DUHOK, Kurdistan Region — To ease painful memories and quell their boredom, Hanya Hadi and her two brothers joined a music group in Duhok’s Yazidi displacement camp of Sharya.

Hanya was six years old when she was captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) group, her brothers Musa and Hani were ten and four. The three were rescued in 2018.

“It’s very nice to come here. When we get bored in the tents, we come here to enjoy some moments,” she told Rudaw on Monday.

The Shingal music group was founded by three Yazidi youths at the camp in November 2020. It aims to rehabilitate survivors and occupy the time of those living in Sharya camp.

The 32-member group is classified into three sub-groups: musicians, singers and dancers.

“My life has changed a lot. Even I have changed since joining the group. I started singing with them and learning many things,” Khada Khero, another member of the group, told Rudaw on Monday.

“We were wasting our time before we joined the group. We were not doing anything and we were bored at home,” said Samir Omar, who sings for the group. “When I joined the team, I learned to sing and became happy. I have improved a lot.”

The group’s instructor Qawal Haji studied fine arts in Duhok. He and two colleagues train the music-lovers three days a week.

“There are many mental illnesses among people [in the camp]. We created this group to achieve two goals: they learn both singing and playing musical instruments, and their mental health gets better,” said Haji.

Rudaw