Self-Governance from Below: “Self-Help Services Are Necessary to Mitigate Our Suffering”

This chapter covers historical and cultural elements that underpin diaspora formation, identity construction, and the process of self-governance. Kurdish-Yezidi refugees illustrate the factors that shape, govern, and transform their diasporic existence. They pointed to various burdens and problems whose origins are rooted in their homeland, their receiving cities, and the nature of their diaspora communities. These themes are connected to their adaptation to and settlement in new environments, as well as the broader political, social, and cultural affairs in their home countries and diasporic communities. They frequently fall back on their historically established agency for self-organization, self-governance, and self-regulation, which are not without multiple difficulties and barriers. Based on their lived experiences, the refugee narratives touch on multidimensional and multilocal issues within their diaspora communities.