A Yazidi woman disfigured by a mine blast while escaping enslavement by Islamic State militants will get needed surgery in Germany after a VOA article detailed her plight and a lack of medical help.
Lamiya Hachi Bashar, 18, lost her sight and was severely disfigured last month. Doctors said her complex injuries required treatment that was not available in Iraq. They said Bashar needed to be sent abroad for plastic surgery before it became impossible for her face to be surgically repaired.
A German aid agency said it was willing to help. However, Bashar faced weeks of waiting in order to get an entry visa to Germany, and there was uncertainty about who was going to pay for the medical procedures.
Following the VOA report, several organizations and individuals reached out to help. Bashar will be flown to Germany this week and receive surgery to repair one damaged eye, Bashar's uncle told VOA.
WATCH: Yazidi Woman Seeks Aid for Disfigured Face
The VOA report "helped her story to be heard everywhere," Bashar's uncle, Idris Kojo, said Monday by telephone from northern Iraq.
The director of the German-based Air Bridge Iraq, Mirza Dinnayi, said the publicity will accelerate Bashar's medical care.
"I am now confident there won't be any problem collecting funds for her," Dinnayi said. "Many people are contacting me offering to do everything to help."
Dinnayi said his organization will pay for the operation for her left eye, which will cost $11,000.
"Other organizations will help us pay for her plastic surgery after the eye operation is done and we have an estimate of the costs," he said.
Bashar is one of thousands of Yazidis who have suffered under systematic violence by IS. While in IS captivity, Bashar said she was sold five times as a sex slave and faced mental and physical abuse. One IS leader in Mosul allegedly forced her to make suicide belts and prepare car bombs.
