Ezidis begin olive harvest after years of displacement amid terrorist PKK occupation

By Anadolu staff

DUHOK, Iraq (AA) - Ezidis, who fled from the Sinjar district of Mosul, Iraq, due to the Daesh/ISIS occupation and later could not return to their homes because of the PKK terrorist organization's presence, began the traditional olive harvest at their sacred site in Lalish.

After the ISIS attack on Sinjar in 2014, thousands of Ezidis left their homes and sought refuge in the camps in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) area of Iraq and Lalish, the spiritual center of the Ezidi religion, and a place of annual pilgrimage in the Duhok district.

Having fled from ISIS, the Ezidis have been unable to return to their homes for almost a decade due to the occupation of the district by the PKK.

The Ezidis' separation from their homes has continued for years due to the failure to implement the 2020 Sinjar Agreement signed between the Baghdad and Erbil governments, which also included the removal of PKK terrorists from Sinjar.

Mir Hazim Tahsin Beg, the leader of the Ezidi community in Iraq, and local authorities have frequently called for the implementation of the Sinjar Agreement.

Thousands of people living away from their homes gather in Lalish in December for the olive harvest, which is one of the most significant events for them.

- Due to PKK occupation, Ezidis celebrate holidays with heavy heart

Ezidis celebrate sacred days like "Red Wednesday” away from their homes with a heavy heart due to the PKK's presence in Sinjar.

They visit the Lalish Temple for their worship, lighting candles and oil lamps as they pray.

Ezidis also attach great importance to the olive harvest held every December in Lalish.

The olive oil produced from the olives harvested in Lalish is used for the oil lamps that illuminate the Lalish Temple every evening.

- Hundreds of Ezidis participate in olive harvest each year

Mervan Huseyin, who participated in the olive harvest in Lalish, told Anadolu that they traditionally begin the olive harvest in Lalish every year at the beginning of December.

"Hundreds of people, both women and men, participate in this work. These olives are stored in warehouses in Lalish, and every year in April, a ceremony is held to press the olives and obtain olive oil. This oil is used for the temple's oil lamps," Huseyin said.

Bibo Hudeda, another participant, explained that they consider it as a “service.”

"If I am not ill, I participate in the olive harvest in Lalish's gardens every year. I don't want to miss out on this goodness. Everyone can participate," he said.

The terrorist group PKK managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Ezidi community from Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

Sinjar has a strategic position, lying some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the key city of Mosul, close to the Turkish-Syrian border.

Estimates put the total Ezidi population across the world at nearly 700,000 people. They are concentrated in northern Iraq but also live in countries like Syria and Türkiye.

In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul