The Yazidis are an ethnic-religious group native to Kurdistan, which includes areas of Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Their religion, Yazidism, is a form of monotheism that mixes elements of Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism, but with its own beliefs, such as the veneration of Melek Taus, the peacock angel. This angel, wrongly accused of being the Devil for refusing to bow to Adam, has fueled prejudice and persecution against them.

For this reason, throughout history, the community has suffered serious violence, including the tragedy of 2014, when ISIS unleashed a GENOCIDE against the Yazidis, killing thousands of people and kidnapping women and children, inflicting unspeakable violence.

Despite the suffering, the shrine of Shaykh Adi ibn Musafir in Lalish, Iraqi Kurdistan, remains a symbol of hope and resistance, as it is the most sacred place for the community.

The pilgrimage to Lalish is a fundamental practice for every Yazidi, an act of faith performed at least once in a lifetime to celebrate religious holidays, receive blessings and reinvigorate the bond with one's cultural and

spiritual identity.

The tomb of Shaykh Adi, the greatest spiritual leader, is a place where pilgrims tie colored fabrics as a sign of their wishes, perpetuating a millenary tradition and the cones above the tombs symbolize the sun, the earth and the light, representing the bond between the divine and the earthly world. Spiritual leadership is entrusted to the Baba Shaykh, chosen through a hereditary process and approved by the sages, while the Yazidi community is structured into three castes: the shaykhs, who lead the religious rites, the pirs, who take care of the spiritual care, and the murad, who form the base of the community.

Despite the atrocities suffered, Lalish remains a stronghold of hope for the Yazidis around the world.

This sanctuary is a symbol of their identity and faith, but also a place where the community can find strength, hope and resistance for the future, continuing to freely practice their religion and preserve a culture that, despite persecution, has never been swept away.

"Because freedom matters"..