Latest news with #Kurdish-speaking
Shafaq News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq exhumes +65 mass graves of Yazidi victims in Sinjar
Shafaq News – Duhok Specialized forensic teams have exhumed 68 out of 162 known burial sites—both mass and individual—where ISIS committed massacres against Yazidi civilians across Sinjar district since 2014, according to the Investigation and Evidence-Gathering Authority in Duhok. Nechirvan Suleiman, head of the Authority, told Shafaq News that excavation efforts continue in partnership with local and international organizations to open the remaining graves and formally document evidence of the crimes. So far, the identities of 293 victims have been confirmed and buried in designated cemeteries in Sinjar, while the remains of over 450 individuals are still unidentified, he noted, adding that 'the fate of 2,883 Yazidis is still unknown.' Calling for increased technical and logistical support to accelerate the process and ensure accuracy, Suleiman pointed out that excavation teams are working under harsh conditions due to difficult terrain, weather challenges, and overlapping skeletal remains. Families of victims and the missing have renewed their calls to speed up excavation and uncover the fate of their loved ones who remain underground and unidentified. Soumaya Khalaf, a Yazidi woman whose father and two brothers were abducted, told Shafaq News that the remains of one relative were recovered and buried in the Kojo cemetery—designated for Yazidi victims of ISIS in Sinjar—while the others remain missing. Jalal Jassim, another relative, said his son and two brothers disappeared more than 11 years ago, and the family has received no information about their fate, despite repeated follow-ups with relevant authorities and submitting DNA samples. Yazidi lawmaker Mahma Khalil revealed earlier that more than 2,300 Yazidis remain missing, and 52 of 93 documented mass graves in Sinjar have yet to be opened. The Yazidi community, a Kurdish-speaking ethno-religious minority in Iraq, faced persecution by ISIS after the group seized Sinjar on August 3, 2014. Around 1,290 Yazidis were killed, and over 70 mass graves have since been uncovered. The community, numbering about 500,000 in Iraq, observes its New Year on April 17, which the Kurdistan Regional Government has designated a public holiday.
The Irish Sun
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
ISIS slaves lift lid on ‘true face' of Syria's ex-jihadi Al Qaeda-linked leader… & warn West shouldn't trust him
TWO former slaves have issued a stark warning to the West about Syria's new 'reformer' president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Yazidi women Fatima & Nada - who were kidnapped by ISIS, and whose names we have changed to protect their identities - have pleaded with Western leaders not to trust the former jihadi warlord. Advertisement 17 Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa pictured in May Credit: Reuters 17 President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Damascus on July 5 Credit: AFP 17 Ahmed al-Sharaa, pictured in 2016 at an undisclosed location, was previously known by his moniker Abu Mohammad al-Jolani 17 A fighter from al-Sharaa's terror group al-Nusra in Syria in 2016 Credit: AFP And both of them claimed to have met al-Sharaa while they were enslaved - who was then known by his moniker Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Nada - who was snatched by Meanwhile, Fatima - who had at least 60 members of her family killed by the death cult - said: 'Many of them now who were [al-Qaeda or ISIS] are now claiming to be moderate. "I don't believe him.' Advertisement READ MORE ON ISIS President al-Sharaa now positions himself as an outward looking moderate, renouncing his jihadism and swapping his combat fatigues for a suit after deposing dictator Bashar al-Assad. But questions remain over his history and his grip on power - with disturbing reports of ISIS-esque atrocities being committed in Syria by groups linked to his regime. Fatima and Nada accused the then al-Jolani and his terror group Jabhat al-Nusra of being 'no different' than ISIS. Both are speaking out as they still feel the agony of what was done to them by the jihadi groups - along with their fellow Yazidis. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Exclusive While both were happy to provide historic pictures of themselves, they declined to be pictured or named as of today - fearing reprisals from jihadis still on the loose. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking minority group who were brutalised by ISIS - with around 5,000 killed while more than 10,000 were enslaved and trafficked. How Shamima Begum camps are fermenting twisted next generation of ISIS as kids make 'cutthroat' gesture & hurl firebombs Both Fatima & Nada lost family members - with many still missing - and both were tortured, abused and forced into slavery by ISIS. With al-Sharaa's personal history steeped in jihadism - as well as their claims to have seen him meeting with ISIS emirs in 2015 - they fear what his ascension will mean for Syria and the Middle East. Advertisement 17 Nada with her husband - who remains missing after being the Yazidi genocide 17 Fatima pictured with her family before they were taken by ISIS Both slaves - now freed - bravely gave their testimony to Brit squaddie turned documentarian Alan Duncan. Duncan fought against ISIS with the Kurdish Peshmerga - but now uses his camera to expose the crimes of ISIS and other jihadi groups, particularly working on the plight of the Yazidis. Advertisement He has previously reported on testimony against Shamima Begum - and investigated the camps in northern Syria currently holding ISIS fighters. Both women have spoken out as last week Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with al-Sharaa - pledging nearly £100m in humanitarian aid to Syria. And this week the US has reportedly decided to delist his current group - Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the successor to the brutal al-Nusra - as a terrorist organisation. One of the former slaves, who we are naming only as Nada - explained how she met al-Jolani in 2015 while she was being held captive in Syria. Advertisement 'HE CAME TO PRAY' She said she was "owned" at the time by an ISIS emir. Nada alleged she saw al-Jolani twice during her captivity in Syria, where the emir would bring him to his house to pray before the two would hold "meetings". The meetings would involve al-Jolani and around 10 militant commanders who would arrive at the compound. She described that al-Jolani was treated as a guest of honour, being seen with a level of respect usually reserved for figures like ISIS leader al-Baghdadi. Advertisement Nada said: 'In 100-years I won't forget a face. I saw him twice. We were face-to-face.' 17 The then al-Qaeda operative al-Jolani 17 Al-Jolani was an associate of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 17 A wanted poster released for al-Jolani by the FBI in 2017 - the bounty was lifted from his head in 2024 Credit: FBI Advertisement 17 Trump meets with Ahmed al-Sharaa Credit: AFP 17 Ahmed Al-Sharaa was a member of Al Qaeda and spent five years in American jails before being dispatched to set up the al-Nusra terror group in Syria Credit: AFP Nada described how she was asked to bring food to them - but the ISIS members described him as a "big man" and said he was "special". She did not know the subject of the meetings, with the slaves of course not being present during the apparent talks. Advertisement She warned Western politicians 'not to believe' that al-Jolani was reformed - warning he could 'kill many people again'. She went on: 'Trump, the British, the Europeans, they can't see him. He is still dangerous. I am sad and angry.' She said she remains convinced that he still has jihadist sympathies, 'he still has it here (in his head)'. 'It is hard to change that,' she told The Sun. Advertisement Nada was held prisoner for two years by ISIS along with her children working as slaves, and she described being 'hurt' every day. Her husband is still missing and she revealed young children in her extended family were forced to serve in the so-called "Cubs of the Caliphate" - ISIS's equivalent of the Hitler Youth. The family was subject to forced conversations while living with ISIS - with the jihadis threatening to kill her children if she didn't obey them. 'IF THEY LIKED US - THEY WOULD BUY US' Fatima also explained how her whole family was captured by ISIS - with many of them being killed, including her 5 uncles, her grandmother, and her husband & cousins. Advertisement She said at least 60 members of her extended family ended up being wiped out by the jihadi death cult. And she claims she ended up being held alongside the sister-in-law of human rights activist Nadia Murad, a Nobel prize-winning former Yazidi slave who was kidnapped when she was 19 and worked with Amal Clooney to draw attention to the genocide. Those who survived were taken and the women ended up being sold at a slave market in Mosul, Iraq - with people from all over the world who were working with ISIS. She even revealed her son in a photo taken of the ISIS 'caliphate cub' - saying her boy was then trained to be a suicide bomber. Advertisement Fatima was eventually sold to a senior ISIS emir who was being hunted by the Americans. And she also says she saw al-Jolani twice in 2015. 17 PIcture showing Yazidi women held captive by ISIS 17 Fatima's son - pictured far left - who was forced in the 'Cubs of the Caliphate' Advertisement 17 Nada's young cousin - pictured bottom second left - also with the 'cubs' 17 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C) meets with Amal Clooney and Nobel prize winning Yazidi activist Nadia Murad Credit: Getty The genocide of the Yazidis By FEW people suffered more under the vicious boot of ISIS than the Yazidis. Thousands of women and girls from the Kurdish minority group were forced into sexual slavery by the vicious terror group. And the terrorists simply killed all the group's men they could get their blood-stained hands on. It is estimated at least 5,000 Yazidis were killed, at least 10,000 kidnapped, and some 500,000 were forced to leave their homes. The United Nations recognises the barbarity as nothing short of genocide. ISIS first attacked