Opinion Editorial
ISIS Undiminished As Assyrian and Yazidi Refugees Suffer
By Nahren Anweya
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Assyrian refugees in North Iraq.
(AINA) -- We have been witnessing the most horrendous and catastrophic events that have taken place in the Middle East since the Turks and Kurds conducted the genocide in World War One against the Assyrians, Armenians, and Greeks. They killed nearly 3 million people and expelled the survivors from their lands. After this genocide and the Jewish Holocaust the world said it would never happen again.

But as ISIS continues its barbarism in Iraq and Syria, what has happened to the cries of "never again?" What has happened to humanity standing up against such great evil? The number of casualties are increasing by the day and the solution remains unknown.

What has any country done substantially to destroy ISIS? The truth is that if any country were doing anything even remotely effective, we would not have seen the incredible rise of over 50,000 highly trained and funded Muslims who are pillaging through the heart of the Middle East and are making their way here.

As I have previously warned my fellow Americans, this ideology has already manifested itself in the United States and you are currently watching active terrorist attacks flourish throughout the world. Our ineffective president is the one who removed our troops from Iraq and left the innocent people vulnerable to the extremists there and throughout the world. It was our responsibility to insure Iraq was ready to run on its own before removing our American soldiers. They were the only reliable protection for the people.

What is ISIS exactly doing right now to cause this to be a holocaust? They are beheading children, fathers, husbands, and even little babies as a religious sacrifice. Women are being raped and used as concubines. ISIS is also raping girls as young as five years old. Bodies are being dismembered in public. There are crucifixions. ISIS is growing by exporting black market oil. They are rolling down city streets with their advanced weaponry. Foreign fighters are being trained to destroy our lands. ISIS is creating training camps for children across the country to prepare for their next generation. They simply want to destroy all humanity.

Powerful nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom or Germany have the capability to completely destroy ISIS overnight. We had a chance to wipe them out easily when they were concentrated in Mosul. Why did we not?

I am a devout Assyrian Catholic, but it truly boggles my mind that the Vatican has not raised hell to save the oldest Christians in the world. What is the Vatican waiting for? Regardless of the bureaucracies and the religious corruption we are experiencing, allowing ISIS to still exist is a crime in itself.

It is a crime against humanity to conduct these atrocities, but it is also an international crime against humanity to do nothing as they occur. That's why the good people of the world need to truly stand up now more than ever.

Evil is flourishing at the expense of innocent people. The United States and other western countries need to work directly with the Assyrian Christians and Yazidis, who are most affected because of their diminishing population.

The Assyrians of north Iraq have formed a military protection unit called the Nineveh Plains Protection Units (NPU) and they truly are the only group of people who cannot be infiltrated by religious fanatics.

The internally displaced Assyrians and Yazidis are experiencing the worst living conditions and many children and the elderly are quickly dying because of food shortage, lack of vital medications and extreme weather conditions. They are screaming out to the world for help. May God bless these innocent people, their suffering is unfathomable.

Nahren Anweya is an Assyrian American activist who was born in Dohuk, Iraq. She travels nationally and internationally to spread awareness of the persecution of Assyrians and Yazidis. She has been interviewed by Fox News, NBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, International Business Times, Time, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and numerous other media outlets.


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