Yezidi mother who lost entire family to ISIS still searching for answers

DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – Shamme Dero Hassan is known to other Yezidi residents of Chamashko camp in Zakho as “Mother Shamme”. Although many lost loved ones in the genocide which swept Shingal five years ago, few have suffered as great a loss. 

The 60-year-old survivor lost her entire family of 30 when the Islamic State group (ISIS) seized the Yezidi homeland of Shingal in 2014, murdering the men and abducting the women. 

“I was their eldest. I was like a father and mother for all. Their father was killed about 30-33 years ago. I brought up the kids in poor conditions,” Mother Shamme told Rudaw on Friday. 

Mother Shamme speaks to Rudaw at Chamashko IDP camp, Duhok, August 2, 2019. Photo: Rudaw TV

A special ceremony was held Chamashko camp in Zakho on Friday in honor of her loss and to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the genocide. The camp is home to a considerable number of Yezidis who fled the onslaught half a decade ago. 

The event was sponsored by the holy Yezidi Temple of Lalish in coordination with local groups. 

Mother Shamme was visiting the home of a relative in the north of Shingal when ISIS attacked to the south. She was among thousands who fled to Mount Shingal to escape the massacre. Others fled to Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria. 

However, her family and thousands of other Yezidis in downtown Shingal were unable to escape. Thousands were captured or killed by ISIS militants. Many were taken to Syria as slaves. 

Survivors who managed to escape the city told Mother Shamme her two sons, who were local physicians, had been killed. 

Two of her daughters – Dilan and Jilan – were raped by ISIS militants. They later committed suicide in ISIS captivity. 

Mother Shamme's daughters Dilan and Jilan committed suicide after they were raped by ISIS militants. The family's loss was commemorated on Friday. Photo: Rudaw TV

Speaking to Rudaw, Mayor of Shingal Mahma Khalil said Mother Shamme is eager to find the remains of her family but no one has helped her. He accused Baghdad of mishandling the mass graves uncovered in Shingal and of failing to help families identify the remains of loved ones. 

Fifth anniversary

Saturday marks five years since the genocide began. However, the somber anniversary coincides with the Yezidis’ summer feast. 

Celebrations had been suspended in recent years as a mark of respect to the victims of the genocide. However, the festival has returned, albeit with less of the joy it had once evoked.

Yezidi community leaders have renewed their calls on Erbil and Baghdad to help them uncover the mass graves and help families find closure. 

Mahdi al-Alaq, secretary general of Iraq’s Council of Ministers, said Thursday that 13 out of a suspected 73 mass graves have been excavated in Shingal. 

On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants swept across northern Iraq, capturing the Yezidi homeland of Shingal. During their rule, they committed acts of genocide against the community.

Out of 6,417 of the kidnapped Yezidis, 3,509 have been rescued, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Yezidi Women Rescue Office Hussein Koro said Thursday. 

More than 300,000 Yezidis now live in camps in Kurdistan Region and thousands other have fled to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava.

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