the Yazidis during their bloody rise to power in 2014, butchering their way through their communities in northern Iraq. Massacres were widespread - with victims being gunned down, beheaded or even buried alive. Disturbing accounts detail atrocities such as a mother being forced to eat pieces of her own baby, or women being burned alive for refusing to have sex with ISIS fighters. Mass graves are still being discovered from this period - with 30 more bodies discovered this month in Hamadan. But those who weren't killed were forced into slavery by ISIS. Yazidi women and children were bought, sold and subjected to forced conversation to ISIS's warped version of Islam. They were turned into slaves - sold, raped and abused, Yazidi women who were pregnant were given forced abortions - and then raped by ISIS fighters so they could give birth to "Muslim babies". ISIS considered Yazidis "devil worshippers" because of their religious beliefs. The survivors are still reeling from the horrors inflicted upon them by ISIS - and they want justice. Germany has managed to convict ISIS fighters of genocide for their crimes against the Yazidis - and meanwhile, probes are also being carried out by the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. Britain however - for whatever reason - appears to not be pursuing ISIS fighters for their complicity in the crimes against the Yazidis. It is estimated some 2,700 Yazidis remain missing across the Middle East. Many families remain desperate that loved ones they lost may one day return to them - just like the incredible case of slave Fawzia, She said: 'We were told a very important person was coming so we had to clean and prepare for him.' The then slave even cooked for the warlord - with it being the duty of the slaves to serve and prepare food for the emirs and their guests. Advertisement She explained there is no way the then al-Jolani would not have known there were slaves present. And that Murad's sister-in-law was also present when they met the warlord. All the slaves had to line up to greet him and the other emirs when they arrived at the house by car. And she claimed that slaves were even sold at these meetings, with her emir offering them to his guests. Advertisement 'If they liked us - they would buy us, it was like a market for women and kids,' she said. She said she recognised his laugh and his smile, adding: 'It was him, for sure. "Not 100%, 200%.' Much like Nada, she feels deep hurt that the perpetrators and enablers of the crimes against the Yazidis have never been held accountable. Advertisement AL-SHARAA OR AL-JOLANI? Born in Saudi Araba, al-Sharaa was a member of al-Qaeda fighting against the US in Iraq, spending five years in American jails, before being dispatched to set up the al-Nusra terror group in Syria by eventual ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Sharaa met with the al-Baghdadi while both were being held by the US - and the two were allies during the formative years of the group that would become ISIS. Leading al-Nusra, he ended up with a bounty of £8million on his head from the US and was on a list of most wanted terrorists by the FBI. ISIS and al-Nusra were opposing forces - with al-Nusra resisting a merger in 2013 and also breaking its ties with al-Qaeda in 2016. Advertisement ISIS was known for its obsence levels of violence which it paraded in cinematic videos online, but al-Jolani's al-Nusra also carried out atrocities such as torture and public executions, according to But there are reports of the two groups cooperating amid the carnage in Syria in the mid-2010s. It was reported by And Advertisement By the middle of 2015- al-Qaeda had essentially declared war on ISIS. Al-Sharaa, born in Riyadh and now aged 42, has repeatedly claimed to have renounced his jihadi roots and is presenting himself as a reformer for Syria. He led the HTS to depose brutal dictator Basher al-Assad - leaving him fleeing into the arms of his pal Vladimir Putin and now sitting in exile in Moscow. But while Assad is gone and hopes are growing for a new Syria, fears remain that al-Sharaa has a fragile grip on the groups that put him into power. Advertisement What is happening to the Alawites in Syria? BENEATH the veil of high-powered meetings with the West, disturbing reports of massacres, kidnap and enslavement is sweeping Syria. This is particularly targeting a religious minority called Alawites - with chilling echoes of the horrors inflicted on the Yazidis by ISIS. According to a The new government is led by a now-dissolved Islamist faction, formerly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which was previously al-Qaeda's Syria branch, known as the Nusra Front. Reuters found that the spate of violence came in response to a rebellion organised by former officers loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad. And it revealed a chain of command leading from the attackers directly to men who serve alongside Syria's new leaders in Damascus led by al-Sharaa. The investigation uncovered 40 sites of killings, rampages and looting against the Alawites. Many in Syria resent the religious minority - who enjoyed a high level of influence inside the