Al Jazeera Documentaries
Season 2016
The Big Picture documents the full story behind the most pressing issues of our times. With a unique format, seamlessly mixing documentary filmmaking with informed panel discussion, we combine the best of strong, interview-based storytelling and incisive investigation to offer unparalleled analysis. The Big Picture sheds new light on the major issues of the present.
Where to Watch Al Jazeera Documentaries • Season 2016
43 Episodes
- AJEats - Istanbul: Turkish cuisine at a crossroads
E1AJEats - Istanbul: Turkish cuisine at a crossroadsWe explore how a new generation is keeping Turkey's centuries-old culinary traditions alive in a modern world.- Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera- Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ - AJEats - Reykjavik: Iceland's recipe for survivalE2
AJEats - Reykjavik: Iceland's recipe for survivalHow the financial crisis turned into an opportunity to revive culinary traditions and revolutionise Icelandic cuisine.- Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera- Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ - Street Food - Bagels and curryhouses: London's Brick LaneE3
Street Food - Bagels and curryhouses: London's Brick LaneVisitors to London could be forgiven for thinking that they are seeing a quintessentially English city. In fact, behind the picture postcard facade of some of its most recognisable monuments, the English capital is one of the most multicultural places in the world.More than a third of Londoners belong to an ethnic minority group, making the city of more than eight million people one of the world's most linguistically diverse. According to 2011 census data, almost every borough is home to at least 100 different languages.Nowhere is this more evident than in the city's East End, an area that has experienced centuries of migration as the traditional first port of call for migrants. In fact, in the 19th century, London became the biggest city in the world t - Street Food - Feeding unrest in Cairo: The politics of breadE4
Street Food - Feeding unrest in Cairo: The politics of breadEgypt has long been called Umm al-Dunya, or the 'mother of the world'. Ancient Greeks described it as 'the gift of the Nile' whose flooding each year provided two rich harvests. Egyptian wheat fed the pharaohs and was used by the Roman state to supply the free bread which kept its citizens loyal.With one of the oldest agricultural economies in the world, Egypt has for centuries been an economic and cultural powerhouse in the region, and at the heart of this is its capital, Cairo. Street life in the sprawling metropolis is vibrant and much of the city functions as a marketplace. Although international chains such as KFC and McDonald's exist, their offerings are often too expensive for locals who prefer their own versions of fast food bought at carts arou - Street Food - Nairobi: Feeding Kenya's poorE5
Street Food - Nairobi: Feeding Kenya's poorWe explore the role of traditional, cheap dishes in promoting healthier eating and tackling inter-tribal differences.- Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera- Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ - Brexit: Britain At The CrossroadsE9
Brexit: Britain At The CrossroadsAll eyes are on the UK, as Britons head to the polls on Thursday to decide whether they want to stay in the European Union, or leave.The UK is fiercely divided on the issue, with all living former British prime ministers, from both political parties, backing the 'Remain' campaign.But nearly half of the Conservative Party's MPs are backing the 'Leave' campaign, with Michael Gove, the secretary of state for justice, and Boris Johnson, the former London mayor, joining ranks with the far-right, anti-immigration party UKIP and its populist leader Nigel Farage.On the continent, the vote is being watched with much more concern, with fears that a 'leave' vote could deepen the crisis facing a continent already struggling with economic weakness, a refugee crisis and growing geopolitical instability.Apart from disrupting financial markets, a leave vote could bring far more dramatic change, along with many uncertainties.In this Al Jazeera special, Barnaby Phillips looks at the key issues surrounding Thursday's vote that could shape British-EU ties for generations. - A Very Sicilian Justice: Taking On The MafiaE10
A Very Sicilian Justice: Taking On The MafiaSicilian judge Antonino Di Matteo is one of the most threatened - and protected - men in Italy.As the chief prosecutor in Italy's 'trial of the century', he has more than 20 bodyguards, ensuring his safety around the clock.On trial are 10 men who stand accused of being part of a conspiracy between the mafia and the state. Five of the defendants are mafia bosses and five are members of the political establishment, including senior police chiefs and politicians.Central to Di Matteo's case is the story of Italy's most famous anti-mafia judges, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.During the 1980s they prosecuted hundreds of Cosa Nostra members in what was known as the Maxi Trial, the largest mafia court case in history. Four-hundred-and-seventy-five mafiosi were brought to court and 346 were found guilty.'For over 130 years in Italy we pretended