A decade on from being freed, a Yazidi woman tells how she endured being abducted by militants when she was aged nine
M
y childhood living in a village in northern Iraq near the city of Mosul was rich in happiness despite the lack of resources. I was fond of my school and friends and enjoyed a warm family life filled with laughter. That all vanished when Islamic State forces invaded our area.
When we heard of their approach [IS took control of large areas of northern Iraq and its second biggest city, Mosul, in 2014], we tried to escape but were surrounded by five IS vehicles. The men were separated and they took my father and one of my cousins and shot them in front of us.
At the time, aged nine, I was far too young to witness such a scene. I vividly remember crying bitterly out of fear, feeling as though this wasn’t reality but a dream. Even now, I cannot rid myself of the shock and the sound of bullets as my father and cousin were killed. We have never found their bodies.
