BENJAMIN RASMUSSEN


Sinjar to Lincoln is a combined web and text message story.
The Yazidis are an ancient religious group based around Mt. Sinjar in Northern Iraq. Long persecuted, they first began coming to America during Sadam Hussein’s purges in the 1990’s, and a community of Yazidis was established in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Many Yazidis worked for the coalition forces as interpreters during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which led to threats and attempts on their lives. A category of Special Immigrant Visas was created to allow interpreters and their families to come to the U.S., many of whom continued to come to Lincoln, growing the community from 1,200 to 2,500 immigrants by mid 2014.

A mural of Northern Iraq and the Peacock Angel, Tawsi Melek, the most important deity in the Yazidi religion.


The Hessos making bread in their garage. They were the first Yazidi family to move to Lincoln.



Hatim Ido worked as an interpreter for the U.S. military.

Parker, like many translators, took on nicknames and hid their identities while working in the field to avoid reprisals.

Alias Gares fell in love with tennis while working as a translator, watching matches late into the night.
 Parker received a phone call from his twin brother on the evening of August 2nd, telling him that ISIS was attacking Yazidi towns and moving towards their family farm. His brother and many others went to the state capitol to protest, continuing on to Washington DC, resulting in US led airstrikes against ISIS forces and drops of humanitarian supplies.