MEDYA HAWAR

Shengal (Sinjar)- ISIS attacked Shengal on August 3,2014, killing and abducting and displacing thousands. Some families managed to flee while some were taken captive or killed by ISIS.

The family of Ferîde Şengal, member of the Diplomacy Committee at the Yazidi Free Women’s Movement (TAJÊ), was one of the Yazidi families taken captive by ISIS. The family living in the village of Dugur was taken captive by ISIS three times but managed to flee ISIS by using different tactics. Feride told NuJINHA what they had experienced.

Feride Şengalî first commemorated those who killed during the genocide. “First of all, I commemorate the fighters of the YJA-STAR, HPG and YPJ-YPG, who lost their lives during the genocide. They made the supreme sacrifice to rescue the Yazidi community,” she said. “They rescued thousands of Yazidis by opening a humanitarian corridor. When we went to Rojava, the YPG and YPJ fighters welcomed us.”

‘We saw that Peshmerga and ISIS were together’

Ferîde Şengalî told us how her family and she escaped from ISIS for the second time. “We were first taken captive by ISIS in the town of Rabia. We managed to escape from ISIS and went to the Shengal mountains. On the second day of the genocide, many people and we decided to return to their villages and then go to Rojava. First, three families left and then they told us that they arrived in Rojava safely. We left the mountains with 25 vehicles. On the way, we saw men in Peshmerga uniform. We thought that the Peshmerga would rescue us. Despite their betrayal, we thought that they were there to rescue us. When they blocked our way, we saw ISIS members with them. ‘If you have weapons or bullets, give us them’, they told us. We hid our weapons and did not give our weapons to them.”

 Then, ISIS members ordered them to follow them. “My mother told my brother that if he found a way that led to our freedom, he must follow that way. When my brother saw a safe way, he drove fast. ISIS members followed us. When we saw a school and jumped out of the vehicle. All we thought was not to be taken captive by ISIS. Our neighbor had a 6-month daughter. Her mother put her hand on her mouth because she was crying. ISIS members were looking for us everywhere. We saw a big house and a small house next to it. We entered the small one. I hid the children under the beds and told them to remain silent if they saw ISIS members. We were lucky because ISIS members did not enter the house. We were the only family that were not taken captive by ISIS.”

‘I will never forget’

Ferîda Şengalî told us that she would never forget two things, “the betrayal of the Peshmerga and how the guerillas rescued us. The Yazidi community should never forget these. Forgetting the genocide is a betrayal of Yazidi history.”

 Ferîda Şengalî also told us how the guerillas rescued them. “Thousands of Yazidis went to Rojava Kurdistan thanks to the humanitarian corridor opened by the guerillas. On August 7, 2014, we heard that the guerrillas were on the way to a road between the Dugur and Dohla villages and that they would rescue us. At that time, one of my brothers worked in Sulaymaniyah. He called us and told us that he supported the guerillas and they would definitely rescue us and we heard the name of the PKK for the first time.”

‘I saw Egîd Civyan’

Three days later, they heard that the guerillas arrived there but some old mothers stayed in the village. “We did not know if these mothers did not want to leave their village or their families had left them behind. Some young people went to the village and bought the mothers. We had only a vehicle for 21 people and had a long way to go. When we arrived there, we saw the guerillas for the first time. Their uniforms and weapons were different. I saw Egid Civyan there for the first time. He smiled when he saw us. He was a Yazidi from Afrin and told us that they would rescue us. Martyr Egid was the first guerrilla that I saw in my life.”

‘I was very impressed by the female guerrillas’

Ferîda Şengalî also saw six female guerrillas there. “There were female and male guerrillas. In a small house, many people gathered around the guerillas. The female guerrillas were talking with us, giving us food and water. It was the first time I saw women holding weapons. I was very impressed by the female guerrillas."