View source for The Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq

{{Short description|Canadian non-profit organization}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox organization
|name = The Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq
|image =
|abbreviation = CYCI
|founder = Steve Maman<ref name="Star">{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/08/15/jewish-schindler-rescues-iraqi-girls-from-slavery.html | title=Jewish Schindler rescues Iraqi girls from slavery | work=[[Toronto Star]] | date=August 15, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref>
|formation = June 2015
|focus = [[Sexual slavery|Anti-sex slavery]],<br/> Combatting [[human trafficking]]
|purpose =
|headquarters =
|leader_title =
|leader_name = Steve Maman
|num_staff =
|num_volunteers =
|budget =
|website = {{URL|liberationiraq.com/|LiberationIraq.com}}
}}
'''The Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq''' or '''CYCI foundation''' is a Canadian non-profit organization that aims to free [[Christians|Christian]] and [[Yazidi]] women captured and forced into [[Sexual slavery|sex slavery]] by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]].<ref name="Rudaw">{{cite news | url=http://rudaw.net/english/world/23082015 | title=Canadian ‘Schindler’ saves Christians, Yezidis from ISIS | work=[[Rudaw Media Network|Rudaw]] | date=August 23, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Global">{{cite news | url=http://globalnews.ca/news/2380160/canadian-volunteers-helping-former-isis-slaves-rescued-by-jewish-schindler/ | title=Canadian volunteers helping former ISIS slaves rescued by ‘Jewish Schindler’ | work=[[Global News]] | date=December 4, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref>
==History==
In 2014, Steve Maman connected with negotiators in Baghdad, Iraq to build a network to rescue Yazidi and Christian women and girls sold into sexual servitude by ISIS.<ref name="Star"/><ref name="Arutz">{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199349 |title=Jewish Businessman Rescuing Yazidi and Christian Women from ISIS |publisher=[[Arutz Sheva]] |date=August 8, 2015 |accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="JW">{{cite news |url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/international/montreal-businessman-says-his-jewishness-stirred-efforts-save-children-isis |title=Montreal Businessman Says His Jewishness Stirred Efforts To Save Children From ISIS |work=[[The Jewish Week]] |date=August 25, 2015 |accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref> Maman founded the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq in June 2015.<ref name="Fusion">{{cite news | url=http://fusion.net/story/260985/yazidi-women-girls-enslaved/ | title=One man's mission to free Yazidi women from ISIS | work=[[Fusion (TV channel)|Fusion]] | date=January 28, 2016 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref> Maman often visited [[Morocco]] and [[Iraq]] to purchase [[vintage cars]] to bring them back for his classic car dealership based in Montreal.<ref name="Gazette"/> During this time, he made contacts that would go on to help build his network of brokers within the ISIS-controlled areas.<ref name="Gazette">{{cite news | url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/steve-maman-the-jewish-schindler-opens-up-on-saving-yazidis' | title=Steve Maman, the 'Jewish Schindler,' opens up on saving Yazidis | work=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]] | date=September 2, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref>
In June 2015, Maman founded the CYCI foundation with a team of negotiators in Iraq who would rescue the girls by paying brokers.<ref name="Star"/><ref name="CJ">{{cite news |url=http://www.cjnews.com/news/qa-steve-maman-jewish-schindler-saves-girls-isis |title=Q&A STEVE MAMAN: ‘JEWISH SCHINDLER’ SAVES GIRLS FROM ISIS |work=[[Canadian Jewish News]] |date=August 21, 2015 |accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref> The foundation started raising funds for their operations through volunteer donations and a [[GoFundMe]] account.<ref name="Gazette"/><ref name="Star"/> Maman currently serves as the president of the foundation.
