Al Nassr secures 5-1 victory over Al Ain to edge closer to knockout stage    Saudi Deputy FM meets Lt. Gen. Al-Burhan of Sudan    Al-Khateeb: Saudi Arabia is the largest global investor in tourism sector "Saudi Land" pavilion inaugurated at World Travel Market in London    Saudi Crown Prince, Japanese PM discuss over phone efforts made to achieve peace in the region    Saudi Arabia, in its drive to enrich Arab culture, launches Arab Week at UNESCO in Paris    Neymar exits Al Hilal match with muscle injury, leaving fans disappointed    AlHisn Big Time Studios unveiled to transform film and TV production in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia approves cooperation agreement with US for the use of outer space for peaceful purposes    Quality of Life Program CEO highlights Saudi urban transformations at UN-Habitat conference in Cairo    Almarai wins 'Best Corporate Sukuk' at Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards    Top climber falls to death after rare Himalayan feat    US voters flying home in time for election    Drones and snipers on standby to protect Arizona vote-counters    India's Modi condemns violence after Canada temple incident    Elon Musk can keep giving $1m to voters, judge rules    Mitrovic's hat-trick leads Al Hilal to 3-0 victory over Esteghlal    Al Ahli extends perfect start with 5-1 victory over Al Shorta    Quincy Jones, titan of US music, dies aged 91    Hidden sugars in Asia's baby food spark concerns    HONOR unveils pre-order of the stunning HONOR MagicBook Art 14 Featuring an ultra-slim design, HONOR Eye Comfort Display and AI Cross-OS WorkStation    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



For Yazidi survivors of Daesh killings, the nightmares go on
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 02 - 2019

SINJAR, Iraq — Ever since Daesh (the so-called IS) visited death and destruction on their villages in northern Iraq nearly five years ago, Yazidis Daoud Ibrahim and Kocher Hassan have had trouble sleeping.
For Hassan, 39, who was captured, it is her three missing children, and three years of imprisonment at the hands of the militant group.
For Ibrahim, 42, who escaped, it is the mass grave that he returned to find on his ravaged land.
"They burnt one house down, blew up the other, they torched the olive trees two three times...There is nothing left," the father of eight told Reuters.
More than 3,000 other members of their minority sect were killed in 2014 in an onslaught that the United Nations described as genocidal.
Ibrahim and Hassan lived to tell of their suffering, but like other survivors, they have not moved on.
She will never set foot in her village of Rambousi again. "My sons built that house. I can't go back without them...Their school books are still there, their clothes," she said.
As US President Donald Trump prepares to announce the demise of the Islamist group in Syria and Iraq, UN data suggests many of those it displaced in the latter country have, like Hassan, not returned home.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim and his family live in a barn next to the pile of rubble that was once their home. He grows wheat because the olive trees will need years to grow again. No one is helping him rebuild, so he is doing it himself, brick by brick.
"Life is bad. There is no aid," he said sitting on the edge of the collapsed roof which he frequently rummages under to find lost belongings. On this day, it was scarves, baby clothes and a photo album.
"Every day that I see this mass grave I get ten more grey hairs," he said.
The grave, discovered in 2015 just outside nearby Sinjar city, contains the remains of more than 70 elderly women from the village of Kocho, residents say.
"I hear the cries of their spirits at the end of the night. They want to be buried, but the government won't remove their remains." They and their kin also want justice, Ibrahim adds.
When the militants came, thousands of Yazidis fled on foot towards Sinjar mountain. More than four years later
, some 2,500 families — including Hassan and five of her daughters — still live in the tents that are scattered along the hills that weave their way toward the summit.
The grass is green on the meadows where children run after sheep and the women pick wild herbs.
But the peaceful setting masks deep-seated fears about the past and the future.
Grateful for the sun
Until a year and a half ago, Hassan and five of her children were kept in an underground prison in Raqqa with little food and in constant fear of torture.
She doesn't know why Daesh freed her and the girls, then aged one to six, and hasn't learnt the fate of the three remaining children: two boys Fares and Firas, who would be 23 and 19 now, and Aveen, a girl who would be 13.
There is no electricity or running water in the camp where they live today. She doesn't remember when her children last ate fruit.
"Life here is very difficult but I thank God that we are able to see the sun," she said.
During the day, her children go to school and are happy, but at night "they are afraid of their own shadow", and she herself has nightmares.
"Last night, I dreamt they were slaughtering my child," she said.
Mahmoud Khalaf, her husband, says Daesh not only destroyed their livelihoods. The group broke the trust between Yazidis and the communities of different faiths and ethnicities they had long lived alongside.
"There is no protection. Those who killed us and held us captive and tormented us have returned to their villages," Khalaf, 40, said referring to the neighboring Sunni Arab villages who the Yazidis say conspired with the militants.
"We have no choice but to stay here...They are stronger than us." — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.