Interview with Salema Merza

Kim Sleeper Author

01/15/2025 Added

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Kim Sleeper of Lincoln High School interviews Yazidi refugee Salema Merza

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[00:00:47.000]My name is Kim Sleeper,
[00:00:49.320]teacher educator at Lincoln High School.
[00:00:51.160]We're here with Salema Mirza.
[00:00:53.000]We are in Lincoln, Nebraska.
[00:00:54.520]Today's date is Thursday, September 4th, 2024.
[00:00:59.520]Please state your name and please can you spell it.
[00:01:03.880]My name is Salema Merza and I spelled as S-A-L-E-M-A, my
[00:01:08.800]first name, M-E-R-Z-A, my last name.
[00:01:11.720]Salema, where were you born and where did you grow up?
[00:01:15.560]I was born in a beautiful city in Northern Iraq.
[00:01:19.480]It's called Sinjar, specifically in a village
[00:01:22.600]It's called Khana Sor.
[00:01:25.520]Sinjar is surrounded by mountains and valleys.
[00:01:29.720]It is very famous for its delicious figs.
[00:01:33.760]And it was a place then, honey.
[00:01:38.640]Growing up was among my family.
[00:01:42.600]We are pretty much a big family and among my Yazidi community.
[00:01:48.800]Very good.
[00:01:49.560]What languages did you speak in your home?
[00:01:51.560]In my home, inside home I would say we were speaking Kurmanji.
[00:01:58.260]And Kurmanji is a branch of Kurdish language, but it has its own unique grammar, vocabulary,
[00:02:08.080]and pronunciation.
[00:02:11.000]It's a very beautiful expressive language actually.
[00:02:14.760]I would say the language that our ancestors used in my community,
[00:02:18.760]the Yazidi community in Sinjar in general, in my family was speaking.
[00:02:22.160]It is rich with, you know, we use it a lot as a, I would say,
[00:02:30.440]a integral part of our identity of the Yazidi identity, the Kurmanji language.
[00:02:35.480]It's rich with, I would say, story telling, poetry, and, you know,
[00:02:44.240]songs and all that, are part of the language.
[00:02:48.520]Besides Kurmanji, because we were not
[00:02:51.960]allowed to speak Kurmanji at school.
[00:02:55.720]So there was also Arabic.
[00:02:58.360]So at school, they taught us in Arabic.
[00:03:00.680]And then after Saddam regime, we have schools
[00:03:07.320]that was in Kurdish, but other dialects, not Kurmanji.
[00:03:11.800]So all three of them were mixed together.
[00:03:16.280]So you were talking about your family.
[00:03:17.960]Can you tell me more about your family
[00:03:20.480]and your extended family?
[00:03:22.080]What was your community like, your culture like back home?
[00:03:26.200]I came from a big family.
[00:03:30.040]Like my own family, I have three brothers and six sisters.
[00:03:34.760]And I'm the seventh one
[00:03:37.240]with my mom. My dad passed away back in 2011. It's a close knit one, my family with a strong
[00:03:50.240]ties to the Yazidi tradition. My extended family, it's a long line of Yazidis who lived
[00:03:59.080]in Sinjar actually with many cousins, aunts, uncles from both sides, my dad's side and
[00:04:08.680]my mom's side as well. We all lived together in Sinjar. We were often gathered together
[00:04:17.080]during, for example, when somebody was getting engaged or getting married, you'll see everybody
[00:04:23.720]will just come and try to enjoy that time during the religious activities, I would say,
[00:04:31.600]that during Eid time.
[00:04:35.720]Also, I mean, when I would say good and bad time, actually, we were kind of supporting
[00:04:43.520]each other during these times.
[00:04:50.120]And you said what the community was like.
[00:04:53.800]In Sinjar, not only Yazidis lived there,
[00:04:57.160]but also there were Muslims, Christians,
[00:05:00.000]and other minority groups that lived together.
[00:05:03.320]They were living peacefully actually together.