In August 2015, [[Gill Rosenberg]], the first female foreigner to join [[YPJ]] forces fighting ISIS joined the organization as a volunteer.<ref name="JPost">{{cite news | url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-Threat/The-curious-case-of-Gill-Rosenberg-412120 | title=The curious case of Gill Rosenberg | work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] | date=August 14, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref>
==Negotiations==
The CYCI foundations is primarily involved in negotiating with brokers in ISIS controlled territories for the release of captured Yazidi women and girls.<ref name="Star"/> The organization releases funds to their members based in Iraq who pay brokers for releasing the women.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3196252/steve-maman-the-jewish-schindler-working-to-rescue-young-women-taken-by-isis-as-slaves-1.3196699 | title=Steve Maman, the 'Jewish Schindler', working to rescue young women taken by ISIS as slaves | publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=August 19, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref> The organization first takes the rescued women and girls [[internally displaced person]]s camp in [[Kurdistan]] and later makes efforts to re-unite them with their families.<ref name="TOI2"/> CYCI raises funds through donations made on the official website and through crowdfunding portals including [[GoFundMe]].<ref name="Gazette"/><ref name="Vocativ">{{cite news | url=http://www.vocativ.com/223767/jewish-schindler-saves-hundreds-of-christian-sex-slaves-from-isis/ | title="Jewish Schindler" Saves Hundreds of Christian Sex Slaves From ISIS | work=[[Vocativ]] | date=August 20, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref> According to Maman, each rescue costs between $1000 and $3000.<ref name="TOI2">{{cite news | url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/montreal-jew-frantically-negotiates-for-release-of-iss-yazidi-sex-slaves/ | title=Montreal Jew frantically negotiates for release of IS's Yazidi sex slaves | work=[[The Times of Israel]] | date=August 19, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Haaretz">{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.673270 | title=Canadian Man Dubbed 'Jewish Schindler' for Saving Yazidi Sex Slaves From ISIS | work=[[Haaretz]] | date=August 27, 2015 | accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref>
== Criticism ==
Members of the [[Yazidis]] community which includes Babasheikh Kherto Ismael, the Yazidi spiritual leader,<ref name=Haaretz-LeadersDemandProof-2015>{{cite news|title=Yazidi Leaders Demand 'Jewish Schindler' Prove He Has Saved Lives|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.673561|accessdate=September 24, 2016|work=[[Haaretz]]|date=August 30, 2015}}</ref> and those involved in outreach and humanitarian support dispute Maman's work and call for a greater transparency and oversight in the work with minority populations fleeing Iraq.<ref name=VICENews-GreaterTransparency-2015>{{cite news|last1=Browne|first1=Rachel|title=Yazidi Leaders Want Proof ‘Jewish Schindler’ Saved 128 Women and Children From the Islamic State|url=https://news.vice.com/article/yazidi-leaders-want-proof-jewish-schindler-saved-128-women-and-children-from-the-islamic-state|accessdate=September 24, 2016|work=[[Vice (magazine)|VICE News]]|date=August 26, 2015}}</ref>
==Steve Maman==
{{Infobox person
| name               = Steve Maman
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1973|03|01}}
| birth_place        = [[Casablanca]], Morocco
| occupation         = Businessman, entrepreneur,<br/>founder of the liberation of christian and yazidi children of iraq (cyci)
| nationality        = Canadian
| spouse             =
| parents            =
| children           =
| website            = {{url|http://www.stevemaman.com/}}
}}
'''Steve Maman''', (born March 1, 1973), is a Jewish-Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, social worker, and the founder of the CYCI foundation.<ref name="Fusion" /><ref name="TOI2" /> Maman was born in Morocco on March 1, 1973, and was raised in Montreal, Canada where he became a [[vintage car]] dealer.<ref name="Gazette" /><ref name="Star" /> Maman is married and is a father of six.<ref name="TOI2" />
Maman has often mentioned [[Oskar Schindler]] as an inspiration for the organization in his interviews<ref name="Arutz"/> and is often referred to as "Jewish Schindler" by news portals.<ref name="CJ"/><ref name="Forward">{{cite news |url=http://forward.com/news/320393/montreals-jewish-schindler-unbowed-by-accusations-that-he-is-funding-isis/ |title=Montreal's 'Jewish Schindler' Rejects Accusations That He Is Doing More Harm Than Good |work=[[The Forward]] |date=September 4, 2015 |accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="CBC"/>
In 2024, he was involved in the return of [[Fawzia Amin Sido]] to her family in Iraq. He told [[The Jerusalem Post]], "This is what I would’ve done for anyone else, regardless of their religion, and this is what makes us special as Jews – we are able to look beyond the dry politics of a national who’s technically from a country that hates us and see the human aspect of life".<ref name="jpost maman" >{{cite news | title= Free at last: Yazidi woman held in Gaza finally leaves enclave |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-822799 | access-date= 5 November 2024 | website= www.jpost.com [[The Jerusalem Post]] | date= 1 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Yazidi genocide]]
* [[Christianity in Iraq]] and [[Christianity in Syria|Syria]]
* [[Yarmouk Camp]]
* [[Fawzia Amin Sido]]
* [[Operation Underground Railroad]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{URL|liberationiraq.com/}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq}}
[[Category:Charities based in Canada]]
[[Category:Yazidi]]