ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Yazidi man, previously held by the Islamic State (ISIS), was reunited with his family on Sunday after being found in Syria - thanks to successful efforts by the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Rawand N.H. is one of the thousands of Yazidis who were abducted by ISIS in their hometown of Shingal in northern Iraq more than a decade ago. He was freed in Syria nearly two weeks ago and was reunited with family in Duhok province on Sunday.
"I have never felt this much joy in my life," he told Rudaw on Sunday, expressing his happiness at being reunited with his family.
He added that he spent most of his 11 years in Syria’s Raqqa and the vicinity of the city.
Rawad is unable to speak in his mother tongue, Kurdish, anymore. He spoke in Arabic in Duhok.
His uncle, Haji Hame, thanked Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani for reuniting Rawand with his family.
“We had registered all eight members of the family as martyrs. Thankfully, this one emerged alive,” he told Rudaw after receiving his nephew in Duhok’s Batifa.
The uncle also noted that the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency, informed him a month ago that they had found his nephew.
“He will live with me because he has no one else left alive,” said Rawand’s uncle.
Hame also said that 77 members of Rawand’s extended family were abducted by ISIS when the group attacked Shingal in 2014, adding that 39 remain unaccounted for.
During its assault on Shingal, ISIS abducted 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Although the group was territorially defeated in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019, it continues to pose a security threat in the region.
As of now, nearly 2,600 Yazidis remain missing, according to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis.
