Monday, November 24, 2014

EXCLUSIVE Mothers raped, babies murdered and children orphaned: The desperate Yazidi survivors who escaped ISIS... but lost everything


Tragic: Tahsyn shows a photo of his two little boys. It is all he has left of them after they were murdered by IS
'When the Daesh (a local slang term for ISIS) came to our village, I was not there but called my family and told them to leave. It was a big shock for everybody.
'They managed to escape the village but on the way to Mount Sinjar, they met Daesh. All of them were killed.'
His eyes glistening with tears, he adds: 'My older brother, my father, my mother, my wife and even my two kids were killed. All I have left of them is just one picture on my mobile phone. 
'The Daesh are just savages. They do not respect religion or humanity. They are not humans - even animals have more pity.'
The first inkling that his formerly peaceful existence was coming to an end arrived when Mosul fell to the jihadis on June 10.
As ISIS cut a swathe through the local population, forcing Christians to flee and killing anyone who resisted, the Yazidis watched uneasily.
Gone: Nasser, from the village of Kocho near Sinjar, shows a photo of his small nephew who was killed
Gone: Nasser, from the village of Kocho near Sinjar, shows a photo of his small nephew who was killed
Grieving: Sefan, 16, is now without his father (pictured) and three brothers - all of whom were murdered
Grieving: Sefan, 16, is now without his father (pictured) and three brothers - all of whom were murdered
All that's left: This man's brother was killed by the jihadis. This photo is all he has to remember him by
All that's left: This man's brother was killed by the jihadis. This photo is all he has to remember him by
Alone: Just eight years old, Azin has been forced to fend for herself after her parents were killed by ISIS
Alone: Just eight years old, Azin has been forced to fend for herself after her parents were killed by ISIS
Their unease was justified for less than two months after the fall of Mosul, the fanatics were bearing down on their own doorsteps.
The onslaught began on the 3rd August, when ISIS fighters surrounded the Kurdish town of Sinjar, which was once home to thousands of Yazidi families.
Many ran but more still were murdered as the jihadis advanced. Some were offered the chance to convert to Islam. Women were kidnapped and raped, as were children.
Others escaped to the top of Mount Sinjar, where, surrounded by jihadi forces, they faced death by starvation and exposure or at the hands of ISIS.
It was only when the international community, spurred into action by harrowing photos of their plight, launched airstrikes and air drops of relief supplies, that they were saved.
But for many, Tahysn among them, the horrors of the ISIS advance remain fresh - and the wounds all too raw. 
Bleak: This family was forced to walk for seven days to reach Zohar. The baby was named Nojin - New Life
Bleak: This family was forced to walk for seven days to reach Zohar. The baby was named Nojin - New Life
Tough: The Yazidis living in Zohar have tents and some food but worry about what winter will bring
Tough: The Yazidis living in Zohar have tents and some food but worry about what winter will bring
Grim: The camp sits in the middle of a bleak stretch of wilderness, valuable only for what lies beneath
Grim: The camp sits in the middle of a bleak stretch of wilderness, valuable only for what lies beneath
Temptation: A flaring oil well just behind the camp hints at the financial reason for the ISIS onslaught
Temptation: A flaring oil well just behind the camp hints at the financial reason for the ISIS onslaught
Azin, an eight-year-old girl now living in a school in the town of Zohar, is another Yazidi who lost everything when the jihadis attacked.
Her parents were captured by the jihadis as they attempted to escape, while Azin herself was forced to endure a trek that lasted seven days. 
'My father and my mother are no longer with me,' she says, heartbreakingly matter-of-fact. 'They were caught by Daesh on the day we left Sinjar. I escaped on my own.'
The eight-year-old has no idea where her family might be or even if they are still alive. But she remembers the men who tore her world apart all too well.
'The men from Daesh had long beards and big weapons,' she remembers. 'I walked for seven days in the hills to escape them. I do not know if my parents are still alive.'
Others, who were forced to leave their homes so quickly that they could take nothing with them, complain that their children have been left impoverished and hungry.
Survivor: This boy is one of thousands who have fled to Zohar and Lalesh in the face of the ISIS advance