the mafia didn't exist. Not until Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino did we have magistrates in Sicily who said, 'No. The mafia in Italy exists. The mafia in Sicily exists. And it's the judiciary's duty to fight and try to destroy the mafia',' says Saverio Lodato, author of Forty Years of Mafia.The Cosa Nostra 'boss of bosses', Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, had been tried in absentia and sentenced to life in prison. After the trial, Riina allegedly sought revenge.Judge Giovanni Falcone was assassinated on May 23, 1992 near the mafia heartland of Palermo. Two months later, while investigating Falcone's murder, Judge Paolo Borsellino was also killed by a massive car bomb in Via D'Amelio, a residential street in Palermo.Inspired by these two judges, Di Matteo is now taking up where they left off. He is trying to shine a light on Italy's so-called season of terror from 1991 to 1994, when the mafia organised a series of bombings and murders to force a negotiation with the government.'I was brought up with the legend of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. I was a law student when they were working on the Maxi Trial. In those men ... - Walls Of Shame: The Us-mexican BorderE11
Walls Of Shame: The Us-mexican BorderUS-Mexico border wall: The great wall of AmericaA border of more than 3,000 kilometres separates the US from Mexico - but it is defined not only by physical barriers made of concrete and steel but by an immigration policy which is failing to address the issues behind illegal migration.Despite the US spending billions of dollars on border enforcement, the lure of work sees illegal migrants enter the country at a rate of 850,000 a year.A series of walls along the Mexican border were designed to stem this flow but based on current estimates it has failed. Instead, the walls have re-routed human traffic into remote desert areas where people risk their lives in deadly conditions attempting to enter the US. This film shows what US immigration policy looks like on the ground for the people making the perilous journey for a better life, and for the Americans who call this borderland home.Update: Since this film first aired on Al Jazeera English in 2007, the US continued to increase spending on border security. At no other time in history has there been as many border patrol officers on duty as there are today.And now the authorities are bracing for a new challenge: children. Since 2014, the number of families and unaccompanied children apprehended at the border keeps skyrocketing. Young people are filling family detention centres near the border, having fled poverty or extreme violence in Central America.And today the issue is taking centre stage in this US presidential election, with Donald Trump calling for more walls, leading some migrants to say they will cross the border now before it may be too late. - Walls Of Shame - Fortress Europe: The Spanish-moroccan BorderE12
Walls Of Shame - Fortress Europe: The Spanish-moroccan BorderThe city of Ceuta is the southernmost outpost of fortress Europe. Yet it is on mainland Africa - opposite the Straights of Gibraltar. It is one of the last vestiges of Spanish rule in northern Morocco.Madrid insists it will never relinquish control and has cordoned it off - prompting comparison with other walls of shame.However, there are growing demands for a more constructive approach to the problem of illegal immigration. One man has already started a grass-roots initiative that proved much more successful than walls and fences.But within the town of Ceuta is another divide - a social division that is religious and economic - between the wealthy Christian Spaniards and their poorer Muslim compatriots of Moroccan descent.This episode of Walls of Shame first aired in November 2007.Update: 2015 was the deadliest year on record for migrants and refugees attempting to get into Europe. Over 3,700 people died - the majority on sea crossings between Libya and Italy or Turkey and Greece.Almost ten years ago, when the film first aired, the number of migrant deaths on Spanish territory had reached its peak. The world's media only started to take notice when the drowned bodies of African migrants began washing ashore on the tourist beaches of the Spanish Canary islands. Spain's response was to stiffen its border security, but despite all the effort and expense spent on beefing up its borders, migration is on the rise.Migrants, hoping to be among the lucky few to reach the other side, have often rushed the border fence - sometimes with tragic consequences. On one occasion in Ceuta in 2014, at least 14 African migrants drowned when trying to swim their way from Morocco to Spain.Those who made it alive were deported back to Morocco, on the other side of the wall.Today this no longer an issue isolated in a faraway Spanish enclave. The number of people hoping to reach Europe has swelled by a huge wave of refugees from wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.Thousands of people are te - Walls Of Shame: West Bank Separation WallE13