[00:05:07.160]Yazidis had their own language, which is Kurmanji
[00:05:10.200]that I referred to earlier.
[00:05:14.640]They were practicing some of their traditional events,
[00:05:23.240]that taking place there.
[00:05:25.000]They had their own customs.
[00:05:29.680]Yazidi in Sinjar were very skilled farmers, I would say.
[00:05:36.120]They were very good at farming, at handicrafting.
[00:05:42.160]My mom was a weaver skill that she made a lot of clothes and beautiful fabric that she
[00:05:52.740]passed that to my older sister.
[00:05:54.660]She was kind of, part of the, I would say, the daily life, I think, to support the family with
[00:06:01.980]with.
[00:06:04.980]My parents were farmers.
[00:06:09.140]We grew our vegetables, fruits, other crops like, let's say, wheat.
[00:06:16.460]We also raised livestock, like goat and sheep that use their, you know, they provide us
[00:06:23.140]us with milk and meat and wool, all that helped us to go through the daily life.
[00:06:32.780]On the religious side, Yazidis believe in one God and seven angels.
[00:06:37.500]The Archangel is Tawûsî Melek.
[00:06:42.500]We celebrate a lot of Eid, each part, or each time of the year
[00:06:51.500]there is a specific Eid that we celebrated.
[00:06:54.500]For example, when it's harvest time, we have Eid Cheli Haviney,
[00:07:00.500]we have Eid Cheli Zivstaney, also the Yazidi New Year.
[00:07:03.500]that is on the second week of April.
[00:07:07.140]We have many of them after three days of feasting
[00:07:11.220]on September we celebrate also it.
[00:07:13.260]So that's pretty much in general about the Yazidi community.
[00:07:18.260]So how did you come to Lincoln?
[00:07:21.680]What did you hear about the place before?
[00:07:23.660]And you were talking about how your family lived before
[00:07:27.180]with farming and with creating clothing.
[00:07:29.540]So what are some of those things
[00:07:31.660]that you are able to carry on and what things are more difficult to do in Lincoln?
[00:07:36.660]Well, before I came to Lincoln, I was in Duhok because after we fled to Kurdistan, I was living there.
[00:07:48.660]The first time I heard about Lincoln was through my sister who came to the United States in 2010.
[00:07:57.660]We didn't ask her a lot about where she was living or how the life was looked like.
[00:08:02.540]To me, America was only what I saw in movies.
[00:08:07.460]It was Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, to be honest, high buildings.
[00:08:13.860]That's how I knew America.
[00:08:16.460]But as Nebraska specifically, I did not hear about it.
[00:08:20.300]But when I was about to come to the United States, I did have someone that I just knew
[00:08:26.060]that like the day before I came to United said that he was from Omaha and as
[00:08:30.920]soon as I said that I'm leaving to to go and I'm going to Nebraska it was like I
[00:08:35.180]will give you one piece of advice take as many clothes as you can because it is
[00:08:39.500]snowing a lot and I am very now that I love the snow a lot I love it I like it's
[00:08:44.980]my favorite I know how many people hate it and he was like no no not after you
[00:08:50.660]moving there because that is not gonna be anymore your favorite thing because
[00:08:55.260]it's hard to drive and I think now I understand what he means by that. It is hard to drive.
[00:09:01.980]But yeah, I heard that through my sister. When I moved to United States, I came right to Chicago
[00:09:13.500]and then we just stayed there for a couple days and then I moved to here because I have a, my
[00:09:19.420]family first of all, were living here actually. Part of our resettlement that the agency we
[00:09:25.820]were coming through, we have to have someone to host us when we move. She also told us that
[00:09:32.460]there is a big population of the Yazidi community here in Lincoln and I think those two things were
[00:09:39.180]what makes me to move to Lincoln, but I'm glad I moved to Lincoln actually. It's a very
[00:09:48.300]welcoming community, the nature that they have. I feel like the diversity it has, it really
[00:09:54.220]close a lot to where I came from. I think Sinjar was also at least diverse, so I think that helped.