Survivor: This boy is one of thousands who have fled to Zohar and Lalesh in the face of the ISIS advance
Escape: This lady told MailOnline that she would rather die than be enslaved by ISIS
Escape: This lady told MailOnline that she would rather die than be enslaved by ISIS
Destitute: Resho was forced to leave behind all his goats - and the bodies of 45 family members
Destitute: Resho was forced to leave behind all his goats - and the bodies of 45 family members
Alone: Rezal is caring for her orphaned grandchildren
Terror: This lady saw babies being murdered
Alone: Rezal (left) has been left to care for her grandchildren while this lady (right) saw babies being killed
Others, such as grandmother Rezal, who also comes from Sinjar, have been left to bring up orphaned children and mourn others for whom the hot and dusty journey up the side of the mountain proved too much.
'When we left Sinjar, the kids suffered a lot,' says Rezal. 'They cried a lot because we needed to walk day and night.
'Many men from our village died, many women have been captured. I saw some kids dying because of the heat - it was nearly 50 degrees.
'The Daesh caught my brother and seven members of my family, including one who was 90. I do not have any news. I do not know whether any of them are still alive.'
Now living in a refugee camp in Lalesh, a village that holds special significance for the Yazidi and the location of their holiest religious site, she worries about the privations that winter might bring.
'In Lalesh, the weather is cold,' she frets. 'Winter is coming and we are in a terrible state of health and mind. 
'We do not own anything anymore, we had leave everything. We have no clothes, no furniture, no ornaments…Nothing.'
Memories: The surviving members of one family look at photos of their lost loved ones
Memories: The surviving members of one family look at photos of their lost loved ones
Brave: Many of the refugees living in the two camps are terribly traumatised children
Brave: Many of the refugees living in the two camps are terribly traumatised children
Lucky: Two of this mother's children were injured as they fled. Both have been flown to Paris for treatment
Lucky: Two of this mother's children were injured as they fled. Both have been flown to Paris for treatment
'We have left Sinjar through the hills,' adds another mother, who did not want to be named. 'We walked for seven days and seven nights. We had no food and no water. 
'The Daesh caught my two sons, my father and two of my sisters. I have no news from them and I do not know if they are even alive.
'Daesh are crazy people,' she adds. 'They even cut the throats of the babies. They want us, the Yazidis, to convert to Islam, but we refuse. 
'As long as we are not in their hands, we survive. We prefer to die instead of being their slaves.'
Although the refugees have been provided with food and tents, it is the psychological scars - particularly among the younger children - that will take longest to fix.
Like Azin, Hassan, 13, was forced to flee alone and is now living in a refugee camp. He has no idea where his parents are and says many of his friends were murdered,
Scarred: Hassan, 13, saw 100 boys from his village murdered by ISIS, among them best friend Kasi, nine
Scarred: Hassan, 13, saw 100 boys from his village murdered by ISIS, among them best friend Kasi, nine
Horrors: Like Hassan, this little girl witnessed the murder of her friends and family
Horrors: Like Hassan, this little girl witnessed the murder of her friends and family
Hiding: Many families have taken refuge in the Yazidi temple at Lalesh
Hiding: Many families have taken refuge in the Yazidi temple at Lalesh
Revenge: This little boy has vowed revenge on ISIS and wants to make them suffer as his family has
Revenge: This little boy has vowed revenge on ISIS and wants to make them suffer as his family has
'The Daesh came suddenly into my village with many men,' he recounts. 'I didn't understand what was happening and I was so scared.
'I ran but many of my friends were killed. I lost my best friend Kasi - he was nine. The Daesh killed nearly 100 kids from my village.'
'When I grow up, I will beat the Daesh,' adds another camp resident, a young boy who waves a small pistol in the air as he does so.
'I will kill them all. I will take revenge for all the Yazidi people. I want the Daesh to live through what we suffered because of them.'  


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2847098/Yazidi-survivors-tell-jihadis-killed-babies-raped-mothers-tried-escape.html#ixzz3K0vBPIEt
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