Our Visual Guide Project
To help people learn more about their rights, MADRE - with help from the Vance Center and White & Case LLP - has developed visual guides for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
The visual guides aim to address a common issue for refugees and displaced people — they don’t have official identity documents and, because of it, cannot access humanitarian aid and other crucial resources. Our visual guide explains why and how to get official IDs, including birth and marriage certificates, which open the door to vital services and freedom of movement.
But, until now, our guides have only been in Arabic.
Why Producing Kurdish Visual Guides is Important
Like many ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, Kurdish-speaking Yazidis have been targeted for extreme violence and brutality by ISIS.
We wanted to make sure that a language barrier did not prevent these refugees and displaced people, who may not speak Arabic, from understanding the crucial information in our guides.
Visual Guide Distribution
With our partner organization in Iraq, the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), we distributed 1,000 copies of the Kurdish know-your-rights visual guide to refugees in and around Dohuk, Iraq. A local lawyer with OWFI also organized know-your-rights lectures in Kurdish.
Now, more displaced people and refugees fleeing violence will know how to access lifesaving resources.
Read more about our work in Iraq and sign up for email updates.
