SÎBÎLIYA EL-ÎBRAHÎM

Manbij- Years have passed since ISIS abducted and killed thousands of people. Even if years have passed, thousands of Syrian families have waited for the return of their children, spouses, or grandchildren. They don’t know whether they are alive or not. Committee of Prisoners' Families has tried to find thousands of people abducted by ISIS and it has found 220 people until now.

She has waited for the return of her husband for 7 years

50-year-old Sabîha Mihemed is a mother of nine. Her husband Ramazan Xasman Ehmedê (now 63 years old) was detained by ISIS in 2014. She never forgets that day, in her words “The end of the world”. Her husband, brothers, and all men in her neighborhood were detained by ISIS on the same day. After being kept in custody and subjected to torture for 50 days by ISIS, all detained people were released but not her husband. ISIS also confiscated her assets.

“I want to learn if he is alive or not”

Seven years have passed since her husband was “detained”, “All I want is to find out if my husband is still alive or not. When Manbij Military Council launched the liberation operation in Manbij in 2016, I began to hope that we could find my husband. We returned to the city after Manbij was liberated from ISIS. I have been waiting for his return since then. The city was liberated, ISIS left but our wounds are still unhealed,” Sabîha Mihemed told NuJINHA.

“Our voices should be heard”

Sabîha Mihemed still remembers everything after the liberation of Manbij. “Turkey openly supported ISIS in the region, it was unhappy when the council cleansed ISIS from Manbij. It began to carry out its worst attacks after ISIS was cleansed. We don’t want to be poisoned for the second time. Everyone should understand that the entry of Turkey into our regions is a great danger for us. Our voices should be heard all around the world. We lost our relatives, we still receive no news from our loved ones and we don’t want other families to suffer from the same things anymore.”

“My son was detained for opposing looting”

56-year-old Fatima Narî is the mother of Yaser Şükrü, who was abducted by ISIS in 2014. “My son was detained for opposing looting in the city,” Fatima Narî said, “The city was controlled by ISIS members. We lived in a village of Kobanî and we heard about the practices of ISIS in Manbij, when ISIS attacked Kobanî, I went to Turkey. Before ISIS members entered Manbij, I told my son to leave the city. But he was detained. My oldest daughter was seven years old while my youngest child was only eight months old.”

“I will never forget what I saw”

Fatima Narî returned to Manbij after it was liberated to find out her detained son and relatives. “I will never forget what I saw,” said Fatima Narî, who has been looking for her son and relatives. “Turkey supported ISIS in front of the whole world. Turkey wanted to control the region by supporting ISIS. Turkey has used other armed groups to control the city now. We don’t want to be controlled by ISIS and Turkey and we want our children back.”

Families want to know what happened to their loved ones

Thousands of people were abducted by ISIS in 2014. Families of abducted people believe that their loved ones are still held in custody by ISIS. The families met with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to find their loved ones. The SDF reportedly wrote a letter to the United Nations about the people detained by ISIS but it hasn’t sent a response yet. Seven years have passed since thousands of people were “detained” by ISIS in Manbij.