fbpx

Our mission

The Eaglewatch Foundation’s mission is to help victims of terrorism in the Middle East.

We support families which as a result of ISIS incursion have lost their relatives, homes and everything they owned. We want to help them return to normal lives they had led before the war that was started by Islamic fundamentalists. Our work is carried out through such projects as reconstruction of destroyed workplaces, support for the education of widows and orphans, as well as widely-defined development aid. Our activities are not limited to a single, preset field of specialization as we adapt them to the current needs of the affected communities.

We support mainly Christian and Yazidi families.

Our help is provided mainly to these minorities, which were subjected to extreme cruelty at the hands of ISIS. Following attacks on Christian and Yazidi towns and villages, the terrorists carried out numerous crimes against humanity and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. The towns were reduced to rubble. Yazidi women and children were captured and enslaved. After years some of them were released after ransoms were paid, while others managed to escape. Most of them currently live in IDP camps scattered across the country.

The main areas of our activities are Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, where the worst atrocities were committed by ISIS against Christians and Yazidis.

The Islamic State, also known by its Arabic acronym ‘Daesh’, was established in 2003 in Iraq (since then it has existed under several different names). After the American invasion of Iraq, the Sunni Muslim fundamentalist groups launched an armed insurgency seeking to establish a state governed by the sharia (Islamic law). They were carrying out numerous terrorist attacks, targeting primarily civilians. The peak of those crimes was reached in the years 2013-2014, when ISIS started a swift offensive conquering large territories in Syria, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan.

The main areas of our activities are Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, where the worst atrocities were committed by ISIS against Christians and Yazidis.

The Islamic State, also known by its Arabic acronym ‘Daesh’, was established in 2003 in Iraq (since then it has existed under several different names). After the American invasion of Iraq, the Sunni Muslim fundamentalist groups launched an armed insurgency seeking to establish a state governed by the sharia (Islamic law). They were carrying out numerous terrorist attacks, targeting primarily civilians. The peak of those crimes was reached in the years 2013-2014, when ISIS started a swift offensive conquering large territories in Syria, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan.

We aim at helping the families deprived of livelihood by terrorist incursion to gain employment and self-reliance.

Thousands of people had to flee their hometowns and villages. Today they dream of returning home. We rebuild workplaces for those who have taken such courageous steps, as well as those who are still living in IDP camps. Establishments, shops and workshops in places seized by terrorists were plundered and burned down. To allow people to come back and begin life anew, these places need to be rebuilt. We also buy livestock for the families that have not been able to return to their homes yet. We organize therapeutic activities and support the education of women and children who were once enslaved by terrorists.

Yazidis and Christians in the Middle East

Christians

Christianity has been present in Iraq practically since its inception.

The land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is inhabited by the Assyrians, among others, who populated it in the first few centuries AD. Their presence in the area predates by centuries the emergence of Islam and the arrival of Arabs in the region. Most Assyrian Christians belong to the Chaldean Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Syriac Catholic Church. There are also small communities of followers of the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical churches.

The Middle Eastern Christians are also present in other countries of the region, such as Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. Terrorism affects them all. Persecution of Christians has been going on in this region for centuries. Muslim fundamentalists carry out attacks and numerous acts of terrorism against the followers of Christ. Horrific crimes, including genocides, are often concealed and the victims forgotten.

Over the last years, the Christian population in Iraq has plummeted from 1,5 million to about 400,000.

After the emergence of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Christians became the main target of Islamist attacks and extermination. In 2014 terrorists took over the largest Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains in Iraq. Locals were forced to flee, while their towns were razed to the ground. The exact number of victims is not known, but ISIS incursion has affected the entire community.

Persecution has caused a dramatic decline of the Christian population. There were 1,5 million Christians in Iraq in 2003. Today there are only several hundreds of thousands left. The war has caused terrible destruction and the reconstruction will take many years. Despite persecution, the Christian community is tight-knit. It is committed to rebuilding itself in a land inhabited by its ancestors for thousands of years.

Over the last years, the Christian population in Iraq has plummeted from 1,5 million to about 400,000.

After the emergence of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Christians became the main target of Islamist attacks and extermination. In 2014 terrorists took over the largest Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains in Iraq. Locals were forced to flee, while their towns were razed to the ground. The exact number of victims is not known, but ISIS incursion has affected the entire community.

Persecution has caused a dramatic decline of the Christian population. There were 1,5 million Christians in Iraq in 2003. Today there are only several hundreds of thousands left. The war has caused terrible destruction and the reconstruction will take many years. Despite persecution, the Christian community is tight-knit. It is committed to rebuilding itself in a land inhabited by its ancestors for thousands of years.

Yazidis

The Yazidis is one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Middle East.

They inhabit eastern Syria and northern Iraq, centered around the Sinjar Mountains (Iraq). They have been persecuted by Islamic extremists for centuries. They had been a target of attacks long before the emergence of ISIS. Seventy-four documented genocides have been recorded in the Yazidis’ history.

In 2007 Muslim terrorists attacked Til Ezer (Arabic: Al-Qahtaniyah). 800 people were killed (more died only as a result of the 9/11 attacks on WTC) and 1,500 were injured.

Genocide of Yazidis by ISIS.

In August 2014 ISIS launched an offensive to seize territory around Mount Sinjar – the holy mountain of the Yazidis. On the first day, around 2,800 people were killed and 13,000 mainly women and children were captured and passed on to slave traders. Hundreds of thousands fled, fearing for their and their families’ lives.

Many of those who escaped from besieged Sinjar died of thirst and hunger during a harrowing journey up the mountains. Those who managed to find safety were forced to live in hastily set up camps for displaced persons. Initially, they were intended to be temporary, but the majority of refugees are still living there. Destroyed homes and infrastructure (mainly schools, hospitals, shops, roads and electrical infrastructure) make returning home difficult.

Genocide of Yazidis by ISIS.

In August 2014 ISIS launched an offensive to seize territory around Mount Sinjar – the holy mountain of the Yazidis. On the first day, around 2,800 people were killed and 13,000 mainly women and children were captured and passed on to slave traders. Hundreds of thousands fled, fearing for their and their families’ lives.

Many of those who escaped from besieged Sinjar died of thirst and hunger during a harrowing journey up the mountains. Those who managed to find safety were forced to live in hastily set up camps for displaced persons. Initially, they were intended to be temporary, but the majority of refugees are still living there. Destroyed homes and infrastructure (mainly schools, hospitals, shops, roads and electrical infrastructure) make returning home difficult.

Pin It on Pinterest