military and government during Assad's iron-fist two-decade rule. Some of the attackers responding to the March uprising had lists of names of men to target - including former members of Assad militias . Families with those surnames would later appear on lists of the dead handwritten by village elders. Survivors told Reuters how the bodies of loved ones were mutilated. Horrifying footage showed fighters humiliating Alawite me - forcing them to crawl and howl like dogs. Among the dead were entire families, including women, children, the elderly and disabled people in dozens of Alawite villages and neighbourhoods. In one case, an entire Alawite town was destroyed overnight with its hundreds of residents replaced by Sunnis. And at least a dozen factions under the new government's command took part in the killings, according to Reuters. Nearly half of them have been under sanctions for human rights abuses, including killings, kidnapping, and sexual assaults. The units involved in the killings included: The government's General Security Service, its main law-enforcement body back in the days when HTS ran Idlib and now part of the Interior Ministry E x-HTS units like the elite Unit 400 fighting force and the Othman Brigade Sunni militias that had just joined the government's ranks, including the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and Hamza division, which were both sanctioned by the European Union for their role in the deaths President al-Sharaa has ordered an investigation into the violence and set up 'civil peace' mediations. An official in the new government, Ahmed al-Shami, said: "The Alawite sect is not on any list, black, red or green. "It's not criminalized and it's not targeted for retaliation. The Alawites faced injustice just like the rest of the Syrian people in general. 'The sect needs safety. It's our duty as a government which we will work on.' But the massacre of Alawites is continuing, Reuters found. Beneath the surface of high-powered meetings with the West, there are disturbing reports of massacres, kidnap and enslavement in Syria. And this is particularly targeting the Alawite group - with chilling reminders of the horrors inflicted on the Yazidis by ISIS. At least 1,5000 Alawites are reported to have been killed across Syria - and there have been reports of dozens of women being subject to rape, forced marriage of kidnapping. Much of this violence is carried out by the factions under the control of al-Sharaa's government, reported a detailed investigation by Advertisement Al-Sharaa himself has condemned the violence - and has seemingly vowed to punish those responsible. The United Nations is expected to publish a report saying they have found no "active links" between al-Sharaa's government and his former allies al-Qaeda. Duncan formerly served with the Queen's Own Highlanders and Royal Irish Regiment. Advertisement He then fought alongside the Kurdish Peshmergas as a sniper to battle against ISIS. And after the war was over, he decided to use his camera as his new weapon in exposing the His most famous story was the One of Naveen's captors - an ISIS bride known as Nadine K - has since been jailed in Germany for her role in the genocide. Advertisement 17 Duncan is now a filmmaker who documents the crimes of ISIS 17 He served alongside the Kurdish Peshmergas as a sniper to battle against ISIS From jihad to reform…who is al-Sharraa? BASHAR al-Assad was toppled by rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa - known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani at the time. The Islamist once fought for al-Qaeda and H is group was the driver behind the . And President al-Sharaa - who fought with in following the US 2003 invasion - is now in the driving seat. He was first drawn to jihadist thinking following the September 11 terror attacks in In 2006, he was imprisoned in some of the worst Iraqi prisons, becoming friends with ISIS leader Abu Bakr-Al Baghdadi. By 2011, he had moved back to Syria with six men and a stipend of £40,000 to establish al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate. He formed al-Nusra - and remained aligned with his Baghdadi until resisting an effort to merge with ISIS. Al-Jolani's then decided to split with al-Qaeda in 2016. He rebranded as the HTS, or the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, in 2016 with the US designating it a terror organisation a year later and placing a £8million bounty on his head. HTS tried to present a more moderate image and shy away from its terrorist anti-Western Jihadist roots as less extreme organisation. The group claimed to have rooted out al-Qaeda and ISIS operatives and cells in its territory and promoted itself to the West as a viable anti-Iran partner. He told PBS in 2021 that he had no desire to wage war against Western nations and the group established a semi-technocratic government in Idlib and the area of northwest Syria it controlled. In a victory statement following Assad's demise, al-Sharaa said claimed Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities would be safe under HTS rule. But since coming to power, there have been reports of massacres and enslavement in Syria.
