Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, for inviting me. I will be speaking today mostly about the Yazidi genocide and refugee movement, especially with the 1,200 people who arrived here in Canada on the promise of the government.
One Free World International had been on the ground in Iraq and Syria since the beginning of the genocide five years ago. We now have operations as well dealing with refugees in Ukraine, and also very soon with the Rohingya. When we started operations with the Yazidis, we found the government unable to build the mechanisms on the ground, especially in dealing with internally displaced people, IDPs. They are refugees who are still in their country, so the government couldn't have a mechanism. Yes, they tried to solve this problem, but I don't think there is yet a clear mechanism.
The second problem that we found was that the government counted a lot on the UN selections. While I'm encouraging, of course, dealing with the UN—it's important—there are also local NGOs on the ground that know more about the cultures, the traditions, the languages. I think it's very important that we find a balance between the UNHCR and the local NGOs and local groups.
Moving on from there, when the refugees arrived here, One Free World International had to step in because there were many services not provided to them. I found that it was a lot harder for refugees, especially when they were survivors of sex slavery. They had mental health issues. There were no mental health services provided to the refugees. We had to build our own department, with a female psychologist who spoke the language, in order to help the girls, to heal their wounds.
Let me make it clear: These girls cannot stay in Iraq anymore. We are encouraging help for the refugees and an end to the suffering of the persecuted within the borders of their country. I don't believe that any refugees want to leave their own homes. With regard to the survivors of ISIS, because there is stigma around them in Iraq, they cannot stay in Iraq. They have to find another home for them.
When they came here to Canada, there was a problem with housing. They had no credit. They had no history of credit here in the country, so the housing was extremely problematic. Landlords didn't want to rent homes to them. There were mental health issues. Even simple tasks such as grocery shopping or taking a bus were very challenging for them. We didn't find that a proper system was waiting for them upon their arrival here in Canada to help them grow on Canadian ground.
We will hear very soon from Adiba, and I believe that Adiba will share her personal story and experience. My recommendation is that we have to build a better system, and this will be provided in the recommendations that will be presented later.
I'm done. Thank you. I would like to give the rest of my time to Adiba.