[00:10:01.580]Do you think that you're able to carry on some of the, well, either religious or cultural or just
[00:10:08.060]daily life traditions that you had back in Sinjar? So in Sinjar, the culture and tradition
[00:10:17.100]we were practicing, it was easier to do it than here, basically because our shrines or, you know,
[00:10:24.140]the holy places like Lalish and other shrines in Sinjar and in Jehan, it was easy to do there,
[00:10:33.100]it was easy to gather with the rest of the Yazidi community, but moving to United States,
[00:10:39.020]there was a lot of challenges with that, it didn't prevent us from practicing those
[00:10:46.460]traditions and culture that we have back there. For example, here we will make some
[00:10:56.180]traditional food just like we did back there in home. We will try as much as we can using
[00:11:03.940]the customs that we use back there in the country. Women and girls we try to get in
[00:11:10.700]touch and tell each other about our experience, the daily experiences, our stories, what we
[00:11:16.700]are going through every day, gathering together, I think, celebrating our Eids and other, you
[00:11:24.020]know, practices, religious practices. And I think all that helps us to, even if it's
[00:11:31.660]not 100% just like in Iraq, but it's still, it's like unbroken thread, I would say, between
[00:11:37.500]what we had there and here in the United States, all that helped.
[00:11:42.780]So what things do you think, it sounds like a lot of connection with the community has
[00:11:48.200]been very important.
[00:11:49.200]What are some other things that you think have been helpful in Lincoln in helping you specifically
[00:11:54.860]to resettle here?
[00:11:57.220]When I came to Lincoln, just like I referred to earlier, my sister was here, so she was
[00:12:02.780]a great help to have her here to be honest. I have a couple of local, I would say local
[00:12:11.940]community who came, we never met, but they came to me and they offered that help. And
[00:12:16.540]that was something that was really nice, I mean to get that help from someone that even
[00:12:21.500]you don't know. Because back there for example I didn't know how to drive a car and they came
[00:12:26.540]to me, her name was Catherine, I just want to say thank you to her, she just came and
[00:12:31.340]and she was like, "Selima, you can depend on me,
[00:12:33.980]rely on me on getting your driver license.
[00:12:37.300]I will teach you how to do that."
[00:12:39.060]Having the resettlement agency here
[00:12:43.300]that helps the refugee come to the United States
[00:12:45.620]also on the other hand [unclear] was really helpful
[00:12:48.300]'cause they will find you housing,
[00:12:51.540]they will tell you about your doctors appointment
[00:12:54.340]at the beginning when you come, what you need to do it,
[00:12:56.420]they will find resources for you, find you jobs.
[00:13:00.100]All that was very helpful, but mostly the welcoming nature of the community was the part that I feel like it's supposed to stay there.
[00:13:11.700]So all that helped me to just float in here.
[00:13:14.740]I do really love hearing that about Lincoln.
[00:13:17.380]I think that that is something that's really special, especially about this part of town, to where it is.
[00:13:24.340]Can you explain an item that you brought with you?
[00:13:26.900]What's its significance?
[00:13:28.300]What meaning does it hold for you?
[00:13:29.780]Yeah, just to show that to you.
[00:13:34.780]Unfortunately, I could not bring nothing from my hometown that is Sinjar in that area.
[00:13:45.780]But before I came to the United States, my mom and I went to Lalish,
[00:13:51.780]and we got this piece of cloth that we have back there.
[00:13:57.780]and it's baptized with Lalish water and oh my gosh I don't want to cry here.
[00:14:06.780]These, I feel like these parts help me whenever I miss my home, my, I will say my mom, my home,
[00:14:21.780]community and Lalish piece of cloth, I hold on to it. I hold on to it. And it's
[00:14:32.420]really kind of helped me to connect to the past. And maybe it's something so good to me,
[00:14:42.820]people, but to me it's the only unbroken thread between my past and present. And I'm glad that
[00:14:50.660]at least I have this piece of cloth with me.
[00:14:54.100]I was able to bring it.
[00:14:55.660]It's beautiful, yeah.
[00:14:56.860]Can you describe a little bit more about Lalish?
[00:14:59.220]and baptism for those who don't know?
[00:15:01.380]So Lalish is the holiest place for the Yazidis
[00:15:07.220]and it is in Shikhan.
[00:15:08.980]I wanna mention that because people are confused
[00:15:11.740]between Sinjar and Shikhan.
[00:15:13.820]Sinjar is in the northern of Iraq,
[00:15:17.020]all the way by the Syrian border,
[00:15:18.620]but Shikhan is kind of close to Mosul in that area.
[00:15:22.580]So Lalish is in Shikhan.
[00:15:24.340]Yazidis have to visit Lalish
[00:15:29.780]at least once in their lifetime.
[00:15:33.120]When you get there, there is some holy water in Lalish.
[00:15:39.260]We call it the spring water.
[00:15:42.180]And when you go there with some specific
[00:15:48.580]sounds of the music and
[00:15:50.580]songs that the religious songs that you got baptized there with that water by a religious man or a woman
[00:15:58.900]depends on who is there
[00:16:01.180]by the way if
[00:16:03.660]there are a couple married they are not allowed to get into there together
[00:16:08.580]because in our faith that if they get into the thing they can't like
[00:16:14.180]they're like sisters and brothers so only you need to go and then if your husband
[00:16:20.180]is he has to go after you after you come back there.
[00:16:22.900]So that is how they baptize.
[00:16:25.220]Okay. Beautiful that it it helps you connect with that and signifies that.
[00:16:30.700]It reminds me
[00:16:34.180]of my mother's love and those
[00:16:36.580]you know that the sacred rituals.
[00:16:41.020]It does help me a lot.
[00:16:46.020]So you talked on how the Lincoln community has been very welcoming.
[00:16:52.020]Some people who are Yazidi, some people are not.
[00:16:54.020]But what do you think makes the Yazidi community in Lincoln so special?
[00:16:59.020]How have people worked to resettle?
[00:17:01.020]How have people worked to build organizations and build it so that the community feels resettled here,
[00:17:07.020]even if it's not in your [unclear]?
[00:17:10.020]I think what Yazidi community went through and we believe that we went through 74
[00:17:16.980]genocides and they're still sticking to your beliefs and fighting for life by all means
[00:17:25.700]to stay steady and put, establish some foothold there and rebuild your life.
[00:17:34.740]That resilience that they have, I think that is the spirit of our community.
[00:17:40.860]Going through 74 genocide and it's still ongoing, it wasn't something easy to get.
[00:17:50.500]So despite the trauma that we went through after we came to the United States, we started
[00:17:56.540]looking forward, looking for a new life, really new lives, continuing our education, holding
[00:18:05.660]on what we have in hand. So to prevent the future generations to go through what we went through.
[00:18:14.700]And on the other hand side, while you are focusing on how to maintain two cultures in the same time,
[00:18:24.140]while you went through all that trauma and you are still healing,
[00:18:28.060]focusing on your kids, trying to give them a better life.
[00:18:33.260]It is a challenge by itself.
[00:18:35.660]Like, at the same time, they will maintain their culture
[00:18:40.580]and then the American culture will be in United States.
[00:18:46.180]By the way, it's not easy at all.
[00:18:48.260]And raising kids on the other hand side,
[00:18:50.660]how to make them understand that they came from a background, that they went through
[00:18:55.860]all these genocides because they want to stick to their faith, because they want to stick
[00:18:59.860]to their culture, because they know they came from a beautiful background, they don't want
[00:19:03.260]to lose it.
[00:19:04.660]So I think that is the most special thing about this community, the strong bond that
[00:19:11.460]they have, and how they will just still support each other when something is happening.
[00:19:17.860]I went through a situation with a family where my brother went through a car accident.
[00:19:23.380]We didn't know what would happen.