Walls Of Shame: West Bank Separation WallIt matters little what they are called - whether walls, barriers or fences - the intention is the same: to redefine human relations into 'us' and 'them'.The Walls of Shame series is about division, and about the barriers that men erect, in calculation or desperation, to separate themselves from others, or others from them. When diplomacy and conciliation fail, this is the alternative, and not since medieval times have walls been so in demand around the world.Tens of new walls, barriers and fences are currently being built, while old ones are being renovated. And there are many types: barriers between countries, walls around cities and fences that zigzag through neighbourhoods.This series will look at four examples of new and extended walls around the world. It will examine the lives of those who are living next to them and how their lives are impacted. It will also reveal the intention of the walls' designers and builders, and explore the novel and artistic ways walls are used to chronicle the past and imagine the future.Taking its name from John F. Kennedy's reference to the Berlin Wall in his state of the union address in 1963, this series will examine four new walls: The one on the American-Mexican border, the West Bank wall, the Spanish fence around Ceuta, and the walls inside the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland.The Unity of the Separation WallIn this episode of Walls of Shame, we look at the plight of Palestinian farmers whose land has become inaccessible because of Israel's 700km security wall.Most ancient cities had so-called 'protective' walls - and while we see some around Jerusalem dating back to the 16th century, the wall erected by Israel in the last few years not only looks different - it serves a completely different purpose. Israel claims the wall is vital for its security, but according to the International Court of Justice it is in clear violation of international law.This episode also looks at the real intention of those who first drew its outl - Walls Of Shame: Northern Ireland'S TroublesE14
Walls Of Shame: Northern Ireland'S TroublesThe modern history of Northern Ireland has been dominated by one thing, 'The Troubles' - a violent, bitter conflict, both political and religious, between those claiming to represent the predominantly Catholic nationalists and those claiming to represent the mainly Protestant unionists.But what Northern Ireland has now is not so much 'peace' as 'an absence of conflict' after the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. Far from disappearing, the walls have grown. Instead of reconciliation, there is partition - an ill-tempered stalemate of separate identities and separated lives.Broadly speaking, the nationalists - also called 'Republicans' - want Northern Ireland to be unified with the Republic of Ireland while the unionists want it to remain part of the United Kingdom, along with England, Wales and Scotland.This episode of the Walls of Shame series looks at life on both sides of the barriers between the warring communities.Update: Al Jazeera returned to Belfast, almost a decade after this film first aired in 2007, to touch base with Catholic muralist Danny Devenny. As the walls of separation - or 'protection' as some view the barriers - start to come down, much of Danny and his muralist friends' work is also being destroyed, with calls to 'reimagine' their art. The government has vowed to destroy the walls but the community is reluctant, scared and not appreciative of attempts to gloss over a difficult past. - The Caliph - Part 1: FoundationE15
The Caliph - Part 1: FoundationFor almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph.Translated from the Arabic ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy. The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.It is a term that has, at times, been abused.In June 2014, a militant group calling itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL or ISIS) declared the establishment of a caliphate and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a caliph. This proclamation was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims.ISIL had attempted to appropriate a title imbued with religious and political significance – and in doing so had cast a dark shadow over a rich history.This is the story of the caliph, a title that originated 1,400 years ago and that spanned one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. In this episode of the Caliph, Al Jazeera tells the story of the caliphate, providing a fascinating insight into how the first caliphs of Islam built and expanded their empire. - The Caliph - Part 2: DivisionE16
The Caliph - Part 2: DivisionFor almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph. Translated from the Arabic ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy.The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a term that has, at times, been abused. In June 2014, a militant group calling itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL or ISIS) declared the establishment of a caliphate and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a caliph. This proclamation was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims. ISIL had attempted to appropriate a title imbued with religious and political significance – and in doing so had cast a dark shadow over a rich history. This is the story of the caliph, a title that originated 1,400 years ago and that spanned one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.In this episode of The Caliph, Al Jazeera tells the story of the caliphate, looking at the Sunni-Shia divide, and how this split arose from a dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad. - The People'S Health - The Uk'S FrontlineE18
