Far from home, women bear the scars of war
Helin Yıldırım-Dicle Orak/JINHA
AMED - The world witnessed the suffering of the Êzidîs one year ago in the photographs of women fleeing the city of Shengal with their babies tied to their back. Êzidî women who have escaped to refugee camps say they will never forget what they experienced.
It has been one year since Daesh assaulted the Êzidî city of Shengal, but there has still been not a single comprehensive project designed to help massacre survivors recover.There are thousands of Êzidîsnow living in Turkey, who fled here after their city was attacked.
Refugees from the massacre crossed the desert mountains for days in bare feet, with no water or food. After the Turkish government initially refused them entry at the border, the government then allowed a limited number of spaces in tent camps for them. This was when local municipal governments affiliated with the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) opened alternative camps for the Êzidîs. The city governments of Silopi, Şırnak, Batman, Viranşehir, Cizre and Diyarbakır nowrun such tent cities.
The largest of these camps is located just outside the city of Diyarbakır, in what was the municipality's sapling plantation. More than 3,000 Êzidîs live in the camp, trying to recover from the scars of war.Women and children experienced some of the worst trauma in the massacre.
17-year-old Senem Mendo noted that the main goal of the assault was to capture women and children.
"The attack on Shengal started in the early morning. We were really unprepared for everything; we had no weapons and we couldn't resist them. They killed our relatives in front of our eyes," said Senem.
As Senem and her family fled into the Shengal mountains, they were reached by guerrillas from the groups HPG, YPG and YPJ, who caught up to them and delivered food and water. The guerrillas opened a security corridor to evacuate the Êzidîs from the besieged mountains. While thousands decided to stay in the mountains, others--like Senem--continued their journey. The family first came to the province of Şırnak and then to Diyarbakır.
Zeynep Has lives in the Diyarbakır camp. Her sister and three of her nieces and nephews are still in Daesh's hands.
"We stayed in the Shengal Mountains for a week. We were thirsty; we didn't have a crumb of bread to give our children," said Zeynep. Her family walked to the border with Syria, then came to Diyarbakır. She said that if it was not for the massacre, she would never have abandoned Shengal or have plans to go to Europe. "With the start of this war, Shengal doesn't seem like a beautiful city anymore. The [Daesh] gangs polluted our land."
Leyla Çuk has three children. Her husband is still in Iraq and her family is still in Shengal. She says that if she didn't have children to look after, she would be fighting in the war.
"No one asks about us. The Êzidîs have been abandoned," said Leyla. "Our children are in a miserable state in these tents. We're humans like everyone else, but because we're Êzidî, they don't treat us the same as humans." Leyla said that the Êzidîs were now, as a people, ill.
(zd/fk/cm)