‘Like being cradled in my father's lap’ - Child protection centres as safe places for those ‘on the run’

It is now ten years since the people, mainly Yazidis, in the Sinjar region of Iraq were attacked by the militias of the so-called Islamic State (IS). Those who were able to, fled. Child protection centres, so-called ‘Child Friendly Spaces’, have emerged in the resulting refugee camps. They are run by educators who have been trained by the Friends of Waldorf Education. One partner organisation that was founded three years ago after many years of close collaboration with the Friends' emergency pedagogy is “Island of Hope”. The work of this organisation includes supporting people to return to their devastated homeland - for example to Sinjar. There, one of the founders of ‘Island of Hope’, Hishyar Obeid, was recently approached by a young man named Ivan Hassan Saido. He recognised Hishyar because he himself attended one of the ‘Child Friendly Spaces’ in the refugee camp and took advantage of emergency and trauma education services there. Ivan is now 18 years old. At the reunion with Hishyar, he looked back on the story of his escape, which began when he was eight years old:

One morning I was torn from my sleep and taken to my uncle's pick-up. I was put inside; my mother and sister got in too. All the other family members, including my father and my two brothers, took my father's car. My dad drove in front. When we arrived at an IS militia checkpoint, the other cars were immediately shot at. My father couldn't escape; he was arrested with the rest of the family. My uncle drove in a different direction and was able to escape across the country. Our pick-up truck was still being shot at from a distance.

The IS militias killed everyone in the other car, including my father and my two brothers. We found my father so that we could bury him. There is still no trace of the others. But I'm sure they were murdered. It's only a matter of time before we find their remains.

When we arrived in the mountains of Sinjar, we could no longer continue by car and had to flee on foot. As my mother is disabled, it was very difficult for us. At some point, my mum said to me: ‘Take your sister and go with your uncle. I can't do it anymore. Leave me to God.’ But I replied: ‘Either I stay with you, or you come with me!’ I was still very small and yet my uncle and I took it in turns to carry my mum. There were also three water bottles tied around my neck.

We spent a total of nine days in the mountains. My uncle made a lot of phone calls during this time to find a way out for us. In the end, we continued our escape to a place near Dohuk, where a refugee camp was set up shortly afterwards.

When I was eleven years old, a new child protection centre was opened near our tent. When I visited this centre, it was like being cradled in my father's lap. I was welcomed and everything terrible that had happened in my life was forgotten in that moment. I still have the advice Hazhar gave me in my head. Hazhar is one of the emergency pedagogues who later founded ‘Island of Hope’. He motivated me to go to school and then I started learning. Above all, the hours of playing were always the best thing for me; I felt safe and gained positive experiences for my future.

I hope that the programmes I was able to take part in as a child in the refugee camp will continue. And that children here in Sinjar also have the opportunity to be children in such safe places. And I hope that I can build a life for myself with a secure income and thus provide for my family.

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