Daijiworld Media Network - Washington (SR)

Washington, Jul 18: President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a major meeting in the state department on Wednesday, met a group of Yazidi women who had survived religious persecution at the hands of ISIS terrorist. The group was led by Nobel laureate Nadia Murad, who along with Denis Mukwege was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, for 'their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict'.

Murad who was the first Iraqi and Yazidi to be awarded a Nobel Prize, explained to Trump, how her mother and six brothers were killed and that 3,000 Yazidis remained missing. Murad was in for a shock when President Trump in response asked her, "And you had the Nobel Prize? That's incredible. They gave it to you for what reason?"

Murad paused briefly and after gaining composure explained to the President, "After all this happened to me, I did not give up. I make it clear to everyone that ISIS raped thousands of Yazidi women. Please do something. It is not about one family," she added.

During the meeting, Murad also explained how Yazidis took dangerous routes to find safety in Germany, whose welcome to refugees has been vocally criticized by Trump.

The Trump administration frequently speaks of promoting religious freedom, a key issue for much of his evangelical Christian base. However, the US President seems to be less responsive when Murad asked him to press the Iraqi and Kurdish governments to create safe conditions for the Yazidis to return.

On Thursday, vice president Mike Pence will address Government ministers and representatives of persecuted groups. They are spending three days at the state department for a meeting on religious freedom.