Warning: Parts of this story and video contain graphic violence.
"They tried to make us feel safe. 'Don’t worry, we will take you to Baghdad.' They tricked us.”
His name is Ali Hussein Kadhim, a
Shiite recruit. After being captured, he was bound to die at the hands of ISIS.
The militant group, ISIS, (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) began its takeover of Iraq earlier this year, and then invaded Syria. Their extreme acts of warfare and torture include beheadings, starvation, burying people alive, selling off young girls/women as slaves, stoning, and forced amputation. They are not mere insurgents and revolutionaries - they are sick, heartless, and evil terrorists, some of the worst known in history. They use social media to send their propaganda around the world, making their victims curse and condemn their governments before they are murdered, as they did with journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, who were beheaded.
Kadhim joined the army, because there were no jobs, no salaries, and he had no land. Recruitment was the only way he could support his family. Twelve days after he enlisted, his base was invaded by ISIS in Iraq, Ali Hussein Kadhim was taken prisoner. It was then he began to witness an ISIS massacre so heinous, it made their terrorist rival Al Qaedaa seem weak. Kadhim was eventually hauled off in a truck stuffed with other humans. Many who were at the bottom of the trucks, suffocated. After reaching their destination, ISIS began executing men by the hundreds, mostly by lining them up, tying their hands behind their backs, and shooting them in the head. After watching those around him die, Kahim realized the bullet intended for him miraculously missed his head. He feigned being dead, until the ISIS executioner walked away. Kadhim remembered seeing the shoe of the murderer. After nightfall, he waited until it was silent and quickly made his escape. He is reportedly the only survivor of that mass slaughter.
Here is the New York TImes video of Kadhim being interviewed.
After viewing the video, Kahhim seemed overtaken with emotions. It's one thing to experience horror. I can't imagine reliving that horror on video in third person. You can see Kadhim fighting back the tears. He said it was thoughts of getting back to take care of family, that gave him the will to live during his perilous escape until he finally made home.
Here are some less graphic screenshots from the video
As I watched this video, I thought, "How small and insignificant my problems seem in comparison to that of so many people around the world." What can I do? I can write about their stories, tell their stories, and share their stories to bring more awareness and hopefully find solutions.
For more on the story: New York Times
h/t Daily Dot