The People'S Health - The Uk'S FrontlineA film by Sasha Djurkovic and Alex NiakarisGood primary care is pivotal in a healthcare system - it is an aspiration for countries around the world desperate to keep costs down and reduce pressures on their hospitals.The UK boasts nearly 10,000 local doctors' practices, providing primary healthcare to some 60 million people.Britain's National Health Service was founded in 1948 with the ethos that healthcare should be free at the point of need.Primary care is critical to making this a reality; today it delivers 90 percent of all healthcare for only 8.5 percent of the total health budget.With the ever-increasing costs of care and an ageing population, doctors are under a lot of pressure to keep everyone healthy.Through the lives of the doctors and patients at Killick Street Health Centre, a busy London doctors' practice that opened its doors 17 years ago, we explore their crucial role in the health system and the challenges they face. - My Cuba - Luis Silva: Being PanfiloE19
My Cuba - Luis Silva: Being PanfiloLuis Silva, 37, spends much of his time in character as Panfilo Epifanio, a 78-year-old man. Panfilo is the protagonist of Vivir del Cuento, which roughly translates as 'surviving by your wits', a sitcom regularly voted the most popular programme on state-operated Cuban television for its humorous take on the struggles of life in Cuba. Even President Barack Obama wanted to meet Silva's much-loved Panfilo; they filmed a sketch together in Havana during Obama's historic visit to Cuba in March. Cuban audiences tune in each week to watch Panfilo's skits about the changes and realities of daily life in the country. 'Will this character make people laugh Maybe he'll make them cry, because the issues he raises can really make you cry,' says Silva about his character's social criticism. 'I try to give Panfilo small misfortunes, ups and downs, constant problems with bread, with the ration book, with groceries, with potholes. I try to approach it in a funny way, in a way that you can say, he is bringing this issue to light,' Silva says. 'We Cubans laugh at our problems.' A former mathematics professor at the University of Havana, Silva now performs stand-up routines nearly every night at local nightclubs. The stage name, Panfilo, comes the word 'pan', or bread, and grew out of jokes with friends about the poor state of the daily bread Cubans receive with their ration books. In a country in which celebrity endorsement is a still nascent concept, Silva's brother is launching a line of Don Panfilo peanut bars, while his mother makes meringues under the same brand. From his nightclub performances to his home, from the everyday locations where he films skits for Vivir del Cuento, to the baseball pitch where he plays with a team of comedians- 'frustrated baseball players', he explains, who happen to have found success in theatre - Silva takes us into his dual world to show us how Panfilo pushes the envelope to critique Cuban society - one joke at a time. - My Cuba - Laura Rodriguez: To DanceE20
My Cuba - Laura Rodriguez: To DanceLaura Rodriguez Quesada is one of 25 dancers with Acosta Danza, a new Havana dance company founded by Carlos Acosta, the famous ballet dancer and Cuban star of the Royal Ballet in Britain. Acosta Danza's vision is to meld the traditionally separate worlds of classical and contemporary dance. Rodriguez lives with her boyfriend Jesus Corrales in Centro Havana, the most densely populated neighbourhood in the Cuban capital. They moved there from Camaguey after successfully auditioning to join Acosta's company. Both are thrilled to be able to work with Acosta as competition to get in is stiff. Each year, 300 world-class ballet dancers graduate from schools across Cuba. 'We never imagined either of us would be in Carlos' dance company,' Rodriguez says. 'In the beginning it was a bit difficult for me because when I danced with him [Acosta] I didn't know how to address him. How formal to be with him. But he ... gives you that confidence,' Rodriguez explains. Acosta, in turn, is humbled by the talent found in Cuba. 'Cuba dancers, they are passionate, they are hungry for it. They really love what they do and they give you their life, and I think it's very contagious, and it is really inspiring to work with them,' Acosta says. Among her peers, Rodriguez is considered a rising star. Dancing and performing for an audience is what she loves most. 'I think nerves are part of each presentation. I once heard someone saying if you don't get nervous it's because something is failing, because you are no longer excited, no longer motivated. But I think my reaction is different from others. I tend to be very calm,' she says. Rodriguez is set to dance with Acosta in the company's premiere at the Gran Teatro Alicia Alonso in Havana. A knee injury might make it impossible, however, and Rodriguez isn't sure if she'll be ready to dance in time. As she strives to be fit for the premiere, this film gives us an intimate look into the simple, daily lives of Rodriguez and Corrales, and the world - Snacking Through The Big Apple: Food Carts In Nyc - Street FoodE23
