05-23-2016, 04:10 AM
We hear from the MSM about the thousands and thousands of refugees fleeing Syria and other places that have been taken over by ISIS
But very seldom do we hear of the hell many of them endure while under the control of IS
The first part is an inside look from one man, who is from Eski Mosul, Iraq -- to which extremists took over his Iraqi village a year ago
After that, the AP went and traveled to many places, interviewing people who would talk to them
Their stories pretty much coincide with one another, of the hell they endured while under IS control
Being caught without the 'repentance' card, can be punishable by prison or death, if they think you are not faithful to their ways
-Drivers caught listening to music, can get up to 10 lashes, hence why many motorists play the IS radio station
-Women must be entirely covered, in black, and in flat-soled shoes
-Being as cigarettes are forbidden, men douse themselves with cologne
-And gays or people suspected of homosexuality, are thrown from rooftops, as we saw/heard that happen not long ago-- to their death
Being gay, is your death sentence if found out, under IS control
The AP interviewed more than 20 Iraqis and Syrians who survived life under the group's rule.
One AP team traveled to several towns in northern Iraq, including Eski Mosul, north of Mosul, where residents are just emerging from nearly seven months under IS rule.
Another AP team traveled to Turkish cities along the border, where Syrians who have fled IS territory have taken refuge.
The picture they paint suggests the Islamic State's territory, now an area roughly the size of Switzerland, has evolved into an entrenched pseudo-state, one based on a bureaucracy of terror.
Each time the Islamic State group overruns a village, the pattern has been roughly similar--bloody and deadly
One man who had been imprisoned told a story of meeting another prisoner accused of spying, and each day his captors video taped him being killed by a child, each time however, the gun was empty
Until that one day when the gun was not empty
Several of those interviewed said laying low was often key to survival in the "caliphate"
To stay home as much as possible, avoiding checkpoints of IS fighters and the "Hisba" committees, the dreaded enforcers of IS' innumerable regulations.
Armed members of the Hisba patrol the streets, cruising in SUVs with blackened windows and wearing Afghan-style baggy pants, long shirts and face masks, looking for behavior deemed unacceptable.
During Islamic holidays late last year, militants announced in mosques that it was forbidden to visit the graves of relatives, a holiday tradition that IS sees as encouraging polytheism.
Why not just escape the Caliphate?
There are some who do manage to find a way out
Whether it be through paying a smuggler or taking a risk, claiming a 3 day work trip
This is only a handful of stories of what many people in those areas have to endure
The fear, the terror of the unknown
Not knowing from one day to the next if it will be their last, or their family's
And how long until help arrives
The article is long, but very insightful, if you would just take a few minutes to read it
I tried to cherry pick the parts that stood out, but it just does not do their stories any justice at all
Inside Islamic State group's rule: Creating a nation of fear
* * * * *
But very seldom do we hear of the hell many of them endure while under the control of IS
The first part is an inside look from one man, who is from Eski Mosul, Iraq -- to which extremists took over his Iraqi village a year ago
After that, the AP went and traveled to many places, interviewing people who would talk to them
Their stories pretty much coincide with one another, of the hell they endured while under IS control
Quote:ESKI MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - Inside the Islamic State's realm, the paper testifying that you have "repented" from your heretical past must be carried at all times. Many people laminate it just to be safe. It can mean the difference between life and death.
Bilal Abdullah learned that not long after the extremists took over his Iraqi village, Eski Mosul, a year ago. As he walked down the street, an Islamic State fighter in a pickup truck asked directions to a local mosque. When Abdullah didn't recognize the mosque's name, the fighter became suspicious.
"He told me my faith is weak and asked, 'Do you pray?'" Abdullah recalled. Then the fighter asked to see his "repentance card." Abdullah had been a policeman until the IS takeover, and policemen and soldiers are required to have one. So are many other former government loyalists or employees - even former English teachers, since they once taught a "forbidden" language and tailors of women's clothes because they once designed styles deemed un-Islamic.
Abdullah had left his card at home. Terrified, he sent his son running to get it.
"They are brutal people," he told The Associated Press. "They can consider you an infidel for the simplest thing."
Being caught without the 'repentance' card, can be punishable by prison or death, if they think you are not faithful to their ways
Quote:The Islamic State's "caliphate," declared a year ago, stretches across northern Syria through much of northern and western Iraq. Untold numbers have been killed because they were deemed dangerous to the IS, or insufficiently pious; 5-8 million endure a regime that has swiftly turned their world upside down, extending its control into every corner of life to enforce its own radical interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah.
-Drivers caught listening to music, can get up to 10 lashes, hence why many motorists play the IS radio station
-Women must be entirely covered, in black, and in flat-soled shoes
-Being as cigarettes are forbidden, men douse themselves with cologne
-And gays or people suspected of homosexuality, are thrown from rooftops, as we saw/heard that happen not long ago-- to their death
Being gay, is your death sentence if found out, under IS control
Quote:There is no safe way out. People vanish- their disappearance explained by a video of their beheading, an uninformative death certificate, or nothing at all.
"People hate them, but they've despaired, and they don't see anyone supporting them if they rise up," said a 28-year-old Syrian who asked to be identified only by the nickname he uses in political activism, Adnan, in order to protect his family still living under IS rule. "People feel that nobody is with them."
The AP interviewed more than 20 Iraqis and Syrians who survived life under the group's rule.
