ROJBİN DENİZ

Shengal- Êzidîs organize themselves as tribal confederations. Each tribal confederation consists of at least 12 tribes. The tribes who lived in the mountains were forced to descend to the plains by Saddam. All tribes of each confederation discussed choosing where they should settle. Each family settled in Shengal near where their tribes decided. If some families from other tribes wanted to settle near them, they had to take permission from the tribes. If the tribes gave them permission, they settled near them, if not, they had to settle in other places. All members of the tribes decided together. If a confederation chose a village, town, or city to settle in, all tribes of the confederation should settle there. Each tribe could choose their neighbors.

“Saddam carried out a firman against us by forcing us to leave the mountains”

People of Siba settled in SibaŞexXdır (known as Siba by local people), located in the south of Shengal in the 70s. Qirani tribes are one of the Êzidîs’ tribal confederations, consist of many tribes. Qirani Êzidîs settled around SibaŞexXdır. The population of Qirani tribes increased in time and they began to settle in Shengal and towns around Shengal. One of the Sheikh built Siba. (Please read our article to learn more: https://jinhaagency.com/en/all-news/content/view/13583). The sheik community allowed the Qirani Êzidîs to settle in Siba. The Qirani Êzidîs brought their centuries-old culture to SibaŞexXıdır. When the firman (literally “edict” but generally translated as “genocide”) was carried out against them by ISIS, they returned to the mountains. The Qirani Êzidîs called what Saddam did to them as a firman. “Saddam carried out a firman against us by forcing us to leave the mountains. He left us unprotected in plains.”

Children of Siba left their toys and dreams behind

Our journey in Siba continues. We can feel the traces of the 74^th genocide against Êzidîs in every street of Siba. If the streets could, they would tell us what happened there. We saw children carrying their toys on the streets. We asked each other, “How many children of Siba had to leave their toys behind while fleeing from the genocide against them in 2014? Could they be able to carry them? Before the genocide, the children of Siba played together on these streets. After talking to Dayê Esmer, we followed the children and found another house. People living in that house welcomed us. The people of Siba are known for their hospitality in the region. A family of 13 lives in a house. They live under very hard conditions but they are very happy.

“Living on our lands has another meaning for us. We didn’t want to leave our lands but this world doesn’t want us, it doesn’t accept us as members of its family. Every time, it throws us out of this world, and we return as half-dead,” the father of the family told us. Then we spoke to girls from the family. We saw Fexriye and wanted to speak to her. She wanted to speak to us. We talked about Siba and Shengal. We asked her how much she understands the Êzidîs’ religion. “I know what my mother and father told me. According to the Êzidîs’ religion, all living creatures have the right to live, they shouldn’t be killed. I don’t understand why they killed children, women, elders, and men during the genocide. My father told me all religions believe that all creatures should be loved and kept alive. That’s why I don’t understand what happened,” she answered.

She was 12 years old when ISIS inflicted genocide against them

“Don’t Daesh members have a religion?” Fexriye asked, adding, “No, they don’t have any religion. They are people having no heart and faith.” We asked Fexriye how old she was when ISIS attacked them. “I was 12 years old,” Fexriye answered. We asked her if she knew the meaning of genocide, “Genocide meant running away for me, leaving everything behind,” she answered and began to tell us what happened on August 3, 2014.

“I am Fexriye, I am from Siba. I was 12 years old when ISIS inflicted genocide against us. I had many friends and we played together every day. We had a very big fantasy world, we played many games. I was a fifth-grade student. I was just a child and didn’t know what the meaning of genocide was. Old people talked about it, they talked about how Daesh entered Mosul but I didn’t know what the meaning of Daesh was. The old people told us how Daesh abducted children, women, and young people, and I was afraid of being abducted. I was always with my mother. She was my shelter… It was the 3^rd of August, it was very hot. We were sleeping on the roof of our house. The gunshots woke me up. Mortars were fired from everywhere. My father said ‘we will not leave our lands’. We were in fear and pushed my father to leave to not be killed. We told our neighbors that 'they are coming, you should run away' and then we left our house and run to the mountains. Many people were fleeing while Daesh members opened fire on us. Bullets were falling like rain. They shot an old woman and man next to us. I was so scared when I saw them on the ground.”

“Many people were shot while trying to flee. Even some people were burned alive. There are still bones of people in houses even if seven years have passed. You can see the bones in the house next to our house,” Fexriye’s father told us.

“I looked for food and water for my siblings”

Fexriye continued to talk about that day, “We arrived at the mountains. When I woke up in the morning, I didn’t understand where I was; I thought I was at home. I understood we were on the mountain when I looked around. There was no food and water on the mountain. We were hungry and I felt like I grew up in a day. I looked for food and water for my younger siblings. We walked for days to find food and water. What I saw in the mountains will remain in my memory forever. I faced many things that cannot be forgotten. For Instance, I saw a woman. She was wounded and held a child in her arms. Then, she left her baby, she was hardly walked. I tried to take her baby but I couldn’t. My feelings and soul grew up but my body was still a child so I couldn’t carry the baby. I hardly remember her face but I remember she was a baby. She remained there, no one took her.”

Fexriye broke down in tears when she talked about the baby. Fexriye was only 12 years old when she faced genocide. She is now 19 years old but never forgets what happened. “After we walked for eight days in the mountains, we lost our hope. We were going to die of hot weather, hunger, and thirst. Then PKK members arrived. They gave us hope. They took us to Rojava. They built a camp there for us. They took very good care of us at the Newroz camp. I wasn’t a child anymore when I arrived there. I was in anger and wanted to learn how to protect my family. I learned how to use guns. If we had known how to use guns, we could have prevented the genocide; we could have protected us.”

“We returned Siba without my mother”

After the liberation of Shengal, Fexriye’s mother and father returned to Shengal. They lived in Xanesor while waiting for the mines in Siba to be cleared. Fexriye lost her mother in Xanesor. “My mother had many pains in her heart. She never forgot her sister abducted by Daesh and her family. My mother was everything in my life; she was my shelter, loneliness. We were always together. But we returned to Siba without my mother…”

Fexriye is now living in Siba and expects her friends to return to Siba soon. Now she is a 19-years-old young woman. “I feel stronger now. I miss my friends. I want to see them again. Yes, Daesh took my childhood, my friends, and most importantly my mother from me. Daesh left genocide in my memory that I will never forget through all my life. Êzidî children and all children in the world should live freely from now on. Don’t take childhood from the children.”