The Last Front: Baghuz ~ My narration of the events leading up to the fall.

Chapter Seven: The Trenches

Chapter Seven: The Trenches

Mid February 2019
We entered the last month of the battle. Everyone who had chosen to stay was almost all in the trenches, and they were still people in houses on the main road and few in the field area.

We had the main road in front of us, the big field in the middle, and the river behind us.

As the days went by, the field would become smaller and smaller as the enemy proceeded from the western side. The territory of the Kurds is behind Jabal Baghuz and to the west side. Most of us were on the field facing the mountains, which would soon become a cemetery of dead bodies.

Digging the Trenches
We tried to make our trenches as deep as possible. However, many did not bother to dig them deep and would set up a tent on the surface of the ground. Since we were constantly moving, some people did not want to waste their energy digging, while others were women with no man to help them. We heard of sniper bullets entering tents, so it was essential to make the trenches deep.

The Land of the Trenches
When I walked into the land of the trenches, it was like a movie scene. It was a wake-up call, exposing the reality of this world, the worth of it, and most importantly, it reminded me that our final destination would be in a similar abode.

No one was safe; not even the women or children were spared. The snipers would shoot random bullets if we walked out in the open field. It was difficult to know their aim, as there was no fighting in the trenches; it was just filled with women and children.

We constantly needed to move around from place to place and go further out. It was time to relocate again, and as I walked, I decided to speak to my family for the last time because I did not foresee myself making it out alive, not after witnessing our conditions.

Many thoughts were passing through my mind. We were a group of many women and children walking in a row while the men were ahead of us, deciding where to settle. The scene was horrible. You would see small trenches used for the toilet covered with cloth. Then not too far off, women were cooking outside on wooden fires. This was how we were living. Then I spotted this house out in the distance. When I first saw it, I did not realize I had already seen this house in a dream, so I did not think much of it. So we continued to walk further. We were in the middle of the field between the main road and the river. That is where we decided to settle.

I place my bag on the ground and sit on it. I am facing the mountain, and there is a bin container made of metal in front of me. I opened my phone to take a photo of my dusty boots, and when I looked again, the container had a sniper bullet through it. I escaped death; I could have easily been hit.

While the brothers were digging the trenches, the women tried to find anything to cook. The rain had made all the wood wet, so it was not catching fire. So we had to use wool from blankets and clothes to start the fire. The rain had also made the ground solid, so it wasn't easy to dig. Many women could not find anyone to dig for them, so  they would do it themselves. Meanwhile, they also had to search for food and care for the children and their needs.

The children were left to be emotionless because they would constantly be ignored. Eventually, they stopped asking for anything since they were not getting any response. The adults knew it would all be over soon, while the children had no concept of time, this was the life they had known, so they did not believe it would ever change. Many children were malnourished, and there was no sugar to give them energy. So we would find the children sitting in groups quietly staring at each other.

Living in those conditions was terrifying. Each day came with a new set of challenges. I remember walking next to my trench to enter it, and as I ducked my head, a bullet flew past me, barely missing my head. This was the second time Allah had saved me. At this point, fighting was occurring on both ends of this field, but with little result.