Yazidis in 'scramble for survival' as volunteers try to resuce some in aid helicopter
A volunteer said she had “never seen so many people scramble for survival” as she helped drop aid to the tens of thousands of Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq.
Taban Sami Shoresh warned that much more help is needed.
“There is a humanitarian crisis here and we desperately need the help from all directions,” she said.
In an interview on BBC Breakfast, Ms Shoresh described how she and her colleagues also rescued as many people as they could manage when they dropped the supplies.
She said: “Mount Sinjar is actually completely hemmed by Isis terrorists so they have no way out. They are completely trapped. So when we deliver aid it’s their only hope and their only way out.
“When the helicopter landed I’ve never seen so many people scramble for survival. You forget who you are. All they wanted to do was get on the plane to be saved, and we could only take so much. It’s horrific. It’s heartbreaking to see.”
Speaking from Irbil in northern Iraq, Ms Shoresh – who is herself a survivor of genocide after she and members of her Kurdish family were captured under Saddam Hussein’s regime – added: “We can’t watch history repeat itself.
“I’ve always wanted to help people. Going out on that helicopter felt to me - it felt like my calling had come.
“I wanted to help those people and it reminded me of the atrocities that I faced. I cried on my way back on that helicopter because I saw children and it reminded me of myself.
“The world needs to open up their eyes to try and help them. We can’t watch 30,000 people just die. That’s complete genocide.”
