From Captivity to Courage: Amera Ali’s Voice for the Missing Yazidis

During the 2014 Yazidi Genocide, thousands of Yazidi families were targeted by the extremist group Islamic State. Among them was Amera Ali, who was only a child when she was captured and separated from her family in Sinjar in northern Iraq.

While in captivity, Amera secretly wrote messages to her beloved brother Ali on small scraps of paper, hiding them in her clothes and belongings. Writing became her way of holding on to hope and documenting the suffering endured by Yazidi women and children. Tragically, Amera has not seen her brother since the day they were separated in 2014, and like thousands of Yazidis, he remains missing.

After surviving captivity and rebuilding her life, Amera now shares her story with the world through her memoir, For Ali, For Us All: Messages From Captivity. The book brings together the letters she wrote during captivity and serves as a powerful testimony to the resilience of Yazidi survivors and the ongoing search for justice for the more than 2,700 Yazidis who are still missing today.

Today, Amera lives in Australia and continues to advocate for Yazidi survivors, ensuring that the voices of those who suffered during the genocide are not forgotten. Her story is not only one of survival, but also of courage, memory, and the enduring hope that one day the truth about the missing—including her brother Ali—will be known.