On June 29, 2014, the terrorist organization IS (Islamic State)—formerly known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria)—proclaimed the birth of a caliphate in the occupied territories of Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State was defeated in the Battle of Mosul, Iraq (2016-2017).
The interviews, conducted in May 2019, share the stories of Syrian women who lived under the ISIS caliphate and now live in Gaziantep, Turkey.
Interview 5: woman
“I saw the worst part of the war. I lived under the ISIS dictatorship, and they tortured me—psychologically, I mean. They killed my nephew by cutting off his head. They killed him because he didn’t go to pray. They cut off his head in front of me, my daughter, and other children. I haven’t seen my daughter since it happened. I don’t know anything about her anymore. I don’t know if she’s alive or dead. My 11-year-old son, too. I have no idea where he is. They kidnapped him, and I haven’t seen him since. Five years have already passed… oh, my dear, what do you want me to tell you?”
“My heart is filled with fire and boils every minute that passes.”
Interview 6: woman, 52 years old
“I arrived in Turkey six years ago, and, thank God, nothing bad happened to my family. I have five children; four are married, and one of them lives in Syria with his wife and daughter. He’s a mechanic, and they live far from the war, but we are very worried about them because you never know if something will happen. But what happened to my brother and sister… ISIS took my brother, and we still don’t know if he is alive or not. His wife and daughter were taken prisoner and turned into sex slaves. My brother also had an 18-year-old son. He was tortured by ISIS for two months, and then they shot him in the back of the head. The bullet came out of his forehead. They left his body in front of the house, throwing it by the door as if it were an object. I saw my nephew’s corpse in my brother’s living room. My sister has a 22-year-old son. He was also kidnapped by ISIS, and we haven’t heard from him since. My sister is suffering so much. She spends her days crying. She’s like she’s gone crazy, and how could she not be?”