On Plugged In… The story of an Iraqi village.. torn apart… By Islamic State… A town, now liberated… but still living With the families of their enemies. Scars run deep… In this part of the world… but the war on terror… isn’t always fought with guns… and bombs. Sometimes… A little kindness… can be the ultimate weapon… In “Shoura… An Experiment in Reconciliation” (MIL ARCEGA) Welcome to this special edition of Plugged In. I’m Mil Arcega, filling in for Greta Van Susteren. What happens when the family of your enemy lives next door? And what if your enemy is the most brutal terrorist organization in the world? What would you do? Plot revenge, or drive them away? Those are relevant questions for a small Iraqi town called Shoura, not far from from the former Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. In a powerful new documentary, VOA Middle East Correspondent Heather Murdock chronicles the efforts of the people of Shoura, who are doing what many thought was unthinkable. (SHOURA: AN EXPERIMENT IN RECONCILIATION) (NARRATOR) This is the story of a town deep in the Iraqi desert, a story of violence, vengeance and the seemingly impossible task of reconciliation. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq, provoking an insurgency. Over the next decade, the most extreme fighters evolved into the Islamic State group. IS forces took over large parts of Iraq and Syria. Their leader declared a caliphate. This town was home to several leading militants, and roughly half the men here swore allegiance the group. Their will was imposed on all. In 2016, a counter offensive began pushing IS out. Now in this town, the families of the defeated militants live side by side with the families of the victims. This town is Shoura. ((ZAINADINE - male, in Arabic)) “We lost our future, we lost our education and everything else. I should be in university now but I’m still in high school.” ((BOY #1 - in Arabic)) “We stopped going to school. We stopped. We stayed home and did nothing.” ((BOY #2 - In Arabic) “All the toilets at school were broken.” (laughter) ((ZAINADINE - male, in Arabic)) “There were schools here before IS. But when they came the schools were not recognized and the students had to wear IS-style clothing. For example, in the elementary school they weren’t teaching “one plus one equals two.” Instead they were teaching “one bullet plus one bullet equals two bullets” and about how and when to kill. People stopped sending their children to school.” ((NARRATOR)) When IS took over, many people believed it could end years of oppression and instability, and begin an era of pious, efficient governance. Before Islamic State, tribal leaders were the region's moral authority. But militants stripped them of their power and some fled. In Shoura, we meet a sheikh who stayed. A traditional leader by lineage, he became the area's leading sheikh after IS was defeated. ((SHEIKH JAMHOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “I am Sheikh Jamhoor Ahmed Mala Mansoor, Sheikh of the Amira clan of the Jaboor tribe. From 2003 to 2014 extremists were always here under the guise of a religious group.” ((NARRATOR)) The sheikh tells us that new recruits – more than 700 of Shoura’s men and boys - were told they were joining an Islamic revolution. ((SHEIKH JAMHOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “But then they started killing police officers, killing women, killing children.. They demanded money and if anyone didn’t pay, they would come at night and murder them.” ((NARRATOR)) People who joined IS could be killed if they tried to quit. Death was a risk just living under militants’ rule. Not far from Shoura is this sinkhole, where militants tossed out the bodies of their victims from across the region. Here alone are thought to be the remains of more than 10,000 people. To boost recruitment, militants had children attend screenings at Shoura’s “Media Center.” They watched videos of IS military victories, whippings, beheadings and other acts of brutality. And the violence was not just on screen. ((ZAINADINE, male, in Arabic)) “One time, IS beheaded a man on this football field. He was accused of spying for Iraqi security forces. They gathered people and made a circle. They were mostly IS. Then they started hitting him in front of everyone and everyone spit on him. When they beheaded him, they started playing with his head.” ((NARRATOR)) In some cases, IS tricked family members into helping the group kill. ((OMAR, male, in Arabic)) “I work for the local government and I have another job at a candy store. My brother was part of a group taking weapons from IS bases that had been attacked. He was looting. IS arrested someone in Mosul who turned them all in including my brother. Then IS security forces came to me but they didn't tell me what was happening. They accused