Syrian Women Recount Stories of Their Kidnapping by ISIS Terrorists

“The holy blood of the Syrian Arab Army’s martyrs won’t go in vain. Every drop of my husband’s blood when he was slaughtered savagely by ISIS terrorists in the northern countryside of Lattakia province because he was one of the Syrian  Army personnel is a source of pride, hope, strength and steadfastness,” Mrs. Hasna Issa said in a statement to the Syriatimes e-newspaper on the sidelines of an event held by “Assawari” Civil Society Association in Lattakia province  marking  International Women’s Day ( IWD)  and Mother’s Day.

She underlined  that  the worst and most brutal massacres were carried out by terrorists in the northern countryside of Lattakia.

 “I will not forget that day when I and my three little children witnessed the slaughtering of my husband. When my five-year old son saw his father lying on the ground  covered with his blood, he threw stones at the terrorists, who then tied the child to a tree and started torturing him by burning his body with a hot iron rod,” Mrs. Issa added with her eyes full of tears and sadness.

 She went on to say “My children and I spent four years as hostages of the ISIS terrorists. We witnessed unspeakable violence of physical and mental suffering.”

“During those long days of detention we were close to death every minute as we were  cruelly  tortured  but I felt the prayers of the whole world fortified my inner peace and strength” Mrs. Issa made it clear.

A bright smile lit up her face when she said “I believe that the merciful God always finds a way to help everyone and we were liberated thanks to the hero Syrian Arab Army.”

Mrs. Issa described her imprisonment as an extraordinary experience  that  provided  her with more strength and determination to stay steadfast and overcome all the difficult circumstances like other distinguished Syrian women.

On her part, Mrs. Reema Khalil, and elderly lady in her eighties, told Syriatimes that “when ISIS terrorists stormed our village in the countryside of Lattakia, they destroyed our houses, burnt our lands, kidnapped a lot of families and slaughtered a number of innocent citizens.”

“One of my sons was martyred in Aleppo and the other was martyred by an explosive bomb that targeted his home in the village. His wife and his two children, Haidar and Hala, were kidnapped by the terrorists,” Mrs. Khalil said .

She added that after two years of kidnapping, her grandson Haider was released by the Syrian Arab Army, but no information has surfaced about his kidnapped mother.

The grandma added that her granddaughter Hala was sent by the terrorists to Turkey for organ trafficking, but a faithful Syrian lady managed to bring Hala back to Syria.

“Hala returned to live with me and her brother Haider, but unfortunately  she has got an injury by a gunshot in her lower jaw and now she finds difficulty in talking”, Mrs . Khalil said .

The patient grandma, who is alone looking after Hala and Haider, said the children miss their mother and hope to see her again.

 Syrian Women’s unbreakable will

In turn , Head of “ Assawari” Civil Society Association Mrs. Afnan Blal asserted that the Syrian women have sacrificed much during the Syrian crisis as many of them have lost their loved ones including parents, husbands, brothers and children as martyrs because of terrorism, yet the Syrian women never stopped to play their role in defending their homeland and supporting the army in its battle against terrorism.

Mrs. Blal confirmed that the association is a support initiative that seeks alleviating women’s suffering from the crisis and providing assistance to affected women who fled the crimes of terrorist groups in several provinces.

She highlighted the fact that Mrs. Asama Al-Assad, Syria’s First Lady,  is the role model for all Syrian women as she is the symbol of steadfastness, strength, hope and determination.

Interviewed by : Rawaa Ghanam

Photos by :  Rawaa Ghanam