[00:19:26.980]Every single person that we know from the Yazidi community, they just came.
[00:19:32.580]They will visit us.
[00:19:33.780]They will not let us alone.
[00:19:35.580]A couple of them just came with me along and we just drive that car all the way and we
[00:19:40.340]went to Chicago.
[00:19:41.820]So all these things make the community special.
[00:19:44.740]You feel like, "Oh, doesn't matter what I'm going through, I still have my community."
[00:19:50.320]I feel like there is a hope to heal.
[00:19:51.920]There is a hope that I can rebuild my life.
[00:19:53.920]I can find a better life for myself, for my kids, and for the Yazidi community.
[00:20:01.240]It's beautiful.
[00:20:02.240]Thank you so much.
[00:20:03.240]Thank you so much.
[00:20:04.240]I think that that's the end of our questions unless there's any final comments that you
[00:20:08.400]really want people to know and understand.
[00:20:11.220]I think what people need to know more about the Yazidi community is that ISIS's attack
[00:20:18.540]for Yazidi was not a first or last for Yazidi.
[00:20:24.500]Yazidis has been beset by an ongoing, centuries-long campaign of wars, genocides, and operations.
[00:20:41.180]Whenever they strive to establish foothold and try to rebuild their lives, they face a
[00:20:51.320]renewal, I would say, and a discrimination.
[00:20:59.280]That constant thing makes Yazidi without carrying the protection and support for her.
[00:21:09.340]That is the hardest part about it.
[00:21:11.340]Hopefully one day that someone will just come and stop what is happening because it is really
[00:21:21.580]something going to be hard for the Yazidi to survive.
[00:21:26.420]What happened in 2014 was kind of their goal was to eradicate Yazidis from existence.
[00:21:34.020]I'm saying if this continues on this way,
[00:21:37.660]I think that it's gonna unfortunately happen,
[00:21:42.660]which I am not hoping,
[00:21:44.620]because Yazidi minority all over the world is like one million.
[00:21:49.620]That's all.
[00:21:50.660]And that's for culture, the heritage and everything.
[00:21:55.660]The culture, if it faded in global,
[00:21:59.620]with every single step that you make,
[00:22:01.660]I think that even if you mention Yazidi in the United States, they have no idea. It's hard to keep the minority group this way, if this keeps going.
[00:22:14.000]I do know that things like this can help to stop that. And a lot of of people in the US just don't know. Even if you mention Yazidi, or maybe they remember the news from 2014, but I hope that these little bits of education
[00:22:31.620]will help people to understand that if they hear.
[00:22:34.620]Well, I hope so, and I don't blame them if they don't hear about the Yazidis, because
[00:22:38.620]really if there was kind of a discrimination against my community, I would say on all
[00:22:48.620]sides that 2014 was at any time, we would never say it was something good.
[00:22:54.620]The only good thing about it that people was able to
[00:22:57.760](unclear)
[00:23:00.260]It's very sad to say that an event will be
[00:23:03.700](unclear)
[00:23:05.960]where people are starting to take over.
[00:23:09.460]I know Yazidi, I know their culture of Yazidi
[00:23:12.580]because I had them.
[00:23:14.020]So I was hoping that it would be a different way
[00:23:16.620]that they know Yazidi, but unfortunately,
[00:23:18.540]that attack now we have to.
[00:23:20.220]So we'll just keep finger crossed that one day
[00:23:24.100]or will we just end it all or not only for the Yazidis?
[00:23:29.100]Yeah, right.
[00:23:30.700]Thank you so much for really, I appreciate this.
[00:23:33.340]I hope that everything goes well.
[00:23:36.300]Let me get this thing out of the way.
[00:23:39.300]Thank you.
[00:23:40.140]Thank you so much for having me.
[00:23:42.740]Such a great question.
[00:23:44.740]I hope so.
[00:23:45.580]Thank you.
[00:23:46.420]Yeah, we did get an awesome job on this site
[00:23:48.220]and I always use it [unclear].

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Interview with Salema Merza

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