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Long description: Ezidi people (Yezidi/Yazidi) and their culture suffered greatly at the hands of Daesh before, during, and after the 2014 Sinjar (Shingal) Genocide. Since the resulting forced migration, the Ezidi ­community as one of the most marginalised societies in the Middle East has undergone a significant amount of society-wide transformation. New avenues for agency have opened, and Shingali Ezidi women have taken these opportunities to express transformed identities, filling spaces previously unavailable, and altering “traditional” gender roles. This first extensive ethnographic work ever conducted with Ezidi women examines origins and developments of transformations in their female identity and agency. The analysis of their expressions and performances is particularly notable because of the subaltern position under numerous layers of minority, e.g. ethnicity, geography, religion, politics, culture, language, as well as gender. The aim of this study is to investigate the utilisation of subaltern identity to actualise agency among women after genocide. Biographical note: R. Latham Lechowick is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, working within the Global History Lab at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities. After studying in the USA and in Sweden, he earned his PhD in Ethno-Political Studies from the University of Exeter. An aid-worker as well as an academic, Lechowick endeavours to combine these two passions throughout his career.

Background There is growing evidence that government health information related to COVID-19 has failed to adequately reach culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations in Australia. Refugees are a unique sub-set of the CALD communities and are subject to numerous barriers preventing adequate health care, both pre- and post-migration. The barriers are accentuated during emergencies, such as a pandemic, as a result of an intersection of various social and economic inequalities. The recently resettled Ezidi refugee community in a regional area of Australia is an example of a community sitting at the intersection of various inequities and thus at greater risk from COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of the Ezidi in a regional area with COVID-19 information and how this has been communicated to and shared within this group; what barriers the community may experience in accessing COVID-19 information; and how the government-led COVID-19 information communication could be improved. Methods This qualitative study was designed to explore the perceptions and views of the Ezidi and service providers regarding COVID-19 messaging. Multicultural and Refugee Health staff facilitated interviews with four local service providers and ten Ezidi community members, including seven influential leaders. Thematic analysis was employed across individual, pair and group data analysis. Similar categories were grouped into themes. Results The main findings of the study are: the refugee experience influences the communication of COVID-19 messages; cultural, social and gender norms influence responses to COVID-19; trusted individuals and service providers are key in communities’ uptake of COVID-19 messages; currently available governmental COVID-19 information resources and sharing strategies were found unhelpful and inappropriate; COVID-19 communiqués and message delivery for this regional minority refugee community can be improved. Conclusion The recently resettled Ezidi community, and likely other similar communities, would benefit from tailored engagement by government organisations, as well as settlement services to improve the communication of COVID-19 health information and reduce related inequities.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the collective memory of Ezidi asylum-seekers who migrated from Iraq to Turkey in 2014.MethodsKurdish-speaking Ezidi participants of 25–65 years of age (ten male and ten female) who have arrived to Fidanlık Camp in Diyarbakır, Turkey from the Iraqi Shingal region have been included in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured in depth interviews and qualitative content analysis was conducted on the collected data.ResultsThe word “edict”, which was used to define violent attacks, had a significant importance in all participants’ memories. The collective memory observed in the Ezidi society leads a collective fear. Homelessness and religious discrimination are other concerns observed in the population.ConclusionIn conclusion, due to the depth and strength of the oral narrative tradition in the Kurdish culture, a significant collective memory is formed within the Ezidi society. Accumulation of previous negative events may prevent Ezidis to form a healthy identity. Traumas of the Ezidis should be investigated in more detail, and studies with larger scopes should be conducted in the future.

The uncertainty of transition to school for refugee children can be alleviated through early childhood programs that cater to children, families, and communities. This paper reports findings from a Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY), where free, home-based early childhood learning occurs during the critical period of the child’s transition to full-time school. The project aimed to support Ezidi parent’s capacity to prepare their children for Australian school contexts and to build a sense of belonging among Ezidi children in their new community in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This qualitative study was based on a case study informed by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological theory. Data were analyzed for themes using NVivo software. Findings indicated the HIPPY program supported Ezidi children's transition to school. Challenges such as parents’ English language proficiency and limited knowledge about the program resulted in the parents not being fully involved.

