The Shabaks are among some of the smallest minorities in all of Iraq. They mainly live in the Sunni areas of Northern Iraq, though historically following the Shiite branch of Islam and numbering less than 50,000 in the whole country. Because they are Shiites they were immediately in the cross-hairs of ISIS as it plowed it’s way through Mosul and the surrounding villages.
The Shabaks knew that they were next, and with the help of a tip off from a neighboring friend they fled into the Kurdish autonomous region not 2 hours before ISIS militants invaded their village.
They found their way to the mountainous region of Soran and rented a small apartment building for the 20 families from their village before realizing they’d been so close to being another casualty in the ISIS assault. Within weeks, however, they weren’t able to pull together enough money to pay for an additional month of rent. So, they reached out to the local municipality, and the mayor subsequently reached out to us.
We were ready to help with land that the government had already placed in our care to build the Refuge Community Center 6 years earlier. Nearly the entire complex had been completed except for one quarter of an acre that we were waiting to turn into a children’s park. Well, the children’s park would have to wait for now.
When we heard about these 20 Shabak families plight, we kicked into high gear on the 2nd of September 2014, levelled the land, hauled in rock and gravel, put up tents, hooked up the electricity, and by the 9th all the families moved in with smiles on their faces. Having lost nearly everything they owned, it was all a shock to us to see them express with thankful hearts their gratitude for the new “homes” we were able to provide them.
But, that’s not the end of the story… 8 months later, we were able to build each of these families their own permanent home in a place we’ve named the Kawlokan Village. Now, they are on the road to rebuilding their lives in a new land.
Here's a photo of the day we chose the land for the village:
... and the progress:
Building communities of hope and building pathways back to normal life is what the Refuge Initiative (a division of World Orphans) is all about.
If you’d like to learn more, check out our new website at: http://therefugeinitiative.org
Comments