Weaponzied misinformation and anti-Israel propaganda are deploying the same tactics that are common with Holocaust denialism. Variations of “they deserved it,” to “they are exaggerating or fabricating how bad it actually was,” to “they did it themselves to justify war” are shockingly mainstream.
History teaches us that left unchecked, this form of denialism fuels hatred and dehumanizes Jewish people around the world. In the extreme, it leads to violence or worse.
Dear Hamas, thank you for showing your true colours. You have revealed to the world how hateful your ideology is. Thank you for uniting Jewish people around the world and revealing how important it is for Israel to exist as the lone Jewish state.
What a year. In the face of so much hurt and struggle in the world right now, we are so fortunate to have you in our corner fighting for human rights and justice in the world’s darkest corners. Your efforts are making a difference!
It is with deep sadness we share the news that Anna-Lee Chiprout has died.
The mother of One Free World International, Anna-Lee gave her heart to all she met.
An OFWI delegation including former US Congressman Trent Franks was in Ukraine to continue our work to advance freedom of religion, assist refugees from Crimea who are victims of the war with the Russian government, meet with churches, and continue to advance efforts for housing and an orphanage for refugees of the conflict.
Dilveen was 11 when ISIS raided her village, killed her father and stole her away. She was sold to a 65 year-old man, who planned to marry her — but she escaped.
Join OFWI and Loud Roar Productions on May 15 for a special screening of CBC Documentary "Dilveen." Following the film the Director will be joined by special guests to take part in an audience Q&A featuring:
Tue, 15 May 2018
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM EDT
Spaces - Toronto, Queen West
180 John Street
Toronto, ON M5T 1X5
Mavis Himes, Ph.D., C. Psych.
By Mavis Himes, Ph.D., C. Psych.
“One Free World International is a family.” That is what Rev. Majed El Shafie said to me at our first meeting last year. “And now you are one of this family,” he added months later when I had become actively involved in this indispensable organization. And indeed OFWI is a family, a family of committed and dedicated people who are prepared to devote their time for the universal right for freedom of religion.
Last winter, I had heard a radio interview with Majed on CBC Radio in which he had been discussing the horrific plight of the Yazidis living in Canada. While I had been aware of the predicament of the Yazidis, I had not realized the extent of the trauma these people had endured nor the dire need for services to aid Yazidi women who had suffered extreme torture, rape and sex slavery at the hands of ISIS.
This prompted an immediate phone call and, within a week I was waiting to meet Majed at OFWI’s modest office. I remember seeing a single line of Yazidi women of mixed ages file past me, their eyes downcast and their shoulders slouched. My interview with Majed who greeted me warmly was informative and inviting. I signed on to help out immediately, offering my services as a therapist to help these women as best I could.
I have been returning to this office regularly for months to meet singly for individual psychotherapy sessions with a number of women. I always meet with a translator, if not Majed, then another member of the family. To call the work I do psychotherapy is a misnomer for after many months, I would say that I am still becoming acquainted with them and their trauma, building up trust, confidence and acceptance. The lives and experiences of these women are completely dissimilar and in stark contrast to the privileged and stable life I have led here in Canada. My training and experience as a psychologist, and my formation as a psychoanalyst, had not quite prepared me for the extent of the tragic life circumstances of the Yazidi women I was meeting.
Aside from the cultural differences and language barriers, these women whose bodies had been subjected to the kind of trauma that no human should have to bear were still survivors and were heroes in their own rights. They had endured pain and brutality that is blatantly unthinkable - barbaric, why not say it! Their torment was expressed through symptoms of PTSD (such as recurring nightmares, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks), sleep disturbances and a host of chronic bodily aches and disorders.
I soon realized that the anguish and suffering I was encountering could not be treated in a normative or standard way but required a creative approach to healing. With my colleague Alyia, another therapist at OFWI and the support of Majed, we are reconfiguring ways to work with these women to bridge the cultural divide and to alleviate the emotional suffering. Colouring books, movement, breathing exercises, and outings are all alternative possibilities that will be introduced to broaden our scope. But all of these alternatives can only be introduced once relationships and mutual trust are deepened.
The demand for volunteers is great, greater than can be accounted for by the handful of professionals engaged In Toronto so far. The family of OFWI requires others for growth and expansion. A huge need exists to help these women whose desperate situation came only as the result of continuing the religious practices of their parents and ancestors, or simply, for being who they are.
One Saturday, as we all sat waiting for the translator, I asked the group of women sitting around the small board room table if they could follow me in an exercise of ‘sighing.’ Just breathe in and let out a big sigh, I said, as a fifteen-year-old whose language skills had been developed by her school, translated for me. And there they all were, ten women, breathing and sighing, an exercise they had been unable to perform a few weeks earlier. My eyes filled with tears.
It is only through the effort of Majed and OFWI that these women have been rescued and given the opportunity to start a new life in Canada. Please help this family grow so we can do more
Mavis Himes, Ph.D., C. Psych. is a Toronto-based psychologist and author of "THE POWER OF NAMES: Uncovering the Mystery of What We Are Called" and "THE SACRED BODY: A Therapist’s Journey" www.mavishimes.com
Destruction and suffering from Turkey's ongoing attacks in Syria and Iraq
With ISIS continuing to retreat from territory in Iraq and Syria, Kurdish populations that were instrumental in the U.S.-led international efforts to fight ISIS are being bombed by Turkey, a NATO member. This violent conflict is being ordered by Turkish President Erdogan and the military operation is worsening the humanitarian crisis throughout the region.
Mount Sinjar in Iraq and areas in northern Syria that include homelands of the Christian and Yazidi populations in the region, who have faced genocide by ISIS, are being further victimized and struggling to survive under brutal conditions.
In addition to the ongoing support effort for Yazidi refugees in Canada, OFWI is working with partners on the ground in Iraq and Syria to assess ongoing humanitarian needs and is preparing a relief mission.
Stay tuned for further updates.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill passed by Congress into law that directs USAID "to establish phychosocial support programs to benefit religious and ethnic minorities affected by ISIS, prioritizing trauma therapy and care for children and survivors of sexual slavery.” Hot off the heels of the New York Times story on the need for more support for Yazidi refugees resettling in Canada, this is great news from the U.S. Capitol.
With 3,200 women and girls enslaved by ISIS still unaccounted for, and thousands struggling to survive in refugee camps in Iraq, the most vulnerable refugees need our support. OFWI will continue our humanitarian relief and advocacy work to ensure victims of ISIS get the support they so desperately need to rebuild their lives. OFWI will be reaching out to U.S. partners in the coming weeks to offer our help to USAID implement this new directive and offer our experience in the field to help in any way we can.
Thank you to all of our supporters who wrote their representatives in Congress being a voice for the voiceless that helped make this possible.
The omnibus bill signed into: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1625
Pages 74-75 of this document detail the measures: https://www.congress.gov/115/crpt/hrpt253/CRPT-115hrpt253.pdf
