Geenstijl

Ook dat nog, wat zullen de kranten hiermee uitpakken dit weekend!

Op 3 september jl. beschreef The Jerusalem Post de bovenstaande Fawzia als: "a 20-year-old Yazidi woman from Sinjar, who was abducted in August 2014 by ISIS terrorists when she was 11 (...). Like myriads of other Yazidi women and children, M. was kidnapped from her home town in Kurdistan, and a long ordeal followed which included being incarcerated and “sold” in Raqqa, Syria, where she was forced to marry a Palestinian man from Gaza who was apparently affiliated with Hamas. (...) During her time with the ISIS/Hamas militant, M. was constantly harassed and mistreated physically and sexually, and her family has seldom heard from her since her abduction.

M. became pregnant and gave birth to her husband’s two children at a very young age, and at some point, after moving between villages around the Syrian-Iraqi border, her husband was ultimately reported dead. Later on, the husband’s family back in Gaza managed to lure M. to join them, and after a four-year journey through Turkey and Egypt, M. and her children finally arrived in the Gaza Strip around 2020.

However, there too, the young woman suffered immensely from her husband’s family.

(...) In late 2023, one of those who held M. in their home, apparently a Hamas fighter, was killed in an Israeli air strike. M. was able to leave the family home, got hold of a cell phone, and bravely recounted her story in a video she shared on TikTok."

Zie de betreffende TikTok-video na haar ontsnapping onderstaand.

Fawzia's redding betrof naar de letter geen militaire operatie, en was bovenal het werk van Canadees-joodse zakenman en filantroop Steve Maman. 

Een krappe maand voordat haar daadwerkelijke bevrijding/ontsnapping uit Gaza plaatsvond, beschreef hij de aanloop als volgt:

"Using an array of contacts with foreign actors, Maman managed to set up a cell phone number and a safe home for M., located a walking distance from IDF forces, and she is now waiting for a green light from authorities to exit the Strip.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Maman elaborated on the situation. “There is no extraction necessary that would endanger the lives of IDF forces in this situation. Since June I’ve secured a one-way laissez-passer document in absentia for her through Jordan and Iraq. She only needs to arrive at Allenby bridge crossing and make her way to Jordan. This rescue mission has turned into simply opening the door to her and putting an end to this 10-year nightmare."

Inmiddels lijkt ongeveer zoiets inderdaad gebeurd te zijn, en reageerde Maman eergisteren met:

"I’m feeling tired; this has been the most difficult rescue that I’ve ever taken part in. Many interactions were critical and hurtful, but the success of the mission is what heals you from these attacks. This, for me, is a ray of light. M. has a chance to rebuild her life.

(...) I must thank the US government, my contacts in the US, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. I also want to thank Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden and the US administration, the UN, who helped by sending a secured ambulance, and everyone else who was involved in this operation."

Verhaaltje hoor.