After facing military setbacks in its self-declared caliphate in both Iraq and Syria, some ISIS members in Deir Ezzor have recently appeared unwilling to fight. It has also coincided with a manpower shortage, which ISIS attempts to solve with several means.
Deir Ezzor 24 correspondent in eastern rural Deir Ezzor, confirmed that a certain number of ISIS fighters in the town of Jadid Akidat, which is considered the main storage of ISIS manpower in the eastern countryside, obtained medical certificates from some close doctors to justify their absence in the fighting fronts of Deir Ezzor.
On the other hand, sources told Deir Ezzor 24 that ISIS has lately begun to put the employees, in its run-administrations and institutions, on the fronts in Hasakah and Aleppo after replacing them by wounded and disabled ISIS fighters.
Rami from the western countryside of Deir Ezzor, said that the young people from his region have begun fleeing to Turkey due to the random arrest campaigns, they are subjected to on a daily basis. The recent reports about ISIS imposing compulsory military service on the young civilians in the region, due to a shortage of manpower, is also a reason why they are fleeing.
It should be noted that ISIS has also suffered heavy losses so far in the ongoing clashes against the regime in both the city of Deir Ezzor, Al-Jura and Al Qusour districts, and the vicinity of the military airport, which the group has been unsuccessfully attempting to control for around one year and half now.
Before and after ISIS managed to gain control over the cities of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in the east of Syria, ISIS leaders were preoccupied with the idea of how to attract the younger generation who have been part of the Syrian revolution, and turn them into elements under their absolute control. The events that the Syrian revolution went through made the wind blow in the direction desired by ISIS leaders, enabling them to direct their ships as they wish and wherever they want.
33-years-old Abu Mansour joined the ranks of ISIS in its early days in the province. At first, he went to Shadadi city near Hasakah, accompanied by a number of FSA fighters, where he secretly pledged his allegiance to the group. Then he returned to Deir Ezzor and continued operating under the command of the FSA in the province until the right time came and he publicly declared his allegiance to ISIS and joined its ranks. After that, he begun patrolling the streets of the province, along with ISIS fighters, to clear it of the FSA, which was and is still considered by the group as an apostate military formation made up of traitors.
Abu Mansour says: “After what I had heard about ISIS, I and some of my friends decided to pledge our allegiance to the group in order to save ourselves from fear, deprivation and war. The disintegration and disagreement within the ranks of the FSA, and the strength of ISIS, its solid structure, its management and market approach, which it advocates as true and pure Islamic approach. All of these reasons pushed me to join the ranks of the group “
The idea of calling for a strong Islamic organization attracted some FSA fighters who were suffering from the tragic circumstances of the war and disagreement within the FSA formations.
Abu Mansour speaks about his journey to Shadadi and says: ‘’ We decided to go to Shadadi along with an ISIS scholar in a car, which had the FSA flag on its roof. When we reached ISIS-held areas in Hasakah, Shadadi, we removed the flag and Abu Abduallah (the ISIS scholar) spoke to some ISIS members at a checkpoint then we continued our way until we reached one of the ISIS headquarters in Shadadi, where we later pledged our allegiance to the group. We stayed during the night in a house, which was said to belong to an ISIS police member in the town. The next day we returned our way and carried on operating under the command of the FSA. The more we met with the ISIS scholar (Abu Abduallah) the more we believed the FSA factions were nothing but a bunch of mercenaries and Sahawat (a term used by the group to refer to those are apostates according to it) ‘’
What ISIS scholars did was very huge and not easy to achieve at the same time. Fighting against the FSA, which had protected the families in Deir Ezzor and liberated areas from the regime, and viewing them as ‘ a bunch of apostates and enemies of Islam’ was the most important and the bases upon which ISIS based its work ’.
Abu Mansour says: The role that was entrusted to us in the beginning was to nominate people who have the tendencies to join Islamist formations and this is what actually was. However, the question of allegiance was handled by Abu Abdullah who was an expert and well-trained on these issues. The numbers of people secretly pledging their allegiance to ISIS began to increase day by day, and this made Abbu Abduallah very happy, and in return he rewarded us’’.
