Zehra Doğan/JINHA

DUHOK - Today marks the third anniversary of the Daesh attack on the city of Shengal, in which around 7,000 women and children were taken captive. With no resources or support, the survivors of the massacre have little in their hands to find their relatives.

On August 3, 2014, Daesh launched an attack on the city of Shengal, Iraq, inhabited by the Êzidî people. The gang slayed thousands of Êzidîs and captured thousands more to sell as "slaves." 7,000 women and children were estimated to have been taken captive that day.

In the wake of the early-morning massacre, the 450,000-strong district of Shengal was left with a population of just 10,000, now living in the Shengal Mountains. This settlement was JINHA's destination on the first anniversary of the massacre. However, in the Federal Kurdistan Region city of Duhok, officials from the ruling KDP found every excuse to deny our reporter a "visa" to visit the nearby city of Shengal, despite the fact that both are in the Federal Kurdistan Region. In place of visiting Shengal, we spent the day with the Êzidîs who have taken refuge in the city of Duhok.

There is almost no international action one year after the genocide. As a result, exactly where the 450,000 Êzidîs of Shengal are today is unknown. We do know that around 10,000 remained in the Shengal area and thousands were killed. Some of the survivors have migrated to Europe. Others fled to cities in various parts of Kurdistan (including Diyarbakır, Mardin, Urfa, Batman and Cizre). They are thus scattered across the international borders that divide the Kurdistan region. As for the Federal Kurdistan Region, Êzidîs have primarily relocated to the city of Duhok. They also live in the cities and towns of Kabartuê, Xanêk, Şalya, Çesmişko, Baadrê and Kayda.

Of the Êzidîs in Daesh hands, initially around 8,000 Êzidîs were captured, 7,000 of them women and children. About 5,000 captives remain in Daesh hands. Among Êzidîs, the main target of their blame for the continuing captivity of their loved ones is the KDP, the party that rules the Federal Kurdistan Region.

The Region's Parliament has formed a committee to work on the topic of the captive women, a committee currently receiving funding from Europe. Êzidî families in Duhok related that there was originally a KDP initiative to provide a monthly 30,000 dinar stipend to women, but the project never went into action. They say that the committee has taken no action for their loved ones.

Êzidîs in Duhok also relate that suicide is widespread among women in the city who have escaped from Daesh. Women return to find that after their long struggle to free themselves, their own families reject them. Three days before we arrived, a 17-year-old girl shot herself in the head, her older brother told JINHA. She had been torn about being unable to rescue her younger siblings. Just before this,an Êzidî woman here who escaped Daesh had killed herself by self-immolation.

Êzidî society is particularly traditional and women have experienced no small difficulty overcoming their trauma. There is no rehabilitation center available for these women in Duhok or anywhere else in the region. However, an Êzidî doctor in the Federal Kurdistan Region works on a project in which Êzidî women are sent in groups of 50-100 to Germany. The rehabilitation project is required to serve 1,000 people by December, with plans for a broader scope project in the new year. So far, 800 women have been treated as part of this project. Germany grants citizenship rights to around 1,000 Êzidî women every year.

In the Êzidî family home in Duhok where we spent the night, the long night on the eve of the massacre's anniversary demonstrated how little of the trauma has passed. The family was unable to sleep that night, even the smallest children. Everyone in the household, even the family's youngest (a five-year-old child), has a smartphone.

"In this house, everyone absolutely has the latest model phone in their hand," explained A.D., among the heads of the household. Despite his advancing age, A.D. bought a phone soon after the massacre. "We all follow Daesh closely. This is the only way we can know if our relatives are alive or dead."

A.D. pulled out his own phone to show us the posts on the Facebook account of his neighbor--who has now joined Daesh.

"Look, this man was our neighbor; now he has Êzidî women, too. Look, this one worked with us; he ate our bread, and not just a little," A.D. said. "And these are the kids of my friend, Abu Kadir. On the first anniversary of the massacre, they're sharing photos of my relatives being sold in the bazaars, without any shame.

"God will never forgive them," said A.D.

(fk/cm)