Abbreviation | CYCI |
---|---|
Formation | June 2015 |
Founder | Steve Maman [1] |
Focus |
Anti-sex slavery, Combatting human trafficking |
Leader | Steve Maman |
Website | LiberationIraq.com |
The Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq or CYCI foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization that aims to free Christian and Yazidi women captured and forced into sex slavery by ISIS. [2] [3]
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. [1] [4] [5] Maman founded the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq in June 2015. [6] Maman often visited Morocco and Iraq to purchase vintage cars to bring them back for his classic car dealership based in Montreal. [7] During this time, he made contacts that would go on to help build his network of brokers within the ISIS-controlled areas. [7]
In June 2015, Maman founded the CYCI foundation with a team of negotiators in Iraq who would rescue the girls by paying brokers. [1] [8] The foundation started raising funds for their operations through volunteer donations and a GoFundMe account. [7] [1] 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. [9]
The CYCI foundations is primarily involved in negotiating with brokers in ISIS controlled territories for the release of captured Yazidi women and girls. [1] The organization releases funds to their members based in Iraq who pay brokers for releasing the women. [10] The organization first takes the rescued women and girls internally displaced persons camp in Kurdistan and later makes efforts to re-unite them with their families. [11] CYCI raises funds through donations made on the official website and through crowdfunding portals including GoFundMe. [7] [12] According to Maman, each rescue costs between $1000 and $3000. [11] [13]
Members of the Yazidis community which includes Babasheikh Kherto Ismael, the Yazidi spiritual leader, [14] 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. [15]
Steve Maman | |
---|---|
Born |
Casablanca, Morocco | March 1, 1973
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, entrepreneur, founder of the liberation of christian and yazidi children of iraq (cyci) |
Steve Maman, (born March 1, 1973), is a Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, social worker, and the founder of the CYCI foundation. [6] [11] Maman was born in Morocco on March 1, 1973, and was raised in Montreal, Canada where he became a vintage car dealer. [7] [1] Maman is married and is a father of six. [11]
Maman has often mentioned Oskar Schindler as an inspiration for the organization in his interviews [4] and is often referred to as Jewish Schindler by news portals. [8] [16] [10]
Abbreviation | CYCI |
---|---|
Formation | June 2015 |
Founder | Steve Maman [1] |
Focus |
Anti-sex slavery, Combatting human trafficking |
Leader | Steve Maman |
Website | LiberationIraq.com |
The Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq or CYCI foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization that aims to free Christian and Yazidi women captured and forced into sex slavery by ISIS. [2] [3]
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. [1] [4] [5] Maman founded the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq in June 2015. [6] Maman often visited Morocco and Iraq to purchase vintage cars to bring them back for his classic car dealership based in Montreal. [7] During this time, he made contacts that would go on to help build his network of brokers within the ISIS-controlled areas. [7]
In June 2015, Maman founded the CYCI foundation with a team of negotiators in Iraq who would rescue the girls by paying brokers. [1] [8] The foundation started raising funds for their operations through volunteer donations and a GoFundMe account. [7] [1] 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. [9]
The CYCI foundations is primarily involved in negotiating with brokers in ISIS controlled territories for the release of captured Yazidi women and girls. [1] The organization releases funds to their members based in Iraq who pay brokers for releasing the women. [10] The organization first takes the rescued women and girls internally displaced persons camp in Kurdistan and later makes efforts to re-unite them with their families. [11] CYCI raises funds through donations made on the official website and through crowdfunding portals including GoFundMe. [7] [12] According to Maman, each rescue costs between $1000 and $3000. [11] [13]
Members of the Yazidis community which includes Babasheikh Kherto Ismael, the Yazidi spiritual leader, [14] 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. [15]
Steve Maman | |
---|---|
Born |
Casablanca, Morocco | March 1, 1973
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, entrepreneur, founder of the liberation of christian and yazidi children of iraq (cyci) |
Steve Maman, (born March 1, 1973), is a Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, social worker, and the founder of the CYCI foundation. [6] [11] Maman was born in Morocco on March 1, 1973, and was raised in Montreal, Canada where he became a vintage car dealer. [7] [1] Maman is married and is a father of six. [11]
Maman has often mentioned Oskar Schindler as an inspiration for the organization in his interviews [4] and is often referred to as Jewish Schindler by news portals. [8] [16] [10]