my brother of fleeing to Iraqi forces and told me to prove he was still home. They tricked me. The moment they arrived at his house, they grabbed him. The next day they took his car and we never saw him again.” ((NARRATOR)) Omar’s brother is thought to be dead. In other cases, the militants made sure everyone knew exactly what happened to their victims by making gruesome videos of their murders. These are the parents of a young man named Wessam. (INTERVIEWER off camera, male, in Arabic) “When did IS take him?” ((ABU WESSAM, male, in Arabic)) “May 18 2015. It was a Monday.” ((OM WESSAM, female, in Arabic)) “I told them “you can’t take him” but they searched everywhere for him. I said, “you didn’t find cigarettes or SIM cards, so why arrest him?” (INTERVIEWER off camera, male in Arabic) “Why was he arrested?” ((ABU WESSAM, male, in Arabic)) “They accused him of spying for Iraqi forces. They said he was a spy. IS made a video of his death. This is Wessam and the others. They put him in the driver’s seat.” ((OM WESSAM, female, in Arabic)) “I have not seen the video. I only saw a picture of him talking. That’s all I saw and that was a while ago. It made me sick.” ((NARRATOR)) Ending Islamic State rule in northern Iraq was hard fought battle. We watched as coalition airstrikes rained down on cities, towns and villages while Iraqi ground forces advanced, recapturing territory in a campaign that lasted more than a year. Millions of civilians fled their homes. Tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters left behind children, wives and other relatives. They are often viewed with suspicion or hatred, and little has been done on a national level to prevent this split from becoming explosive. But Shoura is different. Authorities here found the relatives of all but the most notorious militants in the camps and brought them home. Since then, there has been reconciliation, but there has also been conflict. In some families we met, anger, grief and the prospect of retaliation are entwined. ((OMAR, male, in Arabic)) “My oldest brother was killed by IS. The second oldest joined IS for about four to six months before he was killed in battle. Now I have to support twelve or thirteen children and seven or eight women by myself.” ((NARRATOR)) And not everyone who joined was a true believer, swayed by the militants’ claim of representing Islamic ideals. Some were poor, enticed by money, weapons or cars. Others just seemed to go along. But there are some whose links to Islamic State are clear cut. This woman, Matria, had four sons and nine sons-in-law- all of them militants, all of them killed in battle. She tells us she is overwhelmed by the anger of her neighbors. ((MATRIA, female, in Arabic)) “Let them kill me and laugh! Or should I give them one of my grandsons to kill? Will that satisfy them? They can behead my boy if that is the only way to shut them up. God knows the truth.” (MIL ARCEGA) So how does the town of Shoura move forward from anger and recrimination? How much more blood must be shed before everyone is satisfied? One man believed not only was it possible to end the cycle of violence... He believed it was possible for everyone to live together in peace. During the reign of Islamic State, Sheik Jamhoor acted as an informal intermediary for the residents of Shoura, helping the families there plead with militants to find their missing relatives. Sheik Jamhoor continued in that role even after ISIS was driven out by Iraqi forces - spearheading efforts to help not just the villagers - but also the families of Islamic State militants who were left behind. Here's Part 2 now - of SHOURA...an Experiment in Reconciliation. ((SHOURA - PART 2 )) ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “If the IS families live with us and enjoy their lives with us, eventually there will be no difference between IS families and non-IS families. But if the families stay isolated in the camps, it will be a concern not just for this area, but for the Iraqi government. Relatives of extremists crowded together may be convinced to take revenge. Also, the children won’t get an education, which could also convince them to take revenge. If we all live together in the same way there won’t be as many problems.” ((NARRATOR)) Shoura has a municipal government, but the Sheikh has taken up the task of preventing reprisals -- and settling disputes. Among those who come to him for help is Ruqya. Her brother-in-law was a militant. Now, she fears for her son, Yahya. ((RUQYA, female, in Arabic)) “I went to my aunt’s house one night to talk to her. During the day, we don’t go outside because we are afraid of people talking about us. We were waiting for my son Yahya to join us. We were waiting there, and then he came in. His face was pale and he was holding his head. We asked, “what’s wrong?” ((YAHYA, boy, in Arabic)) “My auntie’s street was dark. There was no light outside. Someone came out of an empty house. As soon as he saw me, he started following me. He said, “Is your father is IS?” He grabbed my arm and twisted it. He told me to get on the bicycle with him or he would shoot me. Then he pulled out a cloth and covered my mouth. I started screaming, “Aunty An’aam! Aunty An’aam!” He hit me. He hit me on the head with a stick. And then he ran away.” ((RUQYA, female, in Arabic)) “Yahya was still shaking the next day. He kept saying, “He hit me.” At first I thought it was a fight with another child, not a grown man.” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “Only four or five people have bicycles here. So we can figure out who he is by the model of the bike. I’ll investigate them and when we know who he is hopefully we can make it right.” ((NARRATOR)) A month later, the attacker was still not found, but Ruqya and her family remained unharmed in Shoura. The sheik’s main goal is to keep the peace, and for the most part he is succeeding. But he is also asking for accountability. ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “If there is a problem between the families the person with a complaint comes to me. Then we call the other party and we discuss until we reconcile or solve the problem before they leave.” ((NARRATOR)) Fadel blames Matria’s family, accusing one of her sons of the murder. She is vehement in her denials. ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “When that guy was killed, my son was young and had not joined IS. He was always with me. At first they accused the guy’s uncle, not my son. But when the Iraqi Army came here, we had to flee our home and when we came back they accused him of killing him.” ((NARRATOR)) Matria visits the sheikh, hoping he’ll get the accusations to stop. ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “Did they take advantage of us?” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “Wait, what did they say? ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “Are they taking advantage of us?” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “Did they say anything?” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “They haven’t said anything to me but they say that I owe them. How about I get one of my grandsons.” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) Never.” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “I’ll get one of my grandsons,” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “No, no.” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “I’ll get one of my grandsons, and they can behead him in front of God.” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “No, no.” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “We are just women and girls left behind.” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “Just listen to me. Just listen to me. I… The victim’s family, The victim’s family, they did not complain officially.” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “No, they did not complain” ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “They did not complain at all.” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) You’re right. ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “Let me tell you, I have looked into this. I know for a fact that your son took part in the killings and he planted the bomb that killed that man. And the family said nothing because no one could complain to IS.” ((MATRAYA, female, in Arabic)) “Fine, it’s true.” ((NARRATOR) Matraya’s about face and admission of her son’s guilt may help Fadhel’s family, and further the Sheikh’s ambitious plan. His efforts have support among other traditional leaders in Shoura and villages nearby. We followed him to a meeting that brings together victims and families of IS. The focus is not only reconciliation but larger challenges facing them all. ((VILLAGE LEADER, male, in Arabic)) “You have three rights: Islam, relationships, and neighbors. Those are your three rights. It is not worth this chaos. Go and meet each other every now and then. Get together. Drink some tea together. Why are you fighting among yourselves? There is no farming. There are no jobs here. You have nothing. What are you fighting about? There is nothing in this desert worth fighting over.” ((NARRATOR)) Rebuilding areas once held by IS has so far been slow, leaving some of the country’s poorest people to fend for themselves. The sheikh believes reconstruction needs to go hand in hand with reconciliation: prosperity and co-existence undercutting the appeal of radicalism. ((SHEIKH JAMHOOR AHMED MALA MANSOOR, male, in Arabic)) “Women don’t want IS husbands. Girls don’t want IS fathers. Girls are ashamed if they say their fathers are IS. They are gone. They are gone. If the government