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lyrics

“I want to be the last girl in the world with a story like mine."

While an 11th grader, Gabriela Cuddy wrote about Nadia Murad. Nadia's peaceful life was upended in 2014 when ISIS attacked her homeland to ethnically cleanse Iraq of the Yazidi people. Six of Nadia's brothers and stepbrothers were murdered along with her mother, and at 21 years old, Nadia was kidnapped and held for three months. More than 5,200 Yazīdī women were trafficked by ISIL in 2014, marketed as sex slaves. Beaten, burned with cigarettes, and raped repeatedly, her first failed escape attempt resulted in a gang rape as punishment. She nearly gave up, but one day her captor left the house unlocked, and she fled. Murad was taken in by a neighboring family, who also put themselves at great risk to aid her flight. In February 2015, she gave her first testimony to reporters while staying in a refugee camp, living in a converted shipping container.

"Nadia," in Slavic, Arabic ... means Hope, delicate and fragile.

Since then, Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and UNODC Goodwill Ambassador, has become a powerful advocate for women in conflict settings and survivors of sexual violence worldwide. Much of Nadia’s advocacy work is focused on meeting with global leaders to shed light on the continued plight of the Yazidi people and the need for justice for survivors of sexual violence.

Learn more: https://www.nadiasinitiative.org/

LYRICS:
Iraqi August sky
Smoke and bullets, blurry cries
Sun burning on blood-soaked earth
Brothers' bodies, empty eyes

Dragged from home locked in chains
With a thousand other maidens
Childhood stolen, can’t be returned
Too young, too numb to feel the pain

Alone in the dark, anguish filled my heart
The months felt like years.
Cried a thousand tears
But I remembered my name

Nadia - hope is what I am
Hope is what I have
To set free people like me

Iraqi autumn night
Tasting fear as I took flight
Body covered in bruises and scars
Now was the time to fight my fight

In my new home, finally free
Sharing with the world my story
Memories hurt but staying silent is worse
Helping the innocent be heard

Nadia - hope is what I am
Hope is what I have
To set free people like me

Nadia - hope is what I give,
to help the broken live,
hope to heal,
hope to reach for the peace

credits

from Chords of Courage Volume One, released December 2, 2022
Lyrics and melody by Gabriela Cuddy
Arranged and Performed Live in the studio by ilyAIMY:
Heather Aubrey Lloyd (guitar, vocals)
Kristen Jones (cello)
Additional engineering by Rob Hinkal

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ilyAIMY Baltimore, Maryland

ilyAIMY is a percussive acoustic rock animal hailing from Baltimore, MD. Mixing genres from rock to folk to soul to bluegrass; flavours as varied as jazz and hip hop curl through what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting sounds in today’s folk(ish) music scene. Instrumentation includes acoustic guitars, cello, djembe, cajon, Irish bones, keyboard, bass, drums & harmonies. ... more

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