Protestors have marched from 10 Downing Street to Parliament Square as part of a campaign by the Hazara Committee to end the genocide of Hazara people in Afghanistan by the Taliban and IS-K. They are urging the UK Government to take immediate action to help.
Hazara youths have experienced a significant increase in targeted attacks since August 2021, with the most recent being a suicide attack on 30th of September that killed 55 young Hazara girls in Kabul. Thousands of Hazaras have been forcibly displaced by the Taliban from their native and ancestral lands across Afghanistan. None of these attacks have been investigated and no perpetrators have been prosecuted, leaving the victims and families without justice or compensation.
Rising East spoke to civil and human rights activist Homira Rezai from the Hazara Committee about their campaign message and how students can help the cause.
“The #StopHazaraGenocide campaign was launched to end the Hazara Genocide in Afghanistan. Hazaras are an ethnic group native to Afghanistan who have been persecuted for centuries. Following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, genocidal attacks against Hazaras have increased significantly. Following the suicide attack in Kaaj Education Centre that killed over 55 Hazara girls and injured 115, we called for a worldwide demonstration to raise awareness. Since 8th October, over 120 cities organised peaceful demonstration and around 10 millions tweets have been made with the hashtag #StopHazaraGenocide. This campaign has united all ethnic groups of Afghanistan as well as human rights defenders from across the world to put an end to Hazara genocide.”
“We urge students and academics to organise talks, seminars, and lectures on Hazara Genocide to raise awareness. The British-Hazara diaspora have many experts who can help and guide them.”
The protests aims to encourage the UK government to deploy any means available to prevent the violent attacks, speak with leaders of Afghan-neighbouring countries to ensure safe passage for Hazaras fleeing Afghanistan, and to advocate within the United Nations for internationally-mandated investigations into these systematic attacks.
Over 120 cities have seen peaceful protests for the #StopHazaraGenocide campaign so far, with many more expected to happen in the coming months.
For more information visit www.hazaracommittee.co.uk
