Graphic Novels
Gib nicht auf! Wie eine junge Ezidin den Völkermord überlebt
(Don’t Give Up! How a young Yezidi survived the genocide)
Iraq/Syria Research Cluster
This graphic novel features Jilan (pseudonym), a survivor of the 2014 genocide against the Yezidi, interviewing with graphic artist Birgit Weyhe as they collaborate to create a graphic novel about her life and experiences during the genocide.
Authors
Jilan & Birgit Weyhe
Edited by Kjell Anderson, Leyla Ferman and Charlotte Schallié
Publisher
avant-verlag (German – September 2026)
In the summer of 2014, members of the terrorist organization the Islamic State attacked the Sinjar region in northern Iraq, inhabited by the Yezidis. Tens of thousands were forced to flee; those who remained were killed or imprisoned.
Jilan was captured as a girl and sold into slavery. Here, for the first time, she tells her story publicly: about the fear of death during her captivity, her life as a slave, her eventual escape, coping with her trauma, and the first steps toward a new, self-determined life in Germany.
Because northern Iraq continues to be contested by shifting parties, the Yezidis are still not safe in their homeland.