the traumatized people to overcome the trauma and to relieve stress. Khalid, since 2014 is working as a humanitarian aid worker with MEDAIR (a Swiss international organization) to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable families across all Iraq. 

Khawla Ali (Deputy Country Director and Counselor at Farida Global Organization in Iraq) She is specializing in the Yazidi Survivor’s Law (YSL) since 2022. A passionate advocate for survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV), Khawla, a Yazidi survivor of enslavement by ISIS, has dedicated herself to defending human rights. In her role, she has successfully supported thousands of survivors, ensuring access to reparations and legal services. Khawla’s powerful mandate is to transition from the enslavement by a terrorist organization to championing human rights within a humanitarian organization. Her message is “From enslavement of a terrorist organization to defend human rights in a humanitarian organization”.

Brilliant Edudzi Dziko (Co-Founder and Strategic & Development Officer) is an international development policy analyst who began his career as an advocacy volunteer with curious minds Ghana and then served as the national coordinator for the African youth and adolescents network on population and development (African Ghana) with unfpa affiliation. He holds a B.A. degree in political studies and economics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of science and technology and has worked as programmes assistant with the democratic governance and peacebuilding unit of UNDP in Ghana. Brilliant has also served in the unmgcy led organizing committee for the United Nations economic and social council youth forum at the UN headquarters in New York and other international high level events. Currently, brilliant doubles as a scholar in ma. development & governance in DAAD Helmut Schmidt Programme, Universität Duisburg-Essen and an assistant SDG`s policy research consultant with the German development institute in Bonn, Germany. Brilliant believes that the story of ISIS persecution of the Yazidi community in Iraq must be viewed from a global lens and is pleased to join the strategy unit and support team Farida Global Organization with his expertise.