CHILDREN OF WAR!
13th Century Sa’adi Shirazi ( A Persian Poet):
“Human beings are numbers whole
In creation one essence & soul
If one member is afflicted with pain
Other members uneasy remainSept
If you have no sympathy for human pain
The name of human you cannot retain”
On Sept 2nd 2015
As news flashed
All around the world
A body of an
Innocent boy was
found face down
On the South
Turkey shore!
What crime did
This innocent commit
He was 4 years old
Free of sin
Fleeing with his parents
From the horrows of war
Wishing somwhere he could
Live in peace & a new life
Would begin
As they fled in dinghy boats
With just clothes on their backs
Crossing the crystal clear blue waters
Of the Tynnean Sea
As they from the cycle of violence
Wanted To Break Free!
It’s as excruciating
As well gut wrenching
To such images of
Poor innocent little ones
Caught in the middle
Of nasty war
If there was some way
To bring them back
And stop the War
Violence Hatred
Peace can be achieved
“By Giving It A Chance
- Farida Bamji
Yezidis who like other Kurdish people were at one time Zarathushtis, and later combined other beliefs, have suffered genocide, enslavement, forced conversions, etc. need help from the world. The Silicon Valley Interreligious Council (SiViC) is planning to help them and contacted Ms. Nina Bhaisa in northern California with the following email (which she forwarded to me):
From: SiVIC Council
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2016 8:05 PM
To: nbhaisa@hotmail.com
Subject: Beyond Genocide: Yezidi Campaign
Greetings,
I’d like to think that someday when our grandkids asks us, “what were you doing when the Yezidi genocide was being perpetrated,” that we would be able to share with them an answer that will help them understand and realize that people like you and I can make a difference……
Yezidi symbolsWorld leaders have declared that what so-called-ISIS is doing to the Yezidi people is Genocide. The question we need to ask ourselves is how shall we respond to this declaration?
A consortium of Jewish and Interfaith Leaders is implementing a campaign to rescue and support Yezidis who are being persecuted because of who they are. More than 12,000 have been murdered, including mass murders and beheadings of fathers in front of their families. Over 3500 Yezidi women and girls remain in sexual slavery. Nineteen Yezidi women were burned alive in June 2016 for refusing to cooperate with their rapists. More than 2000 Yezidi boys have served as forced child soldiers and hundreds are being forced to train as suicide bombers. More than 100 Yezidi boys have already be killed in battle. Thousands of other Yezidis have been tortured while an unknown number of Yezidis continue to be held as hostages.
The Beyond Genocide Yezidi Campaign is our response.
This letter is an opportunity for you to respond. Here are some things you can do:
Add your name to the growing list at http://www.norcalrabbis.org/yezidi-fundraiser/
Make a personal donation from your pocket and/or your Discretionary Fund by clicking on the Donate button in the upper right hand corner at http://www.norcalrabbis.org/yezidi-fundraiser/
Share this information with your extended network of friends, family, congregants, etc.
Develop a local Beyond Genocide Yezidi Campaign charity project.
Please join us in committing to help make sure that our collective response will make a difference for the Yezidi people.
Commit yourself and make a difference.
Our goal is to raise $160,000. Please do your part to help the Yezidi people
Thanks in advance for your response and help.
Peace and blessings,
The Rev. Andrew Kille, Chair, Silicon Valley Interreligious Council, CA
Linda Crawford, Executive Director, Interfaith Center at the Presidio, San Francisco, CA
Rabbi Pamela Frydman, Board of Rabbis of Northern CA; Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, CA
Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Executive Director, Board of Rabbis of Northern CA
Rev. Will McGarvey, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, CA
Rev. Scott Quinn, Interim Executive Director, Marin Interfaith Council, California
Rabbi David Zaslow, Havurah Shir Hadash, Ashland, OR
To view the full list of supporters go to: http://www.norcalrabbis.org/yezidi-fundraiser/
The Beyond Genocide Campaign Committee consists of
Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Executive Director, Board of Rabbis of Northern CA
The Rev. Andrew Kille, Chair, Silicon Valley Interreligious Council, CA
Rev. Will McGarvey, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, CA
Rabbi Pamela Frydman, Board of Rabbis of Northern CA; Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, CA
Clergy and other leaders wishing to lend their name to the Beyond Genocide Yezidi Campaign may do so by emailing mailto:revdak@sivicouncil.org?subject=Yezidi%20Campaign. Please include your title and name as you wish it to appear, name of your organization (if any), physical address, city and state or country and telephone number. We will only list your city and state or country on this website, but we need the additional information for our records.