From Sweden and Australia to Los Angeles and San Francisco, protesters have been growing by the thousands due to the current crimes against humanity the Assyrian and Yazidi minorities are facing in Iraq and Syria. Protest chants -- "ISIS ISIS you can't hide. We charge you with genocide!" and "We want peace, We want peace" -- permeated the streets with the Demand For Action goals of awareness and peace in the middle east.
In July, Yonadam Kanna, Iraqi Parliament Member and Secretary General of A.D.M., had an empowering speech condemning ISIS actions of attacking churches, mosques, cultural and ancient monuments of Iraq. He also talks about the targeting of Christians, Assyrians, Turkmen, Shias, and Sunnis who do not follow the Sunnism that ISIS imposes. For those of you who do not understand Arabic you have to see the human aspect of the video -- politicians and ministers of all faiths and ethnicities show their solidarity to Assyrians and other minorities being persecuted in Iraq.
Peace, however, has taken another turn for the worse in northern Iraq for both Assyrians and Yazidis. On Aug 5th, A Yazidi member of Iraqi Parliament "Fiyan Dakheel" (of the Kurdistan Alliance) collapsed in tears after calling upon humanity to rescue the Yazidis from Genocide.
Yazidi children and elderly dying of starvation all in the efforts of trying to escape the lethal grasp of IS, formerly known as ISIS. IS "Islamic State" has been ethnically cleansing northern Iraq to create an Islamic state. Insufficient Iraqi force resistance coupled with minimal acknowledgement and aid from the west have compounded the problem for those unable to defend themselves.
How many more video clips like these are we supposed to see from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon? Will it ever end? Will it spill over to the U.S.? Do people care?
There is hope and people do care! To create awareness and drive change, a grassroots campaign called Demand For Action has been formed. Demand For Action is a global initiative with significant support from Assyrian and non-Assyrian organizations. The teams are made up of activists that are experts in law, history, political science, business, engineering and much more. The campaign has simple and clear goals:
1. Create awareness and media coverage 2. Grassroot rallies and political petitions 3. Lobby influence in DC and the UN 4. Create a short term safe haven for persecuted Iraqis5. Establish an autonomous region in the Nineveh Plains Demand For Action made a promise to Assyrians and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria that they will not give up on them.