Xanasor People’s Assembly member Nûrê Şengal speaks on the 6th anniversary of Shengal liberation

There were two resistance forces in Shengal during the war waged against ISIS mercenaries between 2014 and 2015. HPG, YJA Star guerrillas and YJŞ-YBŞ fighters became the first force fighting to defend the existence of the Yazidi community. The second force on the battlefield was made up by the mothers of Shengal who supported the fighters. Nûrê Şengal is one of those mothers.

Nûre Şengal, a member of the Xanasor People’s Assembly, who fought shoulder to shoulder with the guerrillas, told ANF about what happened in those days.

Nûre Şengal, from the village of Xanasor, said that during the ISIS mercenaries attack in 2014, everyone was trying to go to South Kurdistan to avoid falling into the hands of ISIS, “We were in our gardens in Rabia when the ISIS attack started. We heard gunfire in the early morning hours. We took the children and, together with several families, we went to South Kurdistan. We walked for about a day. We stayed in camps in the South. My husband couldn’t stay anywhere else but in Shengal. So he returned to Shengal and fought with the guerrillas. I returned to Shengal with the children as soon as the road was cleared. Our lands are much better than foreign lands no matter what.”

‘A tent in my own land was like a castle for me’

Shengal continued: “When we returned, the war was still going on. So we went to the foothills. The guerrillas built a tent for us. At that moment, I was very relieved. Since I was on my own land, the tent was like a castle for me. ISIS still existed in some villages at that time. The guerrillas helped us a lot. After getting to know them, we knew the right way. This is how we met Rêber Apo’s [Abdullah Öcalan] ideas.”

‘Guerrillas taught us to be strong’

Towards the end of 2015, ISIS gangs were defeated by HPG and YJA Star forces.

Nûrê Shengal, who witnessed the liberation of Şengal, described her feelings about those days: “On the one hand, the guerrillas were fighting, and on the other hand, we were preparing food for them. Mothers were gathering, cooking in big pots over the fire and sending the food to the guerrilla posts. The war was very difficult, but when we were near our fighters, our morale was good and I remember those moments as a very precious time. We were very happy, because we knew freedom was not far. There were moments when we were tired, but when we saw our fighters, there was no trace of that tiredness. These fighters gave their lives for us, shed their blood, and we said we’ll do whatever we can do for them.”

Shengal added: “We used to be very afraid, but thanks to the guerrillas, we overcame our fear. They taught us to be strong. As mothers, we made a decision at that time. We will resist, if necessary, we will get weapons and defend ourselves. The guerrillas encouraged us. My daughter also joined YJŞ at that time. Many people told me that my daughter was small, but I said, let her learn to protect herself so that she will not experience another genocide when she grows up and can defend herself. We were in the mountains when Shengal was liberated. The guerrillas came and informed us that Shengal had been liberated. We were very happy, we organized a special event.”

‘Shengal will be nicer if all Yazidis return to their land’

At the end of her speech, Nûrê Şengal called on the Yazidi people outside Shengal to return to their lands and said: “Shengal is nicer than before. After our lands were liberated, the Autonomous Administration was established. We built our assemblies and institutions. I also took my place in the work of the Assembly. Shengal would be even nicer if all Yazidis returned to their lands.”