Resistance and the scars of massacre in Shengal's peaks
Rojda Serhat-Rosida Ranye/JINHA
SHENGAL - "There is no one left in Shengal who hasn't lost someone from their family." This is how Şirin Salih, a survivor of Daesh's massacre, recalls what happened to her people one year ago.
On August 3, 2014, Daesh forces attacked the city of Shengal, a maincityof the Êzidî people, located in the Federal Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Daesh massacred residents and kidnapped thousands of women and children to sell as "slaves."
Now, thousands of these residents have returned to camp in the mountain peaks above the city. While some of the women here have joined the armed resistance, others are struggling to keep their families alive, refusing to abandon their home. We spoke with Şirin Salih, a survivor who has been living in the mountains since the day of the massacre, about her experience over the past year.
"Mesut Barzani sold the Êzidîs of Shengal," said Şirin. She was angry about the Federal Kurdistan Region leader's remarks against Kurdish guerrillas. Guerrillas have taken an active role in the struggle to liberate Shengal after Federal Kurdistan Region forces abandoned the region.
Şirin called for the massacre never to be forgotten and for there to be a struggle to find a place for these war crimes in the collective consciousness. She described watching children and young people dying from thirst as they fled the city.
"We would wet their lips, but it didn't work. Old, young, we all saw death in all its faces," said Şirin. An even worse fate was waiting for those who fell into Daesh hands as captives. 30 young women from Shengal threw themselves from a cliff to avoid falling into Daesh hands, where they would be raped and traded as "slaves."
Şirin also called for the Êzidîs who have fled Shengal to return.
"Êzidîs need to resist on their own land," said Şirin. "Our slogan needs to be either freedom, or freedom. We need to sacrifice ourselves for our own land, our own religion."
Şirin said that the guerrilla present on Mt. Shengal have supported the local population in every way, helping them survive the winter, organizing classes for children and providing weapons training so that Êzidîs could defend themselves.
"There have been serious developments," said Şirin. "There have been serious developments for Shengal women; for us, this is something sacred."
(rb/zd/cm)