Former IS captive: Calling it a genocide is not enough
Women who spoke to Al-Monitor about their experience being captured and held by the Islamic State say that genocide is not a strong enough label for the terror group's crimes.
QAMISHLI, Syria — Janet and Immanuel decided to speak about their daughter Mary, who had been captured by the Islamic State more than a year ago. They sat together holding a large photo of the entire family, whose surname they preferred to withhold.
Eyes filled with tears, Janet said in a sad voice, “This picture was taken a month before she was captured. We were attending a concert and she insisted that we take a group photo. She looked stunning that night.”
Mary’s family is from the area of Tal Shamiram, in the southwest neighborhood of Tell Tamer, in Hasaka city, where she was captured along with 234 others, including her parents, by IS militants. The abduction followed a major IS offensive on Assyrian villages at dawn on Feb. 23, 2015.
On Nov. 7, 2015, IS freed 37 Christians, including Immanuel, after nine months of detention. He told Al-Monitor that prior to his release, he “asked IS officials about my wife and Mary, but to no avail.” He contented himself with believing that they would soon be freed as well.
