Thousands of tragic stories unfolded amid the genocidal onslaught in Shengal in 2014. The story of two young lovers was one of them. Their love, left unfinished in the darkness of genocide, turned into a heart-wrenching tale.
n 2014, when the great onslaught began, the Yazidi people in Shengal suffered a merciless massacre. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were displaced and forcibly torn from their homes. Thousands of heartbreaking stories unfolded amid this catastrophe, but some left deep scars in people's hearts and became symbols of a people's resistance and hope.
This is a story about two young people, Elmas from Shengal and Selah from Til Qeseb. They were two lovers who struggled to hold on to life and believed that their love would survive even in the shadow of genocide. Like many other Yazidi families, they took refuge at Mount Shengal to save their lives.
For thousands of years, Mount Shengal has been a witness to suffering. With this genocide, it became a refuge for abandoned, defenseless people. There was no food, no water, and they were surrounded by fear, disease, and the scorching summer heat. But Mount Shengal did not abandon them; it remained a steadfast friend.
Elmas and Saleh never lost hope that they would gain their freedom and live their love freely one day. They struggled together in the midst of this great disaster, climbing the mountain shoulder to shoulder. However, as time passed, conditions became increasingly difficult. The mountain, which was a shelter, had also become a place of trial.
The young woman collapsed under the scorching sun, exhausted from hunger and fear. Slowly, her body lost its strength, and death drew near. Saleh shielded her with all his strength to protect her, but it was not enough. That beautiful heart, filled with love and longing for freedom, faded away in the August sun, in the arms of the one she loved. Like a flower swept away by a spring storm, she blended into the earth.
Love vanished like a snowflake melting in the summer heat. As Elmas's body grew cold, Saleh was in a state of helpless rebellion. What should he do? Where should he go? Shengal was a rocky region; the soil was scarce, and the rocks abundant. Even under normal circumstances, digging a grave was difficult, but in those days when death had already permeated every corner, finding a grave was now nothing but a distant dream.
Saleh's heart was shattered by the dream of a free future they had built together. Now those dreams lay silently beside the lifeless body of his beloved.
With his heart filled with pain, Saleh began digging a grave with trembling hands. Not with soil, but with rocks... The cold, hard stones had witnessed that love; now they were becoming her grave. As he placed each stone upon the other, the silent cry rising from Saleh's heart reached the sky.
This stone tomb was not only the place where Elmas' body was buried, but also a symbol of the eternity of their love and of tragedy. Now, that grave was not just a burial place, but also a monument, a reminder. It represented the love and suffering of two young people, and thousands of similar stories.
This story, buried among the stones of Mount Shengal, is just one of the tens of thousands of stories from the genocide. But it clearly shows that love and humanity can survive and fight even in the midst of heartless darkness. No matter how heavy the price, the struggle for love and freedom carries infinite meaning.
This silent grave is a call for justice, a testimony that refuses to remain silent in the face of oppression. [1]