In August 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS) invaded regions near Mount Sinjar in Iraq, the Daesh fighters killed and abducted thousands of local Yazidi people many of them women and children who they sold openly at slave markets.
They slaughtered males of fighting age and abducted Yazidi women and little children to be sold as slaves. They separated families and took young Yazidi girls for their own sexual gratification, the young boys were forced to become their trainees. The captives have had no one to count on for help but their families, who might be blackmailed for thousands of dollars in ransom. Most of the time, however, surviving relatives never even know if their abducted loved ones are alive or where they’re kept.
Some of Yazidi women who had been enslaved managed to escape or were returned by their families. They tell harrowing stories of atrocities committed by ISIS that they had to witness. Despite being safe now, they are still severely affected by their time in captivity. Most have lost family members and rebuilding their lives in this new reality is incredibly hard for them.