Barzan Khalaf Amo
Barzan is an 8-year-old Yazidi boy from Iraq. In 2014, ISIS invaded his hometown of Tal Qasab. After wreaking havoc on the town and its civilian population, ISIS fighters captured Barzan and his family who were hiding in a cache inside their home. They were loaded onto buses and moved to Mosul and then later to Talaafar.
After 6 months in captivity, a failed escape attempt led to the execution of the father, the mother was taken away from her children and Barzan was sold to a local Turkman Muslim family.
Barzan ended up spending several years in Iraq before ISIS began suffering defeat. His captors moved him to Syria and then Turkey. Barzan, who was 2 years old when he was kidnapped, was often treated harshly and forced to study Islam and memorize the Quran.
Meanwhile, his uncle who was searching for his family finally decided to reach out to TNF. He had learned about TNF from relatives who were recently rescued from the same area in Turkey where Barzan was being held.
After 18 months of intensive investigative work, our team finally managed to locate Barzan. Operatives were immediately dispatched to Turkey where they successfully negotiated his release and escorted him back home.
After a long and painful journey, Barzan was finally reunited with his remaining family. TNF is currently providing needed assistance to Barzan and will continue to support him until he is relocated to a safe location overseas.
November 24, 2020