When I read about a Yazidi woman in Gaza
Fawzia Amin Sido. Until last week, that name meant nothing to me.
Fawzia is a 21 year old Yazidi woman who was taken from her home in Iraq in 2014 by Islamic State, the year that their terrifying power was expanding in the Middle East. After being kidnapped, she was brought to Syria, where she was sold to a Palestinian Daesh supporter. She was forced to bear his children and kept hostage by his family. Why his family? Because he had returned to Syria and was apparently killed in an attack. But where was she? She was held captive by his family in Gaza. After ten years, she was reunited in Iraq with her family. How did she return to Iraq, you might ask? Well, she was rescued by the IDF.
This story stunned me. A Yazidi woman had been separated from her family for ten years and ended up in Gaza in 2020, forced to bear her owner’s children. Held as a sex slave for numerous years and then kept hostage by her owner’s family. One can only imagine the horrors she must have endured. Of course, the article explained that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry released a statement about Fawzia’s return to her family, without mentioning Israel or Gaza at all. This came as no surprise, Iraq’s attitude towards Israel cannot be considered friendly. Just two years ago, it adopted an infamous law, making contact with Israel punishable by death. As a descendant of Iraqi Jews on my father’s side, this act was just the latest in a long line of insults and grievances. But I digress.
Her story brought back memories from 2014. It was early August and I was sitting at London Heathrow, waiting for my flight back to the Netherlands. At the gate, I was watching a flatscreen TV. It was a BBC broadcast showing Mount Sinjar. Yazidis were trapped on this mountain, as they were being surrounded by Daesh terrorists. It was a horrible sight. The people on the mountain were cut off, food and water were scarce, and they were at risk of succumbing to dehydration among other dangers. Eventually Kurdish Peshmerga would break the encirclement, aided by US airstrikes. The bravery of Kurdish fighters is often forgotten and even more so by the Western states who benefited from their help in fighting Daesh. Today, they are struggling against hostile forces and, sadly, they should expect no help from their former allies.
As I was thinking about her story, more details came out. How she had contacted Kan’s Roi Kais, how Hamas had constantly harassed her while in Gaza, considering her suspicious because of her Yazidi background and contact with her family. And how Steve Maman, the Canadian-Moroccan businessman who was involved in the rescue of more than 100 Yazidi girls from Daesh, played an essential role in Fawzia’s return to her family. In addition, her story shows that Hamas had no issue with her owner, a known Daesh supporter, living in Gaza. I keep referring to him as her owner, because that was the nature of their relationship. He had bought her, she was his property. He forced her to bear his children, there was nothing consensual about this union. Then, after his death she became her owner’s family’s hostage – they could have released her. Again, Hamas has always denied any similarities between them and Daesh. However, Fawzia’s story at least seems to show that Hamas was more worried about a Yazidi woman in their midst, instead of a Gazan family of a Daesh supporter keeping her hostage. Curious.
Her story reminded me of something else as well: how many Yazidi women and girls have been trafficked by Daesh and what their fates might be. If Fawzia has lived in Gaza for the past ten years, how many more Yazidi women are living in captivity somewhere on this planet today? Will they ever be able to see their families again? How many media outlets are devoting attention to this issue, ten years later? Fawzia’s case was news in Israel and abroad, but what of the other Yazidis of whom we are unaware?
Fawzia’s story reminded me of the abduction of the Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram in 2014, too. To this day, the fates of 82 of the 276 schoolgirls remain unknown, while just 100 have regained their freedom. These figures were publicized in April of this year, but their fates have mostly faded into the background. Of course, memories of Yazidis and Nigerian schoolgirls make me think of the fates of 101 hostages in Gaza as well. Families who to this day are waiting for their loved ones to be released, as we have passed the anniversary of October 7 already. They have spent more than a year in captivity and we can only imagine what they have experienced and continue to endure.
Fawzia’s nightmare has finally ended, she has been reunited with her family. Through her story, we are reminded of the plight and tragedy of trafficked Yazidi women and girls, something which has long since faded into the background. Cursory references to the Nigerian schoolgirls remind us of their ordeal as well. However, they too, have faded into the background. Will the same happen to the hostages in Gaza? Granted, Israeli media keep their stories alive and provide their families a platform to stress the need for them to come home. But a year has already passed and they are still in Gaza. How much longer will they be there? Will they eventually fade into the background, too?
October 7 has come and gone, and those taken on that horrible day are still in Gaza. Moreover, I am reminded of Hisham al Sayed, who has been in Gaza for nine years. And I think of Avera Mengistu, who has spent ten years in Gaza, as much as Fawzia. Finally, I think of the families of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who after ten years are still waiting to bury the remains of their loved ones. Ten years is more than enough. They all need to come home.