can start reconstruction and give people jobs then the city will come back better than ever.” ((NARRATOR)) It’s a compelling argument. But is forgiveness too much to ask of a mother whose son’s murder was filmed for propaganda? ((OM WESSAM, female, in Arabic)) “Can I stand living with an IS mother? When her son is alive and mine isn’t? No I can’t stand it. If I could, I would kick them off the earth.” ((INTERVIEWER off camera, male, in Arabic)) “What if her son had been killed, too?” ((OM WESSAM, female, in Arabic)) “No, I know he is alive.” ((INTERVIEWER off camera, male, in Arabic)) “If…” ((OM WESSAM, female, in Arabic)) “I know he is alive. If her son is dead, she can come back but I don’t want her to have any sons left.” ((NARRATOR)) Which is why it’s all the more remarkable that her husband is able to see past their family’s grief. ((ABU WESSAM, male, in Arabic)) “It is only women and children related to IS here. Where would an IS wife go now but her parents’ house? If she has children, where would they go but to her parents’ house? If she has children and we kill them, then we are like IS. We won’t be criminals. It’s not possible.” ((NARRATOR)) And while fathers like Abu Wessam seek to avoid repeating the militants’ crimes, others say the most important thing now is preventing their return to power. We are surprised to find that Zainadine, who should have been in university, is also part of a security force organized by the sheikh. The Iraqi Army has a base in Shoura, but the sheikh’s guard is an added line of defense. ((ZAINADINE, male, in Arabic)) “We are a checkpoint in the street. At night, we check if someone wants to sneak in and if we know who he is or if he is an IS militant.” ((NARRATOR)) Shoura is surrounded by desert, and militants still stage attacks in the nearby villages. ((ZAINADINE, male, in Arabic)) “IS militants came to my sister’s home at 11:30 pm. They killed her two sons and they published the video of it online. They are trying to tell us that they are still here and to scare us. Here in Shoura, we feel threatened. An IS supporter threatened me on the internet. He asked me… “What’s your name?” “Where do you live?” So that he could come kill me. So I gave him my name… “Zainadine” And address. And told him “Come. He has a gun. Now I have a gun. Look, they want to hurt everyone. Young and old, and members of the military. But I’m not scared of those dogs. Let him come.” (INTERVIEWER off camera, male, in Arabic) “Let him come?” ((ZAINADINE, male, in Arabic)) “Let him come.” (INTERVIEWER off camera, male, in Arabic) “Why?” ((ZAINADINE, male, in Arabic)) “I’ll kill him, that’s why. I want to kill him. I will kill him, and I’ll be proud to do it.” ((NARRATOR)) Youthful bravado, continuing attacks, poverty, and deep-seated resentment: the obstacles to peaceful co-existence are high. In other countries, truth and reconciliation commissions are a national effort, requiring time, money and political will. One sheikh, in one small town, may not be able to fix this divide in Iraq. Yet he and the people who look to him for leadership, are trying, day by day, to carve out a pocket of calm, in Shoura. (captioned): Almost one year later, the Sheikh says the attacks in Shoura have stopped for now. But tens of thousands of relatives of IS members still remain in camps across Syria and Iraq.) ((END)) (MIL ARCEGA) One town. Just one of many in that part of the world. One still trying to come to grips with the legacy of violence. I spoke with VOA Middle East correspondent Heather Murdock... who narrated and produced the film you just saw. She's currently on assignment in Beirut. But she was eager... to talk to us about her experience, getting to know the people of Shoura, the things she's learned and what stays with her - even now, months after the project was completed... (Heather Murdock Interview): HM: Well, one thing that is definitely hits me over and over again about the families of Islamic militants that I've met since I finished shooting this documentary in camps, is the tragedy of the small children. and you can see them, the longer they stay in the camps, the more they only interact with each other, the more radical the little kids become. like little kids, you know, know a Westerner is an infidel and should die. and these kids have no chance, no matter, like they have no chance and I don't see how kids who grow up like this, have a future. to outsiders they're terrorists, to insiders I mean they're in prison. And, yeah, that's the thing that's, that's very haunting little kids like actually under five years old, already being told that people unlike them should be killed. MA: Do they stand a better chance now under this experiment and reconciliation than they did before? HM: I think in places like shoura where they have tried to reconcile