On Her Shoulders

Incredible opportunity missed. The subtitles only showed English to English. I was watching the documentary to hear Nadia's story. What on earth were the producers thinking.

We saw this documentary at a recent film festival. It's the story of a young woman named Nadia Murad, who became the symbol of the enslaved Yazidi people of northwestern Iraq. Nadia was able to escape her enslavement but then completely dedicated her life to publicize and try to end the catastrophe that had befallen the Yazidi people.

The film is a "9" but Nadia is definitely a "10+). Anyone who sees this film will be impressed and moved by her perseverance in the face of tragedy, her strength and her courage. Also compelling are those who assist her in her efforts.

The film does not entirely succeed in putting that Yazidi tragedy in context, and does little to explain the unusual history and religious background of the Yazidi people. But this movie is about Nadia and those who help her. And to this extent, by choosing an exemplary person to focus on, the filmmakers have made a fine film very much worth seeing.

Update 4/23/19): The U.S. (i.e.Trump & naturally joined by Russia, China) threatened to veto a strong UN Security resolution (Nadia spoke in favor of original) providing health & monitoring services on sexual violence acts (e.g. rape) during conflict/war resulting in a weaker watered down version passing.

ISIL or ISIS forces called for the destruction of the entire Yazidi people. Nadia Murad Basee Taha (Like Malala Yousafzai 2014, Nadia is a Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient 2018) witnessed long bearded men, dressed in black, carrying weapons attack her village Kocho (Sinjar District); watched as they took children from their mothers; young girls being raped. Then killing the men, the elderly women as well as most of her family; making her a sex slave (Note: Estimated over 5000 women & female children taken by ISIS - saying Islamic law justifies the revival (of) slavery before the Hour (of Judgement Day). ISIS targeted the Yazidis (Yezidis) because of some shared beliefs with Zoroastrianism and other non-Islamic religions. Nadia, who once just wanted to go to school; do the family farming chores; raise sheep, after escaping in 2014 is now a spokesperson seeking to help Yazidis still scattered throughout the world in refugee camps, and to recover their historic homeland (Note: Like the Kurds they face resistance from Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq religious & political interests as each seeks to repress minority populations.) Nadia to world leaders: "You are the ones who can bring hope or create suffering. You are the ones who decide if a girl like me from another part of the world can continue her simple life ... if beheadings, taking women as sex slaves, raping children do not move you - when will you move?"

As other reviewers have said, this is about a remarkable woman. The horrid truth is revealed well within the first hour. So I found myself wondering if this could have been more effective as a 1 hour documentary.

I think the director was right not to focus on the Yazidi people's history because this wasn't about ethnographic origins so much as it was about a personal tragedy and a people's tragedy and the inability of the developed world to respond to that.

To say "it's a triumph of a film" is a cliche. But it is a triumph. The triumph is Nadia's and it's a triumph of the human spirit. I couldn't imagine someone experiencing what she has and remaining so unbroken. But she has. The film lets her tell the story and handles her pain with sensitivity. That's enough to make it an incredibly important documentary.

Anyway I'm doing it a disservice with my words and there aren't any. Long live the Yazidi people. And long live Nadia.