Under new deal, Shingal rings in New Year with high hopes for 2021

SHINGAL, Iraq – The people of Shingal rang in the New Year with their first big celebration in years, since the genocide and Islamic State (ISIS). 

“2020 was miserable, but I hope 2021 will be a happy year for all Yazidis,” said reveler Halima Semo. 

In 2014, ISIS militants attacked Shingal and committed genocide against the Yazidi minority. After ISIS was defeated, the area was controlled by several different armed groups. Late last year, it came under federal Iraqi control after the governments in Erbil and Baghdad reached a historic agreement over the disputed area.

“2021 is the best year we’ve seen since the genocide. God willing, it will bring joy to the people of Shingal,” said Hamo Salim at the celebration that brought local singers home from abroad to perform to a crowd that included many people still living in displacement camps. 


Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed