Injured Yazidi woman to get needed surgery after VOA details plight
A Yazidi woman disfigured by a mine blast while escaping enslavement by ISIL militants is set to receive surgery in Germany after stories on the VOA English and Kurdish websites detailed her plight and a lack of medical help. The woman, Lamiya Hachi Bashar, 18, also lost her sight in the mine blast. Doctors said her complex injuries required treatment that was not available in Iraq, and that she needed to be sent abroad for multiple surgeries.
A German-based aid agency, Air Bridge Iraq, helped secure a visa for her to fly to Germany and agreed to pay $11,000 for an operation to repair her left eye. Several other people and organizations from Europe and Israel reached out to help pay for her other surgeries following the VOA article, which “helped her story to be heard everywhere,” Bashar’s uncle, Idris Kojo, told VOA. Lamiya Hachi Bashar is one of thousands of Yazidis who has suffered from ISIL violence. Bashar arrived in Germany on May 12 for treatment, although it is unclear when her surgery will start. VOA’s Extremism Watch Desk is tweeting updates on her situation.