The weak and shaky organization of the FSA at that time gave ISIS the privilege to attract more elements to its ranks because of its administrative and financial organization that provided to the elements joining it greater comfort and assured them that their rights would not be wasted. Obtaining an amount of money if people leave their jobs and businesses to join ISIS was an available option too.
Those who pledged allegiance to the group justified their actions by saying that it was necessary for them to join the group to provide food and take care of their families. Abu Mansour says ‘’ our families were so much in need during the presence of the FSA in Deir Ezzor province and we were pushed to look for a job.”
He continues to state ‘’ ISIS was seen as the provider of all of these, however, the idea that we discovered later that this was to implement what the group had planned years before, and it was appropriately implemented in the Syria. Increasing its influence upon people in the name of Islam, and the dissemination of injustice in order to control and expand its control. In addition, the implementation of other unknown plans. Maybe this was the main reason which led me to leave the group, and later flee its controlled territory’’
Those who wanted to pledge their allegiance to the group would have to go through a number of ‘’repentance sessions’’ ending with a military and religious session. However, Abu Mansour and his colleagues did not go through a repentance session as they joined the group very early. Therefore, the sessions they went through were limited to military and religion. However, he later fled leaving behind ISIS that has extended its control over the province of Deir Ezzor, which was facilitated by people like him.
The Syrian Revolution was the window from which the Syrian mind, mainly the young one, overlooked the experiences of the world.
After the youth left their nation, Syria, due to the ongoing brutal war, they have tried the best they could to present a good image and leave a very well impression in the countries where they are living as refugees, despite the fact that many organizations (with the exception of some), including the Syrian ones, which claim to help the refugees; have left them alone.
They are a youth group from the city of Muhassan in Deir Ezzor province; among them are students who left their universities, doctors, nurses, and former FSA fighters who left the province due to various circumstances. They all have been gathered in a refugee camp to do something positive for their country and revolution, even if they are living abroad.
The idea was simple but it had enormous obstacles. The idea was to establish a physical treatment center in Turkey’s Tel Abyad refugee camp (Oakeca Castle), to help treat civilians who are injured in the ongoing war in Syria, most of whom stopped their treatments due to poverty.
Difficulties and obstacles
The idea started by a youth group at the beginning of the fourth month in April of 2013, out of their belief that they could provide something for the victims of war in the camp.
However, the first obstacle was to get the camp’s administration approval, which they obtained after several attempts. After that, they started looking for funding for this project, despite the fact that all of them are volunteers and their work is done without a fee except for some assistance. Even though that each one of them is responsible for their families in need of expenses, their sense of responsibility towards their families in the refugees camp pushed them to work as volunteers.
We started our work with a simple salary
Those who welcomed the idea gave us what they were able to help us with even if the amount of money they provided was insufficient. However, a good start enabled us to buy some basic materials. In the beginning, the center began to operate and provide aid for the victims of the ongoing war in Syria, mainly those who suffer injuries in the joints.
Meanwhile, we were in constant contact with all the people and organizations to get more support for the development of our work. Mainly after receiving a large number of patients. Those who suffer from cerebral infarction which cause them difficulties in movement. Children with disabilities resulting from cerebral palsy due to lack of hypoxia congenital, cases of spinal cord injuries, tor limbs, and other injuries.
Because of lack of support, we could not provide all the necessary services, and most of those who joined our centre in the beginning were incompetent. So it was necessary to go to the organizations and the revolution staff and ask them for help. Unfortunately most of them they neither paid attention nor offered their support, with the exception of some who offered us an amount of money that did not exceed thousands Syrian lira. Some of our patients donated the devices that they were using for their treatments.
Saddam Alawi, one of the operators of the project, says: The simple support we obtained enabled us to provide major services, as we got qualified medical cadres who trained a number of young men and women volunteers. He continues “” Because of the success of the centre, we began to offer services to the workers in the camp, including the Turks. Most of those who benefited from our services were returning to express their gratitude. We also noticed a good and fruitful cooperation with the camp’s management and the Turkish authorities that facilitated entry of our devices and secured us a place for the center. It has recently provided us with an equipped big tent to continue our work in it.
