Shengal – The mountains and plain of Shengal has witnessed 39 firmans (literally “edict” but generally translated as “genocide”) until now. Êzidîs have faced 73 edicts in Bakur, Rojhilat, and Başur regions. 39 of these edicts took place in Shengal. 39 edicts against Êzidîs in Shengal… In the last genocide against Êzidîs in Shengal, ISIS abducted 7 thousand Êzidîs, including 3.504 women. About four thousand Êzidî women, young people, and children were saved from ISIS in the seven years. The fate of more than three thousand Êzidîs is still unknown and no one knows where they are now.

There was dead silence in the streets

On a hot summer day, the people of Shengal woke up in the morning and learned that ISIS attacked Siba Şex Xıdır, Gir Zerek, Koço, Solağ, and villages around Shengal. Everyone talked about the attacks in the city. There was dead silence in the streets. The cries sometimes broke the silence. The people of Shengal run around because they didn’t know what they should do. They tried to get information from villages by phone. Some people fled from ISIS, some took shelter in the mountains while some people were abducted by ISIS.

Women became the first target in every edict

The genocide inflicted by ISIS on Êzidîs is not the first genocide against Êzidîs but the bloodiest one. In the past Êzidîs faced many edicts and thousands of Êzidî women were abducted, killed and sold or presented to the Ottoman sultans as handmaidens. In every attack, women became the first target. And they became the first target again when ISIS attacked Shengal in 2014.

On August 3, 2014, the people of Shengal understood another edict would be carried against them again. Everyone was shouting, “It is an edict, run away” to each other. Daesh slowly advanced; they attacked everywhere, particularly Shengal, Til Benat, Til Qesap, Kocho, and Dumiz. In the morning, the people of Shengal began to flee to the mountains.

Those who could not go over the Kandil Mountains were taken captive

When ISIS entered Shengal, the people headed for the mountains. The people who had a vehicle fled easily but others had to run fast to save themselves. 12 PKK members managed to prevent the advance of ISIS. They were a shield for the people of Shengal against ISIS. Those who could not go over the Kandil Mountains were taken captive by ISIS. The Êzidîs, who stayed in Shengal and could not escape, were found by ISIS after a while. ISIS members took all the Êzidîs to the police station in the city and separated men, women, elders, and children. They took all of the young girls and women to the mekteba sor (red school) and held the rest at the police station for three days.

Suham and her grandmother were abducted by ISIS

Suham is only one of the abducted Êzidî women. She lived with her grandmother when ISIS attacked Shengal. After watching what was going on in Shengal, they were told to leave their house. She and her grandmother left their house to go to the mountains. When they left their house, they realized that all people had already fled. They only heard cries in the city. Suham’s grandmother told her to return to their house because outside was dangerous for them. As they were returning to their house, ISIS members saw and caught them. They were forcibly taken into a car. Suham held her grandmother's hand tightly to encourage her. After being held in Shengal for three days, they were taken to Tilefer by ISIS.

“I'm coming home for the first time after the genocide”

We visited Suham’s family house in Shengal. We asked Suham’s mother Vahide to go to their house destroyed by ISIS members. After a 10-minute drive, we arrived at the house where Suham was born and grew up. Suham’s mother began to cry when we reached there. She cried and watched their destroyed house for a while. “I'm coming home for the first time after the genocide. We were happy here. All of my children were born in this house, this house was my home but Daesh destroyed our lives. They took my daughter, Suham from me. My neighbors were Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish families. We had a good relationship but when Daesh attacked Shengal, the first Sunni families attacked us. We hardly fled from them. First of all, we were betrayed by our neighbors,” Suham’s mother told us. Suham listened to her mother in silence. She last saw her house when she was eight years old.

Suham is a brunette young girl having a smiling face. We asked her whether she could tell us what had happened to her. We saw tears in her eyes before telling us what she had faced.

“They dragged women by the hair”

“My name is Suham Şahin, I am 15 years old. My grandmother was sick and she couldn’t climb the mountains and I didn’t want to leave her alone. I stayed with her. When we were returning to our house, the cars of Daesh stopped us. They took me and my grandmother. I was eight years old at that time. I was in fear. They had long beards and they were terrifying. I was a child and it was the first time I had seen them so closely. They treated us so badly. They took us to Telafer. They constantly took us to different places. We stayed in Bahdosh for a while and then they took us to Kocho. We stayed there for three months. There were many Êzidî women and children with us. Daesh members entered the room to take women. Each time, they dragged a woman by the hair and they raped women. I stayed with my grandmother. They prepared the names of women in a list to release them. My name and my grandmother’s name were on the list. Then, they released the old people, including my grandmother. I wanted to go with her but Daesh members didn’t allow me. They released her but kept me. I cried a lot. Then, my captured relatives found me and I stayed with them.”

“They inflicted cruelty against me, they battered me”

Suham waited a while and then continued to talk again, “They gathered us in a garden. There were women and girls. They took young girls, women, and children to different places. They took girls, including me, and boys to Telafer. We were held in a two-story house. Boys were held on the first floor, the girls were on the second floor. They held us there for a while. They forced boys to fight along with them. Their leader came and chose a girl for him. He chose beautiful girls. Girls were raped there. They used girls as servants. I was sent to Mosul as a servant for a Daesh family. The family members inflicted cruelty against me, they battered me. They forced me to convert to Islam. I began to read Quran like them. I did whatever they told me. I was very afraid of them. I worked as a servant for two years for that family. After two years, the man, the head of the family, died. His wife had no one to help her. Her children were hungry and became poor. We went to a place of Iraqis. There were many Daesh members there and I was the only Êzidî there. We stayed with a family for two days. The homeowner was a Kurdish woman from Duhok. She contacted her family in Duhok and we went to Duhok.  Ebu Eli was in Duhok and we stayed with him. He asked me where I was from, how old I was and where my family was. I answered his questions as much as I remembered. Daesh members told everyone I was 15 years old. I didn’t know exactly how old I was. They didn’t change my name but they changed the names of many girls.”

One night, Ebu Eli called Suham’s father and told him, “come and take your daughter back”. “Then, my father came. They first showed my father to me and then my sister and they released me. I thought I'd be their slave forever. I was very happy to be reunited with my family.”

“I always hid my faith inside me”

Suham was held by ISIS for three years and we asked her mother how Suham was when she returned to home. “Someone called us and he told us our daughter was with him. We didn't believe him at first. But we went to the place he told us and we found our daughter there. When we went away from ISIS members, Suham took off her black veil and threw it away. She spoke Arabic. Then, we arrived home and I spoke Kurdish with her, she remembered Kurdish. Suham told me, ‘mother, I always hid my faith inside me.' Fortunately, my daughter is free and with us now. I hope all Êzidî women and girls held by Daesh will be rescued as soon as possible.”

Suham works with her father to hold on to life again

Suham works with her father at their shoe shop to hold on to life again. “My father opened this shop for me. I am very grateful to him, he helps me a lot. Working helps me to forget what I faced. I feel happier when I work,” Suham told us.