A couple weeks ago, Montrealer Steve Maman was being feted by media around the world for helping free 128 Yazidis and Christians from enslavement by Islamic State militants (IS), garnering him the nickname “Jewish Schindler.”
Donations to his non-profit group the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq (CYCI) through his now defunct GoFundMe page ballooned to more than $580, 000.
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But over the last week, Maman has been fighting off doubts about his work on various fronts, chief among them, as VICE News first reported, from a group of Yazidi leaders and experts that called on him to provide evidence of his rescues.
Now, the person Maman has said helps him carry out his work in Iraq is denying he has ever collaborated with CYCI.
In interviews with VICE News and other media outlets, Maman has repeatedly said he is working with the help of The Reverend Canon Andrew White, also known as the Vicar of Baghdad, and his contacts on the ground in Iraq. A recent post on CYCI’s Facebook page says: “There are equal endorsements between CYCI and Canon Andrew White, who work closely together on this mission.”
Read the full story at Vice News, by Rachel Browne
STEVE MAMAN
