10th Anniversary Survivor Stories: Basima
Separation
Basima was a quiet, bright 15-year-old with dreams of becoming a scientist. Each morning before school, Basima’s mother would braid her hair. But on one of those mornings, in August 2014, time stopped, and disaster arrived in Sinjar.
Basima was among the thousands of women and girls abducted when ISIS invaded the Yazidi homeland and tore apart so many families, including Basima’s.
The terror group’s cruelty had no limit: they sold Basima and other young women into sexual slavery; forcibly recruited her brothers as fighters; and murdered the elderly in cold blood.
Years of hardship
For two years and four months, Basima suffered some of the worst abuse imaginable in ISIS captivity, and quickly learned that although physical wounds can heal, a broken spirit is much harder to mend.
And although Basima suffered unimaginably, she stayed resilient throughout her captivity, all the while dreaming that she and her family might one day escape from the terrorists who sought to erase all trace of her people from the earth.
Eventually, that dream came true for Basima – but freedom and salvation did not immediately bring joy.
Many family members remained missing or in captivity, and she was forced to live for an extended time in a displacement camp with her grandparents. Soon, they, too, passed away, wracked with grief and unable to bear the pain of losing so many loved ones.
A resilient leader
Despite all this loss around her, God willed that Basima would not be alone. She was reunited with younger members of her family who had miraculously survived ISIS captivity and violence, and together they embodied the longstanding struggle of the Yazidi people: orphaned, alone, and scared.
After so much trauma, at last Basima was surrounded by warmth and love – and at 18 years old, she had to find a way to provide for her younger family members.
Rather that complain about this great responsibility, Basima embraced it. As the years have passed, she has told and retold the difficult stories of her family’s past, all while building a path to a more peaceful future.
She has excelled in her duties as a humanitarian and a caretaker, honoring her fallen family members and providing for those who survived, all of whom looked to her for light and direction in the dark and confusing aftermath of a genocide.
Basima – now approaching her mid 20s – has also begun the difficult process of personal healing and reclaiming her joy. Today, with her roots firmly reestablished in Sinjar, she helps other Yazidis find their own happiness. Slowly but surely, she is restoring her spirit – which may have bent, but never broke.