Rudaw Net
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Berlin's international broadcaster to launch Kurdish-language programming: German politician
Also in World US delists Syria's HTS as 'terrorist' group, maintains Nusra Front alias label US revokes 'terrorist' designation for Syria's HTS Kumzari-Kurdish connection sparks speculation of shared heritage Kurdistan should do more for special needs students, says wheelchair-bound grad A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Germany's state-funded international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW), is set to launch Kurdish-language programming, initially via digital platforms and later expanding to television, according to a German politician of Kurdish descent. Ali Ertan Toprak, a leading representative of the Kurdish Community in Germany, told Rudaw on Tuesday that DW has finalized its decision to begin producing content in Kurdish and is currently recruiting Kurdish-speaking staff to kickstart the project. 'Initially, the content will be available online via YouTube and social media platforms. Later, it will also be broadcast on the television channel,' Toprak explained, noting that the move comes after more than a year of lobbying and consultations with German officials. 'A year and a half ago, thanks to our efforts, we received approval to begin broadcasting in the Kurdish language. Through continued meetings with German Culture Minister [Claudia Roth], the decision was made to include Kurdish in DW's programming,' Toprak said, praising Roth for her support and openness toward the Kurdish community. 'The decision has been made, and preparations have been completed,' he emphasized, while acknowledging that 'the outlet may still need some time to fully implement the programming.' Toprak described the development as not only a 'source of pride and joy,' but also a significant step toward international recognition of the Kurdish language and culture. Germany hosts one of the largest Kurdish diasporas in Europe, with estimates ranging from one to two million people. In February, seven of twelve Kurdish candidates secured seats in Berlin's federal parliament, the Bundestag. Kosar Osman contributed to this report.
Shafaq News
29-06-2025
- Shafaq News
ISIS kidnap survivor reunited with family after 11 years
Shafaq News - Sinjar On Sunday, Kurdistan Region's Yazidi Rescue Office announced the liberation of a young Yazidi man who was kidnapped by ISIS 11 years ago, when he was just seven years old. Hussein Qaidi, head of the office, confirmed that Rowand Hamid—originally from the village of Khanasor in the Sinjar district—was rescued from a village near Raqqa, Syria, and reunited with his family on June 29. He is the first of his eight family members abducted by ISIS whose fate has been confirmed. 'The rest of his family remains missing,' he added, noting that 77 people from Rowand's extended clan were taken by the group, and 38 have been freed so far. Since its establishment, the Yazidi Rescue Office has freed a total of 3,589 individuals from ISIS captivity, according to Qaidi. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority concentrated in Iraq's Nineveh region, especially around Sinjar, Shekhan, Bashiqa, and Bahzani. In August 2014, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign in Sinjar, killing thousands of Yazidi men and abducting thousands more—mostly women and children.
