Justice Not Forgiveness: Perspectives on Justice and Reconciliation among Yazidi Women Refugees in Germany

Abstract

AbstractIn August 2014, Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists overtook the Sinjar mountains of northern Iraq, committing widespread killing and abductions of Yazidi community members. Five years later, there is no comprehensive policy or programme to provide accountability and redress to survivors of ISIS. This article presents results from in-depth interviews with 117 Yazidi refugees resettled in the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in 2015–16 through the ‘Special Quota’ humanitarian assistance programme. The results provide an empirical assessment of Yazidi survivors’ views on justice and accountability. They also explore the tensions that exist at the intersection of global and national considerations for justice and reconciliation, and local values, needs, and priorities. The immediate need to find the missing and reunify families, and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of family members remaining in Iraq, are the respondents’ highest priority. The respondents also expressed a strong desire for truth and accountability. Recognition of the genocide, truth-seeking, and criminal prosecution are seen as important steps individually, and towards the protection of Yazidis as a group. The article addresses how those views relate to the possibility of a just and peaceful future in Iraq and the context of transitional justice options that have been proposed in response to ISIS crimes.