Resilience through Crafts & Enterprise

“My name is Mayasa Broo Rasho. I am a displaced woman from Sinjar, and I currently reside in an internally displaced camp in Khanke with eight family members. We last our house, land, cattle, and livelihood because of ISIS.
My most cherished memories are from my childhood in Sinjar. I remember caring for our cattle and watering the farmland with my brothers and sisters, our laughter, and playing together as children and running in the fields.
I am most proud of my ability to fight for my life and my rights, just as other Yezidis do. I never had the opportunity to attend school, not even to learn how to read and write. All I knew as a child was how to take care of cattle and water our land. When I was accepted to work on craft and weaving products, I was determined to learn everything I could.
My dream is to keep on working on crafts! After ISIS set our lands on fire and killed our cattle, we had nothing left. I was devastated. This work not only helped me and my family financially, but it also helped me mentally. It felt to me as if I once again have a purpose in life!
I want everyone in the world to know that in Yezidi culture we do not cause harm to anyone. We are welcoming people – we only want to be considered equal and treated equally.
In five years, I hope I can remain in this crafts profession. Our house in Sinjar is destroyed, and so are our lands. I think the situation in Sinjar is very dangerous and not safe enough to return right now. But if we ever do, I will definitely open a market to sell Yezidi-made crafts and products.”