Bu makale farklı etnik-dini gruplar arasında kurulmuş sanal akrabalık bağlarının gruplar arası ilişkilere ve toplumsal dayanışmaya katkısını incelemektedir. Sanal akrabalık, evlilik ya da kan bağı yoluyla kurulan akrabalık ilişkilerinin dışında akrabalık terimlerinin kullanıldığı yakın sosyal ilişkilere işaret etmektedir. Bu ilişkiler kişilere resmi akrabalık bağlarından daha fazla manevi ve maddi destek sağlayabilmektedir. Makale, etnografi yöntemi ile toplanmış verilere dayanarak Mardin’deki gruplar arasında süt akrabalığı ve kirvelik ile kurulmuş sanal akrabalık bağlarını analiz etmektedir. Kirvelik sosyo-kültürel uzlaşıya dayalı ve sünnet ritüeli ile yakından bağlantılı bir kurum iken süt akrabalığı dini kurallar ile belirlenmiş bir uygulamadır. Her iki sanal akrabalık toplumsal kabul görmüş; süt akrabalığı daha ziyade Müslümanlar ve Süryaniler arasında, kirvelik ise Müslümanlar ve Ezidiler arasında tesis edilmiştir. Bu bağları incelemek üzere makale önce sanal akrabalık ile ilgili literatürü gözden geçirmektedir. Daha sonra Mardin’de kurulmuş sanal akrabalık örneklerini ve gruplar arası ilişkilere etkilerini incelemektedir. Son olarak makale, bu akrabalık örneklerinde etnik dini grupların titizlikle uyguladıkları evlilik yasağının önemine işaret etmektedir.  This article analyses the contribution of fictive kinship ties established between different ethno-religious groups to intergroup relations and social solidarity. Fictive kinship refers to close relations between the parties, out of kinship established by marriage or blood tie, and associated to conventional kinship terms. These relations would provide people moral and financial support more than formal ones. Based on ethnographic data, this article analyses fictive kinship ties established by milk kinship and kirvelik between different groups in Mardin. Milk kinship is a practice specified by religious rules; however, kirvelik is an institution based on socio-cultural agreement, and strongly related to circumcision ritual. Both are socially accepted; milk kinship is mostly practiced between Muslims and Syriacs while kirvelik is practiced between Muslims and Ezidis. The article firstly appeals to the existing literature on fictive kinship to examine these ties. Later it evaluates the examples of fictive kinship in Mardin, and their effects on intergroup relations. Finally, the article refers to the significance of intergroup marriage prohibition evident in these kinship examples. 

Located in the geographical region called Upper Mesopotamia, Batman has a wide cultural diversity. One of the Kurdish (Kurmancî)-speaking ethno-religious communities of Batman is the (Y)Ezidis which have been subjected to several persecutions due to their syncretic belief and practices. The resistance of the Ezidis against imperial powers could be read from governmental manuscripts kept in the archives. The number of field researches conducted in the area of Ezidis in Turkey is quite low. These studies are also concentrated in Viransehir (Urfa) region in which the Ezidi population is more intense. This study, on the other hand, is uncovering the traditional plants which are being used for food and nutrition as well as healing and ritualistic practices by the Ezidis of Batman which has never been subjected in a research in anthropology. Nutrition as one of the necessities that must be met in order to maintain biological existence is also a cultural phenomenon. Food as a part of culture is a configuration of identity and self-expression. The aim of this study is uncovering the traditional plants which are being used for food and nutrition as well as healing and ritualistic practices by the Ezidis of Batman which has never been subjected in a research in anthropology. The primary data of this study was collected during an ethnographic fieldwork in between April 2013 and June 2015 in Ezidi villages of Batman. It was observed that Ezidis unite with the other communities of the region with nutritional methods based on animal products which are common in daily life, while they differ in the use of plants and cereals which are operated in ritual practices. The ritualistic uses of plants and foods and the relations of the Ezidis between the others over food are proposed in this study as the basic patterns of behavior that distinguish Ezidi community from others, define belonging, and mark ethnic identity.

In this study we analysed the perceptions about Syrian refugees as reflected in the newspapers. A qualitative design based on content analysis was adopted in this research. The news on Syrian refugees appeared in Hurriyet, Yeni Safak and Cumhuriyet newspapers between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2014 have been analysed. These were classified on the basis of themes, styles, main concepts, and photographs used. Our findings show that, the political standing of the newspapers and their attitudes towards the Turkish government strongly affect the ways they shape the news about Syrian refugees.

This response to Jason Moralees’ article comes from members and associates of the Êzidi (Yazidi) team working on Sinjar Lives/Shingal Lives, a community-driven oral history project funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council. They are all survivors of the Êzidi genocide committed by ISIS in 2014. They explore Moralee’s themes of securitisation, imperialism and violence—especially the ‘village war’, its roots in imperialist thought and its consequences—from the perspective of those who call the village home. Beyond securitisation, they discuss borders both geographical and socio-cultural and the contemporary political significance of the elusive victim voice.

While the popularity of social media is generally increasing, it is becoming particularly important for survivors of collective violence. The study presented here focuses on personal narratives of Êzîdî women who survived the violence perpetrated against them by the so-called \"Islamic State.\" In these, I identify both thematic and linguistic characteristics. My analysis incorporates concepts from discourse analysis and covers YouTube, Facebook, and other weblogs. As findings demonstrate, the personal narratives of the Êzîdî women can provide a deep understanding of the violence they have experienced and the support that the use of social media can provide. These insights in turn are intended to inform social media communication initiatives that reach out to and support traumatized individuals.