[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 172 (Friday, October 2, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E921-E922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BABA SHEIKH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JEFF FORTENBERRY

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 2, 2020

  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, I want to express my heartfelt 
condolences to the Yazidi community around the world and in my hometown 
of Lincoln, Nebraska on the loss of spiritual leader Baba Sheikh.
  In August 2014, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi 
people in Iraq, killing and brutalizing thousands. Five years later, 
hundreds of thousands of Yazidis are still displaced in refugee camps 
in their own country. Throughout all this terror and diabolical 
suffering, the spiritual leader of the Yazidi people, Baba Sheikh, 
stood steady as a great source of comfort, love, and inspiration.
  Madam Speaker, it's not widely known, but two years ago, at the 
behest of Vice President Pence, I traveled to Northern Iraq to assess 
the situation faced by religious minority communities after the ISIS 
genocide. It was my privilege to meet with Baba Sheik. Together we met 
with the Yazidi women who had been enslaved by ISIS. I will never 
forget his gentleness, kindness, and eagerness to be with us even 
amidst all the suffering.
  May he rest in peace.

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