Winnipeg Free Press
31-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Operation Ezra going strong
Ten years have passed since Michel Aziza met with Nafiya Naso, a young woman from Winnipeg's small Yazidi community, and offered to help her raise awareness about the plight of the Yazidi people in Iraq and arrange support for their sponsorship to Canada. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking ethnic minority who follow an ancient monotheistic religion that combines aspects of different faiths. Concentrated primarily in the Sinjar region of Northern Iraq, they have been the victims of persecution by their neighbours for generations. That persecution culminated in August 2014 when ISIS invaded the Sinjar region, displacing, killing, kidnapping and enslaving thousands of Yazidi men, women and children. Nafiya and her sister Jamileh Naso had arrived in Winnipeg as children when their parents were accepted to Canada as refugees in 1999, long before the events of that terrible summer. But when the sisters learned about the terror being wrought on the Yazidis remaining in Iraq, which included many of their extended family members, they were spurred into action. That action led Nafiya to her first of many meetings with Aziza and a small group of Jewish community members. 'We ended the meeting by agreeing to help rescue as many refugees as we could by raising funds and also helping Nafiya continue on with her advocacy work and her efforts to raise awareness,' Aziza explains. That agreement was formalized with the creation of an initiative called Operation Ezra. 'For me personally, it was simply an opportunity to do the right thing and help people who at the time were being persecuted,' Aziza says. 'I had always wondered how and why some people decided to help Jews during the Holocaust while others stood by. This was my opportunity to engage with another community with no other motive than to help.' Operation Ezra's first order of business was to complete the documentation and raise the funds to privately sponsor Nafiya's uncle, aunt and their six children to Canada. When that family descended the escalator at Winnipeg's airport in July 2016, Nafiya's father rushed to embrace his brother. They had not seen one another for 26 years! After making that initial reunion possible, Operation Ezra continued its fundraising and sponsorship efforts, reaching out in the process to other local faith communities for assistance in increasing awareness and financial support, completing sponsorship documentation, and, often after years of waiting, welcoming the newcomers to Winnipeg and helping with their resettlement. To date, Operation Ezra has privately sponsored 11 Yazidi families, representing 67 people, to Winnipeg, and has applications in process for another 20 people. 'Operation Ezra became one of the largest private rescue efforts for Yazidis in the world,' Jamileh says. 'Jews, Yazidis, Christians, and allies came together to save lives, reunite families, and help survivors rebuild. What began as a local sponsorship effort, quickly grew into a powerful, multi-faith movement rooted in justice, solidarity, and shared humanity.' That spirit of activism, Jamileh adds, led her to found the Canadian Yazidi Association as 'a survivor-led voice for the missing, the displaced, and the resilient.' In 2016, the Yazidi association and Operation Ezra successfully lobbied the Canadian government to establish its own rescue operation to bring Yazidis to Canada. 'The intense lobbying at the federal level,' Aziza explains, 'resulted into the sponsorship of approximately 1,200 Yazidis to Canada, 250 of whom came to Winnipeg.' Those 250 individuals, mostly women and children, were, and continue to be, supported by Operation Ezra in the same way as those who were privately sponsored by the group. Operation Ezra helped find housing and employment for the new arrivals, enrolled children in school, provided translators, organized adult English classes, ran a kids' soccer league, and developed innovative programs to enable the newcomers' integration and self-sufficiency. One of these programs is the Healing Farm, where Yazidi volunteers harvest thousands of kilograms of seasonal produce annually that they then distribute among their community and to local food banks. Most of the Yazidis who arrived in Winnipeg in the last decade have adapted well to Canada. They are working, studying, raising families, and volunteering, and are grateful for the safety and stability of their new home. For some, however, the terror and trauma of their past endures. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. 'I sit with mothers who haven't heard from their daughters in over a decade,' Jamileh says. 'I walk beside youth once held in ISIS captivity, now rediscovering their language and sense of self. I fight for access to culturally competent mental health care … and for justice that has been far too long denied.' With close to 3,000 Yazidis still considered missing and thousands more living in refugee camps, the work of Operation Ezra and the Canadian Yazidi Association is not done. 'We have a list of thousands of families who regularly reach out, pleading for help,' Nafiya says. A decade after Operation Ezra was created, Nafiya, Jamileh, Michel and the group's many other volunteers remain determined to rescue, reunite and resettle Yazidi refugees in Winnipeg — a city that has become a sanctuary for a long beleaguered people. swchisvin@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