Concerning the number of auditors and the services provided, Saddam says: The monthly average for the auditors is around 250, each reviewer has two sessions per week or more depending on the situation. And full recovery cases have exceeded one thousand.
There are also a number of improved cases such as: strokes and spinal cord injuries, disc and cerebral palsy in children. Saddam adds, “We currently have a number of facilities which are insufficient but still fulfils a need. These devices are Ultra Sound, Alarm simple currents devices, bulb rays, and a massage device.
We need to have more devices in our centre as our work is divided into two categories, a section for male, operated by a group of male volunteers; and another one for female, operated also by some female volunteers. According to Saddam the major difficulties are represented in the lack of moral and material support, the lack of a monthly compensation for workers because they have families and most of them are married or responsible for their loved ones. The women’s section is need of the following devices: Ultra Sound machine number one, and One bulbs rays number three, these are the main difficulties that we face in our centre.
Saddam adds “ A number of specialists in physical therapy have visited the centre and praised our work , and were even surprised that these services are provided by a group of youth who did not have experience in this field before the revolution .
Saddam says, concerning the most prominent wishes and aims that they dream of achieving in the centre, ‘’
1. We have opened another centre outside the camp and on our expense in order to provide service to the Syrians outside the camp, and those who cannot enter the camp. Our services are provided at nominal prices, almost free. The centre began offering its services also to the Turks, and it needs material and moral support. We are also planning to turn it into a hospital devoted to the treatment of the Syrians in Tel Abyad, whose number is around 65 thousand people .
However, such an idea necessitates the approval of the Turkish government, and this is difficult. Therefore, we call on officials in the organizations, the interim government, and the coalition to help and support us in order to provide services to those who have been forced by various circumstances to leave their homeland, knowing that we have the medical cadres who are capable of the opening of such a centre that would provide medical care. Large cadres sit in the camp looking for an opportunity to offer their services. Most of them were cadres of field hospitals in Syria who were forced to leave their home country.
2.We plan to open a prosthetics centre in Urfa, Turkey, to provide services to hundreds of patients but it also lacks sufficient support.
The most important wishes is to return to our nation and to maintain the equipment and the medical cadres so that we contribute to the reconstruction of Syria. This is the Syrian man who was displaced from his country due to the ongoing war but has remained creative and originator in all fields.
Landline phone services are now available again in the regime-held areas of Deir Ezzor following 10-days cut which was caused by a lack of diesel fuel. Prior to this, the regime-run postal and communications institution used to cut off landline phones services for long hours on a daily basis.
Landline services are only provided in Al-Joura, Al-Qusour, Muwadfin and Harabesh districts of Deir Ezzor. They are unavailable in areas separating ISIS-held territory and regime in Deir Ezzor. Landline phone services are also completely out of function in areas between regime-held areas in the province of Deir Ezzor and other provinces.
After the optical cable linking Damascus and Deir Ezzor in the area of Al-Shoula was cut for over a year and ISIS refused to repair and reconnect it, Assad forces have installed satellite dishes over Al-Joura’s post to bring back phone lines services and 2G Internet to mobiles through satellite link from the Russian satellite “Express.”
The Assad-regime did not provide 3G line, ADSL services, phone and internet network to the industrial, agricultural and financial banks, which led to a halt to the regime’s interests, and worsened services provided to civilians. It has also paralysed life in the regime-held areas of Deir Ezzor.
It should be noted that Russian cargo planes are now in charge of supplying the regime with fuel by airdropping fuel shipments over its held territory in Deir Ezzor, even though the regime still can get fuel from some stations where it had been stored during the early days of the ISIS siege on DeirEzzor.
report documenting the massacres against civilians in Deir Ezzor province which were perpetrated by Russian planes last month. The report confirms the killing of 99 civilians in indiscriminate Russian airstrikes on both the villages of Khisham and Al-Tabiya east Deir Ezzor.
The report documents the two massacres perpetrated by Russian warplanes in the village of Al-Tabiya on Friday 22 January 2016, and the massacre in the town of Khisham on Saturday 23 January 2016. Even though the Syrian Network has recorded few Russian airstrikes in Deir Ezzor compared to other provinces, it has concluded that several Russian air raids on Deir Ezor province have targeted civilians targets and densely populated areas under ISIS control.
