Yazidis dream of Europe
About 20,000 Yazidis who have fled from the Islamic State and became refugees in Turkey are now hoping, perhaps in vain, to reach Europe.
The Yazidi camp just outside Diyarbakir is very animated these days. As new groups arrive at the camp, where about 5,000 Yazidis who have fled from the Islamic State (IS) live, some are still trying to leave. There are incessant arguments between the Yazidis and the camp officials who are trying to stop them from leaving. But Yazidis are determined to go. Those who can’t find vehicles are walking under the searing sun to the Diyarbakir bus terminal, where they try to charter buses to take them to the Turkish-Bulgarian border.
In a park about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the camp, four families wait for a bus. Women sleep under trees. Children run about. They say they had to walk for hours because no vehicle would take them. Among the refugees are Yazidi official Hikmet Salim and his wife and three children. He said life in tents had become unbearable.
