Rudaw’s new documentary “After Disaster” by Nebez Ehmed documents the lives of a number of Yazidi children as they deal with the aftermath of being in the hands of ISIS. Filmed in 2019 between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Syria, the film shows the children shortly after they escaped from the terrorist group’s hideouts in Baghouz southeast of Syria on the Iraqi border, as well as their resettlement to the Kurdistan Region’s Sharya Camp in Duhok province.
ISIS attacked the Shingal district in the Nineveh Plains on August 3, 2014, abducting and killing thousands belonging to the ancient Yezidi minority. Men were summarily executed or boys were often trained as soldiers, whereas girls and women were subjected to repeated sexual violence and forced labour.
Although the territorial defeat of ISIS has long been declared, the trauma of the group’s iron rule across the region continues to have severe impacts on the Yazidi minority, who largely remain displaced in IDP camps. As of this month, 3,530 Yezidis have been rescued or escaped ISIS, and 2,887 are still missing, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s office documenting the genocide.
Many children have lost the ability to speak their mother tongue, and suffer from severe psychological issues, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new report by Amnesty International.
“When they came back, they did not speak even a word of Kurdish. They were speaking Arabic. They had gone through too much humiliation. They said ISIS militants beat them, forcibly taught them Quran and prayer,” said Yezidi mother Gule of her sons Dilbrin and Sufyan.
Although elated to be reunited with her sons, Gule says her joy is mixed with anxiety and doubt because she feels the two no longer acted the same towards her.
“When other children see their parents, they become happy, but my sons were not happy like they would have been before. When they were brought back to me, I tried to approach them, but I could barely put my arm around his neck. He barely allowed me to pose with him for a photo where he recoiled from me.”
Yazidi activist Basma Haji recounted to Rudaw how the group abused minors.
“Some of the children were detained and trained at military bases for five years on how to fight, how to convert [to Islam]. They were forcibly converted to Islam. They were forcibly shown terror videos of how ISIS beheads and kills people,” said the Shingal native.
Reporting by Nebez Ehmed