The network has also contacted a number of civilians, including activists and families of the victims, living under ISIS control in Deir Ezzor. They all spoke on condition of anonymity during interviews conducted by the organization. Their testimonies were added in the report.
The report confirms that all the areas that have been targeted by Russian warplanes were nothing but civilian areas and residential buildings devoid of any ISIS headquarters or weapons depots neither during nor before Russian airstrikes. What has been mentioned in the report document the minimum massacres and violations which have been committed by Russian air strikes so far. It also does not include the social, economic and psychological impact of these violations.
Russian authorities have denied all these accusations, and their media claim that the Russian warplanes conduct air strikes on ISIS-military targets only.
Since the ISIS seizure of vast areas in Deir Ezzor in 2014, the group has aimed to exploit and take advantage of the people of the province by relying on multiple means, including imposing taxes on civilians and merchants under the pretext of ‘’ Zakat’’.
The so-called ISIS Zakat department is in charge of imposing taxes on the poor and merchants in Deir Ezzor province. The employees of the Zakat department, who are ISIS members, inspect the goods available in shops belonging to civilians and then determine the amount of Zakat money every shop owner must pay to the department. Sometimes they can freely demand fictional amount of money to be paid as Zakat.
Zakat is one of the reasons of poverty in Deir Ezzor
ISIS is imposing Zakat on people in a time where they are not even able to meet their basic human needs, worsening the situation for them and forcing them to pay an amount of money they cannot afford on the pretext of paying Zakat and fulfilling Allah’s obligation.
ISIS spends most of the money it collects from Zakat in funding its military activities across Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, while claiming that it uses it to help the poor and reconstruct damaged civilian buildings in areas under its control. Civilians living under ISIS control in Deir Ezzor province have not noticed any reconstruction of buildings or facilities; nothing has changed at all so far.
Saud, a shop owner in rural Deir Ezzor, told D24 that ISIS members come to his shop every month to collect Zakat money from him. A Tunisian ISIS member has imposed a sum of money estimated at 70 thousands Syrian lira to be paid as a tax on his shop, he pointed out that he had to pay 75 Syrian lira to another ISIS member of Egyptian origins who had been in charge of collecting Zakat money in rural Deir Ezzor before. He added that civilians are not in a position where they can reject to pay the Zakat money and in case they do, they will definitely end up in an ISIS-run prison.
Abu Omar, a former shop owner for irons in the city of Myadin, says that after being unable to pay the Zakat money to ISIS he had to shut down his shop. He is working now as a taxi driver in Myadin and villages near it in an attempt to escape ISIS taxes, including Zakat.
Where does the Zakat money go?
Um Omar from the area of Shaitat, who lives now in Buqruss, east Deir Ezzor countryside, says that ISIS executed three of hers sons during battles in Shaitat area, and now she is living on the money given to her by civilians in the province as charity. Whenever she goes to ISIS Zakat department to ask for help she gets rejected as their sons were ‘’ apostates’’ according to ISIS. She cannot get even a small amount of sugar from the department.
She adds that one day she was detained and put in a jail for one hour by a group of ISIS members who threatened her with prison and torture in case she does not stop coming every day to the Zakat department.
ISIS keeps manipulating civilian in Deir Ezzor using different means and pretexts to not help them with the collected Zakat money. Um Omar and her sons are ‘’ apostates’’ according to the group.
Elderly people who have lost their sons in Coalition airstrikes on rural Deir Ezzor are also deprived of the Zakat money stored in ISIS budget. Abu Mohamed, whose sons were killed in a coalition airstrike on rural Deir Ezzor, asked ISIS for an amount of money that might help him overcome the horrible and distressing situation he is going through after losing his two sons.
However, his request was rejected by the group, and he was told to get a job and that the group is not in a position to help people like him. Those foreigners who have joined ISIS and are currently living in areas under its control deserve more help than the local civilians, a group of ISIS members told Abu Mohamed.
It should be pointed that ISIS had previously published what it called an infographic showing the distribution of Zakat money to the poor and need in Syria. Aleppo province was at the top of the areas that ‘’ benefited’’ from the Zakat money.
