Middle East

Meet A Few Of Iraq's Orphans Who Lost Their Parents To ISIS

The aftermath of ISIS' stronghold on Sinjar and the city's later liberation left dozens of children without parents.

Meet A Few Of Iraq's Orphans Who Lost Their Parents To ISIS
Voice of America
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"Before we were able to escape the city, my father was killed by [ISIS] terrorists. And then my brother was killed by them," said Yazidi orphan Hadi Slo Qasim.

These kids are from Sinjar, a city in northern Iraq. The city was liberated from ISIS last year, but the group's still having an effect.

ISIS' attacks left dozens of children without parents. Some are at this orphanage in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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"We didn't have the means to live, so we came here to this orphanage. They've become our parents here, and they're very good to us," Yazidi orphan Hadiya Ato said.

Most of these orphans are Yazidi — a religious minority in Iraq that ISIS targeted when it held Sinjar. The Yazidis were displaced after the city was liberated.

The Iraqi Orphan Foundation says there are more than 3 million orphans in Iraq.

This video includes clips from Voice of America and Al Arabiya. Music provided courtesy of APM Music.