Snacking Through The Big Apple: Food Carts In Nyc - Street FoodExploring the cultural diversity exemplified throughout the vibrant street food scene in New York City. Known as the Big Apple, New York City is home to about nine million people [≈ population of Honduras, nation] and hosts an additional 40 million visitors every year, which makes for a lot of stomachs to feed. Quick snacks, above all the hot dog, are as synonymous with New York as yellow cabs and skyscrapers and reflect the city's eclectic ethnic mix. Yet few people realise that many of the city's thousands of street vendors - including Brooklyn's famed 'Falafel King' - face a daily struggle that belies the city's wealthy and glamourous image. As the first signs of Manhattan's morning hustle and bustle surface, the city's street vendors have already been at work for many hours. Storage garages are busy with the sound of these business owners cleaning and gleaming, stocking and getting things in order for their long days ahead. Although there are many vendors native to NYC, there is a significant number of immigrant owners - many of whom have run their businesses for decades. Their food carts symbolise a lot more than a quick and convenient snack for the hundreds of thousands that pound the pavements of the city. They are a chance to live life on their own terms, often after escaping political turmoil or significant economic instability in their homelands. But the challenge is far from ideal. Obstacles to a successful business range from finding the perfect selling spot - in spite of an unspoken brotherhood between the vendors that can and has led to rivalries - and adhering to legislation surrounding health and safety, to liquidity and endless working hours. On the other side of the river, street vendors in Brooklyn and Queens face an even tougher uphill battle. Catering to a rougher demographic, and often without the means - both financial and otherwise - food cart owners, many of whom are new to the US, tend to find themselves operating illegally and, at tim - Zanzibar: Spices, Slaves And The Spirit Of Independence - Street FoodE24
Zanzibar: Spices, Slaves And The Spirit Of Independence - Street FoodThe Indian Ocean is one of the world's oldest and largest free trade zones. For centuries, trade and migration have marked the history of the many communities living along its shores. But the name of one place on the coast of Africa has long captured people's imagination: Zanzibar, also know as the spice island. For centuries, merchants of of all colours and creeds came to the island off the Tanzanian mainland on wooden vessels - and each of them left their own mark on the island. As a result, Zanzibar has one of the richest and most diverse food cultures in East Africa encompassing influences from Arabia, India and Europe. Street food is a term often interpreted literally as food served on the streets, but in Zanzibar the real roads are the ocean, dhows are the link between sea and the land, and the presence of seafood is everywhere on the menus. The island's wealth was largely founded on the spice trade. Zanzibar's original settlers were Bantu-speaking Africans. But Arabs, especially Omanis, had a huge influence. They set up trading companies in Zanzibar in the 17th century, ending 200 years of Portuguese dominance on the island. In 1832, the Sultan of Oman moved his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, which had become a major slave-trading centre. He encouraged the commercial farming of cloves, so when the slave trade was abolished in 1873, the spice trade continued to flourish - giving Zanzibar wealth and prestige as well as its legendary name, the spice island. As anti-colonialism spread across Africa, Zanzibar gained independence in 1963. The following Zanzibari revolution, which aimed to give power back to Africans, became one of the bloodiest chapters in the island's history. 'Most of the Omani people were killed, more than 14,000 people were killed, tortured, cut into pieces, murdered, butchered,' says Nassor Mazrui, a businessman. Professor Abdul Sherif from the Zanzibar Ocean Research Institute explains that Arabs were targeted in particular because 'they w - My Cuba - Alexis Martinez Pena: The CountrymanE26
My Cuba - Alexis Martinez Pena: The CountrymanAlexis Martinez Pena, 52, was a schoolteacher for 14 years in the city of Bayamo. He loved working with children, but found the system to be too rigid and dogmatic. So he left and moved to San Pablo de Yao, a village of just over 1,200 in the Sierra Maestra mountains of eastern Cuba. He has now found satisfaction working as a shoemaker. He is the only one in the area. 'I ended up here, quietly. A cobbler with my degree in a drawer,' he says with a laugh. 'This is a job that won't make anyone rich, but I don't complain,' he says. 'Although I don't have high profits I know to value all this as profit, because emotionally and spiritually it gives me a very pleasant lifestyle.' Martinez lives on his own with his puppy. His two daughters, who study elsewhere, visit him whenever they can. He is largely self-sufficient and grows fruit, vegetables and coffee on his plot of land; he finds anything else that he needs in his small village. But while he may have left teaching, he still maintains his connection with children - performing as Piruli the clown in the neighbouring villages. We follow him as he prepares to perform in neighbouring Maguaro, where many of the children will be seeing a clown for the first time. - Rewind - Blood And Dust: What Happened To Tyrone Jordan?E28
