Meet the Family Who Fled ISIS: ‘They Cut My Brother to Pieces’
We’ve heard for months about hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing for their lives from ISIS. Now we’d like to introduce you to one of those families.
Dahan and Aziza are Syrians who fled to Kurdistan. Though they escaped ISIS, their troubles were far from over and that’s why CBN is stepping in to help.
Aziza and her two children were forced to run the night ISIS attacked their home in Kobana, Syria.
“We went as fast as we could and left everything behind to be destroyed by ISIS,” she recalled. “I only thought about our survival and getting to my husband in Kurdistan.”
The border was closed, so Aziza paid a smuggler to get them into Iraqi Kurdistan. Then they joined her husband, Dahan, who had gone to Erbil to find work.
“I was so happy to hold them in my arms, to see them safe,” Dahan told CBN’s Operation Blessing. “But my brother did not escape. ISIS captured him and cut him into pieces and sent me the pictures on my phone. Now I see that image in my head everyday.”
Thankful to be reunited, the family quickly found out how hard life is for refugees.
“The cost of living here is too high, and the company I work for has refused to pay five months of wages they owe me. No one is willing to help us. And I am especially worried for my wife because we found out she is pregnant,” Dahan said.
“My husband has high blood pressure because of his struggles and I’m afraid he will have a heart attack,” his wife said. “We can barely buy food, but the hardest part as a mother is not being able to get toys for the children. My son’s only toy is broken and it is his dream to have a remote control car, but we can’t afford it.”
The family said Aziza can’t find a job because of the local stigma against Syrian women. So CBN came up with a plan to open a women’s accessories store for her. We took her to the ancient market in Erbil and helped her buy everything she needed. We even found a storefront close to her home, and paid three months’ rent in advance.
“This was an amazing thing for you to do for us. You have given us hope and brightened our lives,” she said.
CBN also got blood pressure medicine for Dahan and prenatal vitamins for Aziza. And we’re helping them with food while the store gets off the ground. Before we left, we had one final surprise … brand new toys for the children.
“I am so grateful to God with all my heart for having met you. Thank you for your desire to help us,” Aziza said.
“We knew what history told us about Islam, that it came with a bloody sword and beheaded people, but we didn’t believe it,” said Dahan. “Now we have seen the reality of that, and we have seen Christianity. You came with support and love.”
