ROJÎN HEBABÎ

Shengal (Sinjar)- ISIS attacked Shengal on August 3,2014, killing and abducting thousands of Yazidis. “Yazidi women have rebuilt their life thanks to the thoughts and philosophy of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan,” said Rîhan Xidir, who witnessed the genocide committed by ISIS against the Yazidi community in Shengal.

Rîhan Xidir, member of the Women’s Council in the village of Dugure, told NuJINHA what she had witnessed with the following words. “We felt great fear when we heard the name of ISIS. For two months, we heard that ISIS attacked Mosul, Tal Afar and Sulaymaniyah. When ISIS attacked Shengal, we fled. When we reached the river, we were very scared because the Peshmerga blocked our way and opened fire on us to prevent us from crossing the river.  The Peshmerga were our enemy, if they were not our enemies they would not have blocked our way. They had to open our way since there were so many of us. We took shelter in Bahadre (a town in northern Iraq) for five days.”

‘Many Yazidi women and girls are still missing’

Yazidi people faced difficulties while fleeing ISIS, Rîhan Xidir told us. “We faced difficulties and suffered but the abduction of Yazidi women and girls deepened our suffering. For five months, we took shelter in schools or some people opened their doors for us. They gave us water, food and clothes. What I experienced did not upset me; the thing that upset me the most was that our people, mothers, girls, children and young men were killed by ISIS. Many Yazidi women and girls, who were abducted by ISIS, are still missing.”

‘We had not subjected to such a genocide before’

The Yazidi community has been subjected to 74 genocidal attacks throughout history but the genocide committed by ISIS against the Yazidi community was the deadliest one. “We had not subjected to such a genocide before. Before the genocide committed by ISIS, we had been subjected many genocidal attacks. During those genocidal attacks, men were killed but women were not abducted and sold. ISIS raped even five-year-old girls. Every year in August, the wounds of the Yazidis bleed again. We will never forget what we experienced.”

‘We are alive today thanks to leader Apo and the guerrillas’

On behalf of Yazidi women, Rîhan Xidir thanked Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and the guerrillas. “We are always grateful to those who gave us bread and water and stand with the Yazidi community. We will never forget them. We will always owe to leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) and the guerrillas who sacrificed their lives for the Yazidi community. They are like our children and will always have a special place in the hearts of the Yazidis. We are alive today thanks to leader Apo and the guerrillas.”

ISIS aimed to annihilate the Yazidi community by attacking women because “women are the foundation of society; they are society. Now, Yazidi women play a leading role in their society thanks to the ideology and thoughts of leader Apo. They formed their own defence forces; the YJŞ. Thousands of young Yazidi women are the fighters of the YJŞ, Shengal Women’s Units, protecting their people and homeland.”

‘Our community cannot be free without the freedom of our leader’

Rîhan Xidir also mentioned the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in the prison island of Imrali. “We condemn the isolation imposed on him. The unity of the Yazidi community will break the isolation. I have been a member of the Women’s Council for three years and we have held protests and activities against the isolation imposed on him. Our people must unite to break the isolation. We will keep struggling for the freedom of our leader. Our community cannot be free without the freedom of our leader. As the Yazidi community, we will do our best to ensure his freedom.”