Rewind - Blood And Dust: What Happened To Tyrone Jordan?Ten years ago, in November 2006, Al Jazeera English was launched. To mark that anniversary, we've created REWIND, which updates some of the channel's most memorable and award-winning documentaries of the past decade. Filmed against the dramatic backdrop of Doha's iconic Museum of Islamic Art, our team finds out what happened to some of the characters in those films and asks how their stories have changed in the years since our cameras left. In this episode, we're spooling back to Afghanistan in early 2011. NATO's war against the Taliban was still in full swing at the time, with neither side disposed to show the other much quarter. As a result, every day added to the numbers of combatants and civilians being wounded or killed in the conflict - many of them in remote communities cut off from emergency medical facilities or in exposed positions right on the frontline. Few people understood what this meant in practice better than the medevac personnel, who were helicoptering out across the country to pick up casualties and often coming under fire themselves. To find out what it was like on board one of these units, veteran cameraman spent two weeks with the paramedics of the US Army's 214th Aviation Regiment. His extraordinary footage was made into Blood and Dust, a much-acclaimed episode of People and Power, which revealed both the shocking reality of war and the remarkable even-handedness of those providing care. As previous viewers may remember - and new ones will see - the film contains some deeply disturbing images right from the start. But it also introduced us to a truly memorable character, Sergeant Tyrone Jordan, whose composure, compassion and skill under pressure was quite remarkable to behold. Now five years on, Tyrone Jordan has agreed to tell REWIND how his life has moved on. - ISIL Deserters Speak Out
E31ISIL Deserters Speak OutSociopolitical Documentary hosted by Thomas Dandois and Francois Xavier Tregan, published by Al-Jazeera broadcasted as part of Al-Jazeera Witness series in 2016 ISIL deserters and the men who helped them escape from Syria reveal testimonies of life and death under the armed group. In southeast Turkey, a few dozen kilometres from war-torn Syria, a secret network, at great risk to themselves, is rescuing fighters who have decided to leave ISIL. For the first time, these deserters have agreed to give a detailed account of the roles they played and what life was like under ISIL. Most of them have lived in Raqqa, ISIL's political and military stronghold in Syria. Personal accounts of this sort are extremely rare because, in general, ISIL deserters go into hiding and keep quiet. If they give themselves up to authorities, they are immediately imprisoned and can no longer have any contact with their lawyers or families. The smuggling network, made up of long-term fighters of the Free Syrian Army, agreed to reveal a few of its working methods. By helping the deserters to flee and by collecting their testimonies, they want to denounce ISIL's lies, its false promises, its cult of violence and its widespread corruption. The members of the network are convinced that, in doing so, they will discourage future candidates and block recruitment channels. - The Disappeared of SyriaE42
The Disappeared of SyriaA look at the invisible weapon of Bashar al-Assad's regime: the kidnapping and torture of tens of thousands of Syrians. When Syrians first protested in the Spring of 2011, their only weapons were banners and songs and a deep desire for freedom. Syria has been ruled by a strong, strict and often merciless regime, handed down from father to son since 1970. "We, the old guard, couldn't believe it. Protests like that? In the state of Hafez al-Assad? In Syria? For the old guard, it was impossible. Forty-five years of rule had brainwashed us. When the revolution began, our orders were to shoot," says Munir al-Hariri, a former member of the Syrian intelligence service. - Sykes-Picot: Lines in the Sand
E43Sykes-Picot: Lines in the SandThe story of the secret deal between the British and French, concluded in May 1916, which aimed to carve up the Middle East in ways that most benefited the two European powers. Modern world history has been heavily influenced by events in the Middle East, whose strategic importance has been magnified by both a global dependence on oil and the Israel-Palestine conflict. A hundred years ago, World War I saw Britain, France and Russia locked in combat with Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottomans. As the war in Europe fought itself almost to a standstill, Britain cast a strategic eye towards key areas of the Ottoman Empire. Should the allies be victorious, it would be important to claim the most strategically valuable territory - Greater Syria and Mesopotamia - particularly in relation to the French.
