In Iraq, life for junior Ameena AlHammo was calm and simple.

“We as Yazidis live our life simple. We didn’t have electricity, internet, or schools but we were okay with it,” AlHammo said.

And then ISIS arrived.

Her family had heard of ISIS coming to their town from refugees whose towns were destroyed.

“When ISIS destroyed all of the towns around us. Then, we, as Yazidis people, knew we were next to be destroyed,” AlHammo said.

Before ISIS could arrive, AlHammo and her family fled to a relative’s house.

“My aunt’s house was in Kurdistan and that area was safe so my family just stayed in her house because we knew we were coming to the U.S.,” AlHammo said.

AlHammo’s father worked for the U.S. Army and the family was able to obtain visas.

“My dad was an interpreter for the U.S. Army and when they left Iraq in 2010, he lost his job. Later, he came to the U.S. alone because our visas were not ready,” AlHammo said.

AlHammo’s father arrived in Chicago in 2014 and 10 months later the family reunited.

“My first reaction about the U.S. was that I knew that this country would be where my family and I would live safe and without any fears,” AlHammo said.

When arriving, AlHammo experienced a language barrier as she did not know English.

“I didn’t even know how to say ‘hi,’” AlHammo said.

The transition to the U.S. was not easy for AlHammo but school helped her get through it.

“It was hard the first few days because I didn’t know any English but it changed after I went to school every day, learned English little by little and made friends,” AlHammo said.

Leaving Iraq was not easy for AlHammo, but she is hoping to return to her homeland one day.  

“I miss the home where I grew up in and spent almost half of my life in,” AlHammo said. “I think about going back to Iraq because I want to help people there with anything I can.”

AlHammo received support from WeGo Global to screen “On Her Shoulders”  as a way to teach the community about the Yazidi genocide and the ISIS sexual enslavement.

“When I watched the movie for the first time, I was speechless after Nadia Murad shared her story while being under ISIS captivity,” AlHammo said.

AlHammo hopes that with the movie screening people will become more aware of what happened in the Sinjar massacre.

“I’m hoping people will understand more about the Yazidis and understand what they went through on August 3, 2014,” AlHammo said. “My family (and community) lost our houses after ISIS came to Sinjar and burned down every house in town.”