Prologue
Iraq 2014
1. A farm in the Countryside
The enormous wheels of a truck at a standstill emerge from the thick fog. At the back of the truck, a group of armed men, all dressed in black, wave their weapons and shout orders in Arabic.
A group of women and children appear from under the tarp that covers the flatbed of the truck. The men order them to jump. The women push the children aside and jump. The men do nothing to help them. On the contrary, they greet them with insults, make vulgar comments, lift their skirts, or rip off their clothes with jeering laughter. The women who fall on the ground are kicked and beaten with rifle butts. They quickly stand up again, bruised and half-naked.
When the one who is in charge sees that his men harass women who wear a hijab, he shouts in Arabic:
THE LEADER
Leave these women alone. They will be the mothers of your children. With the others, you can do whatever you want, until they’re sold.
It is now the turn of the children to jump off the truck. The women try to help them by catching them into their arms, but the men push them brutally away. Terrorized, the children scream. The orders and insults that burst from all sides only add to their panic.
The leader notices that one woman whose head is covered with a scarf is pregnant. He asks one of his men:
THE LEADER
Sexual intercourse with a pregnant slave is forbidden. Take her away, I don’t want my men to become sullied and unclean.
The man walks away with the woman. A shot is heard, and he comes back, alone.
When the truck is empty, the men separate the boys from the girls and the women wearing a hijab from the ones who don’t. Veiled women are obviously treated with respect.
The fog clears up. Buildings bound the courtyard on three of its sides, a high wall and a gate closing the fourth one.
Veiled women and boys are taken to the main body of the farm. The other women are pushed towards the stalls on the left. The men who escort them have already set their sights on the one they want to take first, and do nothing to hide their intentions and excitement. The leader smiles at their frenzy.
As for the girls, they are hurried in the direction of the huge barn to the right. Suddenly, one of them escapes and runs towards her mother shouting:
THE GIRL
Mama! Mama!
Without hesitation, a guard points his gun at her and shoots. The girl collapses. Her mother faints. The screams and cries have suddenly stopped; everyone is in shock. A guard points his gun at the mother lying on the ground, but the other women swiftly take her by the arms and drag her on the ground towards the stalls.
Aghast, the girls are pushed inside the barn. The bright luminosity that reigns in the courtyard makes the obscurity inside the barn even more terrifying. Panic sets in when the massive metallic doors close behind them with a deafening sound.
