The Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF) is a politically independent non-profit organization designed to assist Yezidis in need. It was founded shortly after terrorists attempted to eradicate the Yezidi people in August 2014 in northern Iraq.

The Yezidis are an ancient and widely misunderstood ethnoreligious group living predominantly in northern Iraq. Yezidis typically speak Kurmanji as their native language, and their religious traditions share common roots with Zoroastrianism and elements of Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic Sufism.

Due to religious mischaracterization and harmful ethnic stereotypes, Yezidis have been subjected to widespread discrimination and systematic violence, dating back centuries.

This violence most recently culminated in a genocidal campaign conducted by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). In August 2014, ISIS militants swept through the Sinjar region of northern Iraq in a deliberate attempt to annihilate the Yezidis. ISIS employed brutal tactics including mass executions, rape, forced conscription of child soldiers, and sexual enslavement of young women.

The immediate impact of ISIS’ devastation was that thousands of Yezidis were killed and thousands more were taken captive and sold as sex slaves in ISIS markets. To this day, almost 3,000 Yezidi women and children remain missing and almost 300,000 Yezidis still live in displacement camps in northern Iraq.

The toll of the genocide, subsequent displacement, and continued discrimination has left a profound impact on Yezidi society, with alarming suicide rates and difficulty in obtaining employment or accessing education. Khanke Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp is home to over 14,000 Yezidis displaced from the 2014 ISIS genocide, with 12,000 more living in makeshift out-of- camp tents. With 35% of families comprised of female-headed households,