Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad (AFP/File)
2019-02-06
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SULAIMANI — Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad attended the State of the Union address in Washington, DC on Tuesday night (February 5).
She was an invited guest of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebraska), who has been an outspoken advocate for Ezidis, according to the Washington Post.
Senators and Representatives are able to invite a small number of guests to hear the President give the annual speech to a joint session of Congress. The invitations are often reflections of the lawmakers’ legislative and policy priorities.
Through a translator, she told the Post that “my hope is that the American people will continue to support groups like us.”
“Without the support of the international community and especially the US, the Ezidis and other minorities will not be able to survive in their region…Their existence depends on it.”
“We should all share humanity,” she added, emphasizing the need for security, jobs, and infrastructure in the Sinjar region according to the Post.
In response to US President Donald Trump’s abrupt descicion to order a US withdrawal from Syria, Fortenberry recently warned against a resurgence of Islamic State.
According to the Post, he believes the US and the international community should implement a training plan to protect Ezidis.
Murad and Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for their work on eliminating rape as a weapon of war.
(NRT Digital Media)