Yazidis in Armenia

The Yazidis in Armenia are the largest ethnic and religious minority in the country. The Yazidis are mostly ethnic Kurds who live in the west of Armenia and are adherents of the smallest of the three branches of Yazdânism. Relations between the Yazidis and the ethnic Armenian majority have varied.

History

Early 20th century

Many Yazidis came to Armenia and Georgia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape religious persecution, as they were oppressed by the Ottoman Turks and the Sunni Kurds who tried to convert them to Islam. The Yazidis were massacred alongside the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide, causing many to flee to Russian held parts of Armenia. [ [http://209.200.101.189/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=1360&highlight=molokan A Conditional Coexistence:Yezidi in Armenia] ] The first ever Yazidi school opened in Armenia in 1920.http://www.osce.org/documents/oy/2002/01/148_en.pdf]

Nagorno-Karabakh War

Due to the ethnic tension created by the war with Azerbaijan, the Yazidi community has renounced its ties with the mostly Muslim Kurds that fled the country and tried to establish itself as a distinct ethnic group. The Yezidis showed Armenian patriotism during the Nagorno-Karabakh war when many died in service.

Present situation

According to the 2001 Census, there are about 40,000 Yazidis in Armenia. [http://docs.armstat.am/census/pdfs/51.pdf Information from the 2001 Armenian National Census] ] According to a 2004 U.S. Department of State human rights report, Yazidis are subjected to harassment in Armenia, including the hazing of Yazidi army conscripts and poor police responses to crimes committed against Yazidis. A high percentage of Yazidi children do not attend school, due to poverty and a lack of teachers who speak their native language. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41668.htm U.S. Department of State Report] ]

ee also

* Yazidi
* Vodka Lemon
* Kurdish-Armenian relations

References

External links

* [http://www.iwpr.net/galleries/yezidi/yezidi_01.html Photogallery: Armenia's Yezidi Kurds]
* [http://kurdistan.org/Current-Updates/yezidi.html The Situation of Yezidis in Armenia]
* [http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=325045&apc_state=henh Armenia: Yezidi Identity Battle]
* [http://www.oneworld.am/journalism/articles/yezidi.html Being Yezidi]
* [http://www.groong.com/orig/yezidi.html Interviews on the Yezidis in Armenia]
* [http://oneworld.blogsome.com/category/yezidis/ Yezidis in Armenia Blog]
* [http://www.oneworld.am/photojournalism/shamiram/index.html Yezidi Pilgrimage to Shamiram Photos]
* [http://archive.hetq.am/eng/photostory/yezidi_0001.html Portraits of Yezidi Children]