One AP team traveled to several towns in northern Iraq, including Eski Mosul, north of Mosul, where residents are just emerging from nearly seven months under IS rule.
Another AP team traveled to Turkish cities along the border, where Syrians who have fled IS territory have taken refuge.
The picture they paint suggests the Islamic State's territory, now an area roughly the size of Switzerland, has evolved into an entrenched pseudo-state, one based on a bureaucracy of terror.
Each time the Islamic State group overruns a village, the pattern has been roughly similar--bloody and deadly
Quote:First comes an initial wave of killings of police and troops. Then the fighters often seek to garner support by quickly repairing electricity and water lines. They call on bureaucrats to return to work. Government employees and any former troops or policemen sign their "repentance" papers and must hand over their weapons or pay fines sometimes amounting to several thousand dollars.
In loudspeaker announcements, mosque sermons and leaflets, new regulations are laid out: No smoking, no alcohol, and no women working except as nurses or in women's clothing shops, where even mannequins in store windows are covered. Residents said they were required to build walls outside their homes so women would never be seen.
In each district, an "emir" - often a local militant - is appointed to govern. Schools close, then reopen with IS-written curricula. Taxes are imposed on businesses. Pharmacies are given Shariah courses and banned from selling contraceptives. In most locations, tribes or families declare loyalty to the group and gain positions or perks, several interviewees told AP.
One man who had been imprisoned told a story of meeting another prisoner accused of spying, and each day his captors video taped him being killed by a child, each time however, the gun was empty
Until that one day when the gun was not empty
Quote:Adnan met Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Musallam, whom IS accused of being a spy for Israel. Musallam told Adnan his captors were repeatedly filming him in his own execution video. Each time, he said, they would video a child shooting him in the head - but each time the gun would be empty.
"Then one day, they executed him for real," Adnan said.
In March, the Islamic State group released a video showing Musallam's death. Kneeling in a field, he is shot in the head by a young boy wearing military camouflage.
Adnan said he believes that is why many victims in the execution videos appear so calm. "They repeat the thing with them like 20 times. So when the real one comes, the prisoner will think it's just another mock execution," he said.
Several of those interviewed said laying low was often key to survival in the "caliphate"
To stay home as much as possible, avoiding checkpoints of IS fighters and the "Hisba" committees, the dreaded enforcers of IS' innumerable regulations.
Armed members of the Hisba patrol the streets, cruising in SUVs with blackened windows and wearing Afghan-style baggy pants, long shirts and face masks, looking for behavior deemed unacceptable.
Quote:Punishments for smoking, for wearing Western clothes or for playing the wrong radio station can vary from a fine to imprisonment for a few hours or days - often depending on the Hisba's mood. For more serious or repeat offenses, the fighters might bind the perpetrator to a pole in a town square for several days with his crime written on a sign around his neck.
Women try not to go out at all, most of those interviewed by AP said. If they do go to market, they sometimes avoid taking their husbands, sons or brothers with them: If they're harassed by the Hisba, their male relative might defend them and bring the Hisba's wrath.
It's not an unreasonable fear. Abu Zein, a 31-year-old who recently fled the eastern Syrian town of Muhassan, recounted how a Hisba member one day berated a woman for being improperly covered as she swept her porch. Her brother came out and argued, the fight escalated, the militant shot the brother, and the brother's relatives promptly killed the militant. Soon after, a larger contingent of Islamic State fighters descended on the house and killed eight members of the family, Abu Zein said.
Abu Zein said he was detained multiple times for various minor offenses, including visiting his uncle's grave.
During Islamic holidays late last year, militants announced in mosques that it was forbidden to visit the graves of relatives, a holiday tradition that IS sees as encouraging polytheism.
Why not just escape the Caliphate?
Quote:Escape is not easy. Residents are banned from leaving their cities without first applying for permission, filling out a long form with all their personal details and setting property as a guarantee that IS will seize if they don't return. Women must apply to the Hisba to travel and are often refused permission, out of concern that they will not follow IS dress codes once they are out.
There are some who do manage to find a way out
Whether it be through paying a smuggler or taking a risk, claiming a 3 day work trip
Quote:Escape was much more harrowing for Ali, a 63-year-old appliance store owner from the Iraqi town of al-Zaab, near Mosul, who asked that his full name not be used to protect relatives still under IS rule. He told AP that when he decided to flee, he managed to convince local authorities he was only going on a three-day work trip. They gave him a permission slip without a guarantee of property, so he set out in his car with his wife, son and daughter-in-law.
Between them and freedom were three different checkpoints. At the first, fighters wrote down the model and license number of his car. At the second, they searched his car, then ordered him to return to the first checkpoint. There, the fighters told him his car registration was improper and he had no property guarantee.
"Your fate will be execution," he said they told him.
But in a show of how capricious life can be under the Islamic State, a commander at the checkpoint made a phone call and got approval to let Ali and his family pass. "God give him long life," Ali said of the commander. He said he'd rather have been killed right there at the checkpoint than be forced to drive back into IS-held al-Zaab.
This is only a handful of stories of what many people in those areas have to endure
The fear, the terror of the unknown
Not knowing from one day to the next if it will be their last, or their family's
And how long until help arrives
The article is long, but very insightful, if you would just take a few minutes to read it
I tried to cherry pick the parts that stood out, but it just does not do their stories any justice at all
Inside Islamic State group's rule: Creating a nation of fear
* * * * *
