WAG NY “EVERYONE’s CHILD”

WHEN: 7th April 2007
WHERE: Bashika, Iraqi Kurdistan
VICTIM: Du’a Aswad Khalil (photo attached), age 17. A second-year art student.Was stoned to death by her brother, uncle and cousins, who beat her and crashed her spine and skull with concrete blocks in front of a bestial crowd of 2000 ‘men’ that were cheering and recording the murder on their mobile phones. Police officers were present in the scene but just watched. Nobody- NOBODY- helped her. When Du’a died, they dragged her body in the streets, as if she was some sort of trophy.

NOBODY WAS EVER ARRESTED.


Today this message is being sent to people around the world by those of us that have come together to pay our respects to a beautiful 17 year old girl that was brutally stoned to death  on April 7th, a year ago. This is the first anniversary of Dua Khalil Aswad’s death. As a friend, I ask only that you give me two minutes of your time – just two minutes, if you have not heard about Dua Aswad, briefly, she was a victim of another honor killing, there are approximately 5000 per year throughout the world.

Dua was not a victim of the war in Iraq although she was from the town Bashika in Iraqi Kurdisan, she was stoned to death by her brother and uncle and cousins in front of a cheering crowd of 2000 ‘men’ that were filming the ‘event’ on their mobile phones, a group of Yazidi (a Middle Eastern religion with ancient Indo-European roots) extremists that forbids a relationship outside of that faith. If you would like to know more about Dua, I am printing below an article that was published in a newspaper in the US describing Dua’s murder.

However, I know some of you may not have the time to read this but we are asking everyone around the world to take a moment and go to the following site and sign the petition against stoning of women in Kurdistan.

There is no obligation, you do not have to put your full name down if you prefer not to, your email is safe and will not be distributed, we only ask that you do this now – today, currently there are 14,875 signatures, it is our way of showing people around the world that have been so devastated by her murder that she has not been forgotten.

Because we cannot go to her simple unmarked grave covered with rocks and lay a rose, instead we are gathering together and signing this petition, in the comment area simply write “we will never forget you Dua” that is all I am asking.

Please, we cannot bring Dua back, she was another innocent victim whose life was taken in such a brutal way, it is time we quit closing our eyes to these atrotcies, please forward this email to everyone on your contact list – just like you do when you want to share something important with your friends – please, as a friend, pass this on to as many people as possible.

No one will be showing up on your door at midnight with a grand prize, no one will bring you luck at work tomorrow but you will be doing one thing – you just may be passing this information on to the one person that can make a difference – we don’t know who that person is but we will not stop our efforts until these crimes cease, we must continue to spread the word:No More Honor Killings – No More Stonings – Help these people – In Dua’s name – sign the petition and pass this on – thank you!:

http://www.petitiononline.com/kurdish/petition.html
and sign the petition – even if you have signed before – sign again and write the following comment:

*** under comment write:
“We will never forget you Dua”

The conference in London in Rembrance of Dua Aswad and other honor killing victims is April 12th, we want to present a number to them to let them know how many people signed this petition on or before Dua’s one year anniversary – April 7th – please do this as soon as possible and pass this email on – thank you!Remembering Dua Aswad ~ Everyone’s Child                                                                                Roanoke Times & World News

“As the sun went down the tombs cast long shadows over the village cemetery, Badi’aa Aswad threw herself on the mud grave of her 17-year-old daughter, Dua, and howled. “Come to Mama, Dua,” she cried, caressing the plain concrete headstone. “The last thing you told me was that you were hungry. Come home. Let me cook and feed you.” Disturbed by the sobbing, a passerby offered water in the hope of soothing her but Aswad screamed that she could not drink a drop. “Dua is thirsty,” she shrieked, directing the stranger to pour the contents of her water bottle over the dusty grave instead.”Last year on April 7th Dua Aswad was stoned to death by a mob in the Kurdish village of Basshiqa, was she just another casualty of the Iraq war? No. Dua was a casualty of another “honor killing” a term used as an excuse to murder someone because they have brought dishonor to the family. Honor killings are a cultural atrocity acted out by ignorant people. There are approximately 5000 honor killings each year throughout the world including the US. Dua was a member of the Yazidi sect in Iraq that forbids a relationship outside their faith. Dua, a fine arts student at a local college in Iraq tried to break away from this tradition and fell in love with someone of her own choosing. For this Dua paid the ultimate price. Her uncle found out that Dua was involved with a Muslim and decided she should be murdered, her father said no and sent Dua to a shelter. The uncle took matters into his own hands and went to the shelter dragging her out in a headlock to the center of town where over 1000 men were waiting. They stripped Dua’s clothes from her body to humiliate her, threw her to the ground and began kicking her in the face, head, chest, between her legs as she screamed out in agony. She reached out and begged for help, not one person came forward. Not one. Instead they picked up large stones and hurled them into her face, head, chest, while continuing to beat and kick her. Cell phones were seen filming this horror, the video clip I watched scanned the crowd, men were packed shoulder to shoulder chanting and cheering like it was a sporting event screaming “kill her kill her”, Dua tried to sit up and was kicked in the chest slamming her back down. This brutal murder lasted over 30 minutes. They would pick up an arm or leg and if there was any sign of life they would kick and stone her more. Finally as Dua laid lifeless on the ground they picked her up by her arms and legs – stretched out like a prized animal and paraded her through town. This innocent 17 year old was someone’s child, someone’s sister, someone’s love. Her family grieves, her mother sits by a pile of dirt covered with a few stones and cries out for her daughter, she caresses the dirt remembering Dua’s last words to her “momma I’m thirsty and hungry” before she was dragged away to be murdered.

Why do I care about Dua? This was a world away, not my problem, she deserved it right? Wrong! Dua was another innocent victim of this crime referred to as “honor killing”, Dua did nothing wrong, when the video was uploaded to the internet and circulated around the world within days the world protested and demanded action, only then did the Kurdish authorities dig up Dua’s body and send it off to a lab to see if she was a virgin, when tests confirmed she was only then did they charge 4 people – out of the thousand only four. They were not arrested, only charged. I will never forget those images of Dua struggling so hard to get up, begging for help, how can people be so cruel, how can so many people let this happen without stepping forward to help an innocent child? What kind of society lets this happen over and over? What can we do? One way is to encourage international pressure to put a stop to these killings. Last May hundreds of mourners gathered together and threw roses into the River Thames in London to remember Dua, we cannot do that but we do ask that on April 7th in honor of Dua Aswad who represents all victims of honor killings wear a white ribbon or light a candle in her memory. Thank you – and bless you Dua, we will always remember – you are not forgotten as you are now everyone’s child!For more information on Dua and honor killings go tohttp://www.stophonourkillings.com/?name=Content&pid=44

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