The society of Deir Ezzor province is somehow characterized by its conservative and religious aspects, with interaction between civilians dominated by established norms of heritage and religion. Women in general have a social role within this society in both the city and the countryside. In the rural areas, women used to help their husbands with agriculture and in the cities, they previously worked in nursing and as teachers. And, at the same time, they had remained housewives who were able to balance the work and home life. They maintained their honor, their moral dignity and their religious heritage. They were even called the sisters of men.
As the Syrian Revolution began, women started taking part in all aspects, including firefighting, nursing, rescue teams for collapsed buildings and women were an example of sacrifice. Many of them were martyred. Many also lost their husbands, brothers and sons. The women gave everything they had for the sake of the revolution.
After ISIS succeeded in defeating all the FSA groups who were operating in Deir Ezzor province, many of which withdrew to other provinces, it resorted to using all types of brutal and unlawful actions that would maintain its control and strike fear in the hearts of civilians living in its held territories of Deir Ezzor.
It had carried out a series of cruel actions on the ground by killing several FSA fighters and arresting and pursuing activists. Even women did not survive these random arrests as many of them were arrested under different charges, including association or collaboration with the FSA.
The group succeeded in maintaining its dominance by putting into practice what it described as “Shari’a” rules. It began applying them to both women and men. As for women, ISIS imposed Islamic clothing (ISIS version) and it also issued strict rules preventing them from leaving the house.
ISIS went even further by imposing niqab on condition that it must not be transparent. ISIS hisba police members would fine women violating the ISIS version of Islamic laws. It restricted women going to the markets unless they were wearing clothing that was in full accordance with ISIS ideology. They were even forbidden to carry handbags. No other colour but black was allowed.
ISIS hisba members were known for their hostile interaction with both women and men. They were using modern vehicles with speakers mounted on the roof, calling upon the civilians to obey the orders and they would go around the markets and the villages of Deir Ezzor.
The fining of women went through different stages, starting with sentencing the husband of the woman violating ISIS-imposed Islamic dress with forty lashes. Even though the women could be seen only by ISIS hisba members whilst in their own homes.
Several cases were recorded where women were fined while staying in their homes because they were not wearing the clothing ISIS wanted them to wear.
Um Nasser said one day her door was open and her little son went quickly towards the crowded streets. Out of her fear for his safety, she left her home while wearing a hijab and as she was approaching the streets, an ISIS hisba car passed by, then stopped and asked her for her husband’s name, who was then brought to the hisba office and fined 5000 Syrian Lira. He had to testify in writing that his wife would never resort to such a thing again.
ISIS harassment against women reached such unbearable levels that women were forcibly transported to ISIS hisba office without being accompanied by any male relative. This sparked anger in people from Deir Ezzor who were not familiar with their wife being treated this way, even though the way they were treated was purported to be in the name of Islam.
Many of the hisba members have a disgusting moral history in the province. Because of their hostile treatment and behavior, several of these members were attacked by civilians and some were killed as had previously happened in cities like Albu Kamal, Myadin and al-Ghira.
ISIS-imposed Islamic clothing has become a lucrative business for ISIS hisba offices. As the niqab was sold at 500 Syrian Lira and other articles of clothing at 5000 Syrian Lira.
Everyone woman violating these rules were forced to buy the ISIS imposed clothes. Sometimes ISIS hisba members would cut women’s clothes with scissors to force them to buy their own version. Displaying womens’ clothes in markets or shops was totally banned by ISIS. And they placed women in those markets selling women’s clothes. And they did the same thing concerning pharmacies and hospitals. Women were prevented from leaving their homes, even to the house of their neighbours, unless they were accompanied by a mahram, which was getting ridiculous because women were fined while they were just visiting the houses of their neighbours which were two or three metres from their homes. However, after facing criticism from angry civilians that sometimes evolved to clashes, ISIS reversed its decision concerning fining the women visiting their neighbors.
There were many stories being told by people living under ISIS control in Deir Ezzor concerning ISIS behavior.
One of the most strange and weirdest stories was about women accompanying hisba members and using pliers to pinch the skin of women who violated ISIS rules. Sometimes women were fined for breastfeeding in markets. However, this story is still not confirmed, even though many verified it.
