The picture shows a girl from Iraq - not Jalila.
Let me tell you about Jalila. She is a 12-year-old Yazidi girl from Sinjar. When ISIS forces took her village in the summer of 2014, her family tried to hide, but a Sunni Arab neighbor who knew them cooperated with the ISIS fighters and revealed where they were.
Jalila, the youngest, her two older sisters and her brother's young wife were separated from the rest of the family and transported by ISIS to Tel Afar, and then to Mosul. After 35 days of captivity together, the three sisters were sold to various IS fighters as sex slaves.
In tears, Jalila was separated from her sisters and taken to a house in Syria where many other young kidnapped Yazidi girls were imprisoned. An ISIS Salafist wearing a long white suit and with a long beard told them that they would now have the honor of becoming the young wives of ISIS fighters and bear their children and have the privilege of being inducted into the honorable Islam.
Every day they were ordered to line up and then the IS fighters came and inspected them, asking them to remove their veils and let their hair down. Then the IS fighters chose the girls they wanted to sleep with.
Those who refused were beaten until they surrendered. Jalila was chosen by Basil, an older man with a long beard, and when she refused to go with him, he beat her. She cried and asked him: "What do you want from me? I am a very young girl. Let me get back to my mom, please.“
But he didn't listen and she was forced to go with him - three days of rape. It was terrible for the little girl, and afterwards she was passed on to seven other IS fighters. The first four paid for her and the next three were given her as a "gift". Some of them were very brutal and it was very painful and humiliating. As the days passed, she became more hardened.
After more than nine months, she managed to escape. She walked at night and hid during the day to avoid being found until she reached northern Iraq. Now she lives in one of the smaller refugee camps near Dohuk and receives help in our project.
Jalila told her story to a local project worker. I am very moved when I hear her story. One is disgusted by the cruelty inflicted on these girls. But at the same time, we must rejoice that local Christian women care for these traumatized girls and help them.
These local Christian women are trained in pastoral care and reach out to the girls and help them. Jalila and many other girls are now receiving trauma treatment and food. I am very grateful that we can help these young girls find hope and joy in their lives.
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Let me also tell you about Delara. She is 20 years old and she and her two sisters, aged 25 and 16, were kidnapped by ISIS and taken to a place where 60 other girls aged 8 to 30 were held captive. Every night at nine o'clock the IS fighters would come and choose their 'bride' for the night. Delara tells us: "We were all very scared. I saw many times IS fighters behead girls if they refused to go with them, and others, who was beaten to a pulp. Some of my friends tried to commit suicide in the toiletsbecause they couldn't handle the situation anymore".
She continues: "The IS fighters were like animals the way they abused us. One of the fighters told us that because we were infidels, they could do whatever they wanted to us and treat us like slaves. It's not a crime when you do that to slaves or infidels. I'm so glad I managed to escape from them“.
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Delara now receives both food and trauma counseling. Delara, Jalila and the other 75 women in the project have the opportunity to regularly talk to trained counselors who help them open up and talk about the abuse they have suffered. This allows the victims to break out of the apathy they often end up in.
In addition, our local partners organize workshops where the girls can do crafts and creative work such as embroidery and crochet, and they learn to knit and apply makeup. They can also learn to paint and make jewelry. The girls have chosen a sport of their choice: handball.
Working with your hands and playing sports serves two purposes. Firstly, it can create an informal and relaxed environment where the girls can enjoy themselves and talk about big and small things. This in itself leads them out of apathy and is healing. And secondly, it can Emotions that may be difficult to put into words are processed when expressing yourself through creative work.
All the counselors are Christians. They are continuously educated and trained by professional counselors, including a woman with a PhD in counseling from a Christian university in Canada and other counseling experts.
It costs approximately 216 DKK to provide a girl with a five-week trauma treatment program. It costs approximately 585 DKK to provide a girl with a three-month trauma treatment program.
At the same time, the girls and their families receive emergency aid to help them survive. On average, it costs around 150 DKK to provide a refugee family with water, food, kitchenware, hygiene items and medicine for a week.
On average, it costs around DKK 652 to ensure that a refugee family has water, food, kitchenware, hygiene items and medicine for a month.
You can empower local Christians to show love to vulnerable and abused girls and help them to a better life. The girls will enter a safe environment where they can process their experiences. Thank you for helping our local partners help those who have suffered some of the worst abuse you can experience.
