Yazidi Hayfa Adi was separated from her husband Ghazi Lalo Ammi when she was abducted by IS fighters during the militant group's brutal invasion of the Sinjar region of northwest Iraq in August 2014.
When their village of Kocho was overrun, thousands of men were massacred and women and children were enslaved and raped. The United Nations called these actions a .
Ms Adi, who was in the later stages of pregnancy with her second child, was kidnapped and her family was held captive for the next three years.
Her husband went missing during the IS operation, but she held hope that he would someday return.
A journalist watches as smoke rises over Sinjar, northern Iraq from oil fires set by IS militants in 2015. Source: AAP
In early February 2021, Ms Adi received the news that left the family "absolutely devastated" when the remains of 104 Yazidis exhumed from mass graves were identified using DNA analysis.
Among the bodies were Ms Adi's husband and father-in-law.
It was revealed that IS militants had rounded up their victims, before shooting them and disposing of their bodies in the graves.
The bodies were returned to Kocho in February 2021, where they were laid to rest.
“My husband and my father-in-law’s bones were found in the mass grave. May they all rest in peace," Ms Adi said.
More than 500 bodies have been analysed in the region over recent years, of which it was discovered that most of them were women, children and the elderly.
Yazidi victims discovered in mass graves were laid to rest in the village of Kocho. Source: Shamo Shamo
“My husband was missing for six years and I didn’t know anything about [what happened]," she said.
"I found his name on a list of names amongst the bones discovered in a mass grave. My mother-in-law and one of my husband’s uncles are still missing.”
The devastation was compounded by the fact that her youngest son never got to meet his father.
“When I was abducted by IS my second baby boy wasn’t born yet. He was born while I was in their captivity.”
Ms Adi describes the treatment she and her children endured in IS captivity as "extremely harsh".
Hayfa and her husband before being separated by IS (L). Source: Hayfa Adi
“Their treatment towards us was extremely bad, they would beat us, they didn’t give us any food, they didn’t give milk for my baby and they even took my baby boy away for one month.
“I even saw them bury women alive and put dirt on them."
Ms Adi and her sons, now eight and six, arrived in Australia in 2018 as refugees.
Mourners prepare to buried the remains of Yazidi victims in a cemetery in Sinjar, Iraq, Saturday, Feb 6, 2021. Source: AP
They were among hundreds of Yazidis who settled in the NSW town of Wagga Wagga.
While she’s "happy to be living in a country like Australia", the news of her husband reopened old wounds that she says will "never be mended".
“I’ve been in Australia for three years and thank God for this country, my situation here is good. I’m happy that my children are with me, one is nearly eight and one is six years old.”