As ISIS administration developed, it eventually established a hisba office in Deir Ezzor run by women affiliated with the group whose aim is to pursue women and to spy on them.
Many women were seen working alongside ISIS members in the markets inspecting women and forcibly dragging them to the offices. Sometimes they were even seen at checkpoints for the same purpose (inspecting women). These ISIS hisba women carried out raids on hospitals and forced women, including doctors, to wear the ISIS imposed Islamic dress.
Women were even prevented from working, with the exception of hospitals where women, according to ISIS, were needed to treat other women. ISIS-run internet salons (cafe) were separated from those of men. The women’s salon were highly controlled and sometimes spied on by ISIS women hisba who transferred all types of information back to ISIS.
However, one of the most notable reasons for suffering of women in Deir Ezzor is that women are prevented from being treated by male doctors, even though women doctors are unable to cure their ailments. Therefore, increasing their suffering and changing it from bad to worse.
The suffering of women is increasing day by day under ISIS rule despite their grief and loss caused by the ongoing war in Syria from losing their loved ones to the displacement of their lives and families.
ISIS has used women as a card to pressure the society under its control, using fatawa to encapsulate the society, which would lead us to another sensible topic about women and honour.
The society of Deir Ezzor province is somehow characterized by its conservative and religious aspects, with interaction between civilians dominated by established norms of heritage and religion. Women in general have a social role within this society in both the city and the countryside. In the rural areas, women used to help their husbands with agriculture and in the cities, they previously worked in nursing and as teachers. And, at the same time, they had remained housewives who were able to balance the work and home life. They maintained their honor, their moral dignity and their religious heritage. They were even called the sisters of men.
As the Syrian Revolution began, women started taking part in all aspects, including firefighting, nursing, rescue teams for collapsed buildings and women were an example of sacrifice. Many of them were martyred. Many also lost their husbands, brothers and sons. The women gave everything they had for the sake of the revolution.
After ISIS succeeded in defeating all the FSA groups who were operating in Deir Ezzor province, many of which withdrew to other provinces, it resorted to using all types of brutal and unlawful actions that would maintain its control and strike fear in the hearts of civilians living in its held territories of Deir Ezzor.
It had carried out a series of cruel actions on the ground by killing several FSA fighters and arresting and pursuing activists. Even women did not survive these random arrests as many of them were arrested under different charges, including association or collaboration with the FSA.
The group succeeded in maintaining its dominance by putting into practice what it described as “Shari’a” rules. It began applying them to both women and men. As for women, ISIS imposed Islamic clothing (ISIS version) and it also issued strict rules preventing them from leaving the house.
ISIS went even further by imposing niqab on condition that it must not be transparent. ISIS hisba police members would fine women violating the ISIS version of Islamic laws. It restricted women going to the markets unless they were wearing clothing that was in full accordance with ISIS ideology. They were even forbidden to carry handbags. No other colour but black was allowed.
ISIS hisba members were known for their hostile interaction with both women and men. They were using modern vehicles with speakers mounted on the roof, calling upon the civilians to obey the orders and they would go around the markets and the villages of Deir Ezzor.
The fining of women went through different stages, starting with sentencing the husband of the woman violating ISIS-imposed Islamic dress with forty lashes. Even though the women could be seen only by ISIS hisba members whilst in their own homes.
Several cases were recorded where women were fined while staying in their homes because they were not wearing the clothing ISIS wanted them to wear.
Um Nasser said one day her door was open and her little son went quickly towards the crowded streets. Out of her fear for his safety, she left her home while wearing a hijab and as she was approaching the streets, an ISIS hisba car passed by, then stopped and asked her for her husband’s name, who was then brought to the hisba office and fined 5000 Syrian Lira. He had to testify in writing that his wife would never resort to such a thing again.
ISIS harassment against women reached such unbearable levels that women were forcibly transported to ISIS hisba office without being accompanied by any male relative. This sparked anger in people from Deir Ezzor who were not familiar with their wife being treated this way, even though the way they were treated was purported to be in the name of Islam.
Many of the hisba members have a disgusting moral history in the province. Because of their hostile treatment and behavior, several of these members were attacked by civilians and some were killed as had previously happened in cities like Albu Kamal, Myadin and al-Ghira.
ISIS-imposed Islamic clothing has become a lucrative business for ISIS hisba offices. As the niqab was sold at 500 Syrian Lira and other articles of clothing at 5000 Syrian Lira.
Everyone woman violating these rules were forced to buy the ISIS imposed clothes. Sometimes ISIS hisba members would cut women’s clothes with scissors to force them to buy their own version. Displaying womens’ clothes in markets or shops was totally banned by ISIS. And they placed women in those markets selling women’s clothes. And they did the same thing concerning pharmacies and hospitals. Women were prevented from leaving their homes, even to the house of their neighbours, unless they were accompanied by a mahram, which was getting ridiculous because women were fined while they were just visiting the houses of their neighbours which were two or three metres from their homes. However, after facing criticism from angry civilians that sometimes evolved to clashes, ISIS reversed its decision concerning fining the women visiting their neighbors.
There were many stories being told by people living under ISIS control in Deir Ezzor concerning ISIS behavior.
One of the most strange and weirdest stories was about women accompanying hisba members and using pliers to pinch the skin of women who violated ISIS rules. Sometimes women were fined for breastfeeding in markets. However, this story is still not confirmed, even though many verified it.
As ISIS administration developed, it eventually established a hisba office in Deir Ezzor run by women affiliated with the group whose aim is to pursue women and to spy on them.
Many women were seen working alongside ISIS members in the markets inspecting women and forcibly dragging them to the offices. Sometimes they were even seen at checkpoints for the same purpose (inspecting women). These ISIS hisba women carried out raids on hospitals and forced women, including doctors, to wear the ISIS imposed Islamic dress.
Women were even prevented from working, with the exception of hospitals where women, according to ISIS, were needed to treat other women. ISIS-run internet salons (cafe) were separated from those of men. The women’s salon were highly controlled and sometimes spied on by ISIS women hisba who transferred all types of information back to ISIS.
However, one of the most notable reasons for suffering of women in Deir Ezzor is that women are prevented from being treated by male doctors, even though women doctors are unable to cure their ailments. Therefore, increasing their suffering and changing it from bad to worse.
The suffering of women is increasing day by day under ISIS rule despite their grief and loss caused by the ongoing war in Syria from losing their loved ones to the displacement of their lives and families.
ISIS has used women as a card to pressure the society under its control, using fatawa to encapsulate the society, which would lead us to another sensible topic about women and honour.
Photographic exhibition on Deir Ezzor province which was recently held by D24 Network in Germany
D24 Network has held in Germany the first photography exhibition that exclusively presented Deir Ezzor and explored the events that have taken place in the province since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution. The exhibition lasted for eight days during which many Germans were among the attendees along with notable figures of the Syrian community in Germany. The media were present and they covered the event from beginning to end.
This photography exhibition is regarded as the first one of its kind since the start of the Syrian Revolution. It was exclusively dedicated to Deir Ezzor province that has been hugely neglected by International Media. It included all phases of the Syrian revolution from the first day it began until now.
More than 60 images were presented in the exhibition. D24 started by displaying images related to the revolutionary activities in the province and how the Assad-regime forces reacted to them by brutally and indiscriminately targeting civilians without hesitation. Then it moved to demonstrate images of funerals held for martyrs in Deir Ezzor who were killed during peaceful protests when the province of Deir Ezzor answered the call of other rebellion provinces and eventually joined the Syrian revolution.
After that, images were shown depicting the civilians who were displaced by heavy shelling on Deir Ezzor, the intense shelling that the province has been subjected to since 2011 until today. Images, displaying the suffering, deplorable and wretched conditions the displaced families of Deir Ezzor are going through, were also presented.
The exhibition did not neglect the children of the province whose schools and parks were destroyed by the tyrannical Assad-regime, the children who have nothing to do now except imitating what the extremists groups in Syria, mainly ISIS, are doing on a regular basis in the country.
ISIS carries out mass executions against civilians and detainees and, at the same time, those children mimic the actions of ISIS because of the huge gap in their lives after losing their schools and everything related to childhood.
