© Sputnik/ Nour Melhem
Covering her face with a handkerchief the young woman said that the terrorists made her and other women's life a living hell. Horrifying abuse such as rape, forced marriage, murder and stoning to death were a part of life under the terrorist's control.
"If a woman was going to marry a man who did not belong to a terrorist organization, she was beaten, put in a pit or prison, she could get stoned in a public square or executed by beheading."
She further said that if a person was accused of some crime, he or she was taken to top floor of a building on the square where seven-storey building is situated and was thrown off of it. If the person survived, then he or she was thrown off again until they died.
"We could not live like ordinary people living a normal life. Women were not allowed to work in order to feed their families, there was a complete ban on that," the woman told Sputnik Arabic.
Further talking about the terrors that women faced at the hands of the terrorists, the woman said that if some militant wanted a girl he would arrange for a Muslim wedding, called nikkah. After that he could do whatever he liked with his new bride.
Quite often just after a couple of hours the militant would leave the girl or kick her out. "Two of my friends were affected like that. With one friend the terrorist spent just half an hour, then he kicked her out and she became pregnant. A child was born, whose father is some kind of a militant. Everyone knows where the child came from, but she cannot work to feed the child so how can she live then?" she said.
Coming back to her own story, the woman said that she and her mother were put in a pit for no reason.
"We were living, working, eating and were thrown into custody. There is no law amongst the militants. We were intimidated. A car full of militants would drive in the streets and one of them would be holding a woman's head by her hair. They would do that to intimidate people."
Talking about the horrors she had to endure in her personal life, the woman said, "My husband was killed, he was shot in the head. His body was taken to Turkey where they pulled out all of his organs and returned the body to me. It lay rolled up in a bag because there was nothing left to it. The body was sewn up like a sack."
She further said that the militants took her son as they said he belonged to them and not to the mother. The last time she saw her own son was two years ago. Her sister's son was also taken.
"They have no heart, no compassion for women. They refused to treat us medically. A gas tank exploded in my house and I was burnt. I went to the doctor and he said he could not examine me, it is a sin. How is it a sin? God created humans what is shameful about that?"
The woman spoke about her injuries during the gas explosion and how her burns were left untreated. "Look at my hands and my whole body is covered in burns because they were healing without treatment. My hands look like this because of terrorism. I'm 21, I hope to live and raise a family but I am so disfigured. Sorry, I have no words," concluded the woman.
Widow of Aleppo: Terrorism Deprived My Four Children of Their Father
© Sputnik/ Nour Melhem
"A group of armed men broke into our house and arrested my husband. There was no formal or informal charges, they just said, 'Woman, we need your husband.' He worked in the local municipality and the terrorists wanted to get inside information from him," she said.
"He was arrested and after two days we were called to the square where right in front of our eyes he was shot," Um said recalling the terrible ordeal.
Later on, some people helped Um and her children escape the quarter unharmed. "We left our home with empty hands. The kind people over here gave us this ruined house and a few blankets," she told Sputnik Arabic.
According to Um people have suffered greatly from terrorism. "These militants have no heart, no feelings. They are only interested in killing and destruction. They only see the muzzle of their gun and not the person."
Talking about the rules that the militants introduced in the city, Um said that they started a monopoly on food as they went robbing people's homes.
She further said that children were forbidden from going to school as the militants saw no sense in that and the program in public schools was contrary to their [militants] beliefs.
"Terrorism deprived my children of their father. The eldest son of Um who is not yet 13, worked as a tailor in the Sulaiman neighborhood in order to earn something to help the starving family," the woman said.
Nowadays, Um is trying to provide love and affection for her children which they were deprived of by the war. "They are in no way at fault but they had to live during a terrible time."
At the present, the woman stands on the terrace of her home surrounded by ruins and rubble. She said that in this district there are a few families that live in the quarter and everybody is trying to take in friends or relatives who have become refugees.
"When we go to bed, there is no free space on the floor. Everyone shares everything and helps each other out. It is difficult. There is no water, no electricity and there is a lack of basic necessities," she said.
Um further added that in the winter it is cold inside her house and in the summer it is equally hot. "However, here we have found salvation from death. We hope that the war will end and life will improve," the woman said.
Reader Comments
.
[Link]