The exhibition explored the criminal aspect of Assad forces and other extremist groups who did not respect the holy places in Deir Ezzor province, including mosques and churches. Several images were exhibited showing the huge amount of devastation the mosques and churches were subjected to in the province as targeting civilians did not fulfil the criminal desire of these parties (Assad-regime and the extremist groups).
In addition, even more historical monuments in Deir Ezzor did not survive their barbaric and brutal acts. D24 demonstrated pictures showing the devastating situation of the bridge of Al Almac that is considered one of the historical land mark of Deir Ezzor.
In the last part of the exhibition, images, depicting the Syrian people who have not given up yet, mainly the people of Deir Ezzor, despite all atrocities the province has suffered since 2011, were displayed. It should be noted, the exhibition was mainly aimed at attracting the attention of the Western society and others to the Eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, which is subjected to all types of crimes committed by Assad forces, ISIS and Russian indiscriminate bombing.
Sometimes, special situations in a society that undergoes a war maybe an exception, but the suffering remains one, especially if the one suffering is a child. In the absence of real medical care and the problem of asylum, the suffering becomes more aching and excruciating. Lack of money, the high cost of treatment and the lack of health institutions that provide full support to these children, and despite attempts by medical organizations to solve the situation of children suffering from disease, the problem still remains due to many reasons. Among them are the large geographical spread of the cases that need such care. The parents who are unaware of the existence of such health care organizations along with the tiny media coverage of the suffering of these children and others are also part of the problem.
Even if the suffering mentioned in this report is only about one child, it still represents hundreds of other situations the Syrian families are going through. Many of those children have left their hospitals in Syria and have moved to other countries where they are facing exclusion, poverty and lack of hospitals specialized in the diseases they suffer from. They also have difficulties in communicating with doctors due to their poor language skills.
7-years-old child, Sadel, has been suffering from polio and Neuro Developmental Delay due to hypoxia since the day she was born in one of the hospitals in Damascus. Her family have tried the best they could to help cure her; however, they have not get to the desired outcome so far. The doctors told them the damage in her brain is huge and the injury is severe, meaning that her recovery would be very slow. Despite all of these, the family, keep searching for any possible way that might save the life of the child Sadil.
They had to cross to Turkey from Syria in a difficult and dangerous journey, putting their lives at risk so that their child, Sadil, would continue her medical treatment in one the hospitals of Turkey, where her health situation has positively improved, even though she keeps suffering from Neuro Developmental delay. The child is still receiving treatment in Turkey at the current time.
Several months ago, the family noticed that the eyes of Sadil were puffy, which pushed them to consult an optician in Turkey who later told them that she had a rise in eye pressure and prescribed for her a medicine. However, the situation of her eye was beginning to deteriorate which caused her family to rush and travel to another Turkish city where the child underwent a laser eye surgery.
After two months, it turned out to the family that the surgery was unsuccessful and the eye’s retina of the child was heavily damaged, meaning that Sadil would not be able to see again and that she needed to do another surgery to detach the retina.
Consequently, the family have entered into a cycle of medical operations. They are obliged to go from one hospital to the other in Turkey, hoping they can find a cure to their child. Sudail is also suffering from a lack of vision in one of her eyes and the family are afraid that they she might lose the other eye. She needs a new medical operation to link or detach the retina depending on the amount of damage in her eye; however, the operation is high-priced. Undergoing a surgery in governmental hospitals would take a longer time during which Sadil risks losing both of her eyes.
This is just one situation among several others where refugees and their children are facing a lack of money and difficulties of undergoing surgeries in Turkey due to the problem of language and the high costs of medical treatment in case they want to be treated in a private hospital, coinciding with an absolute silence from the Syrian Interim Government on these medical issues.
The question often asked is: What is the purpose behind having a health ministry in the Syrian Interim Government if it does not know anything about the hundreds of Syrian people who are facing numerous diseases, and it does not provide them with no support, even to those volunteer organizations established by Syrian activists to offer medical services to the Syrian refugees?
Sadel among other children suffering from chronic diseases are buried in the mists of time and, at the same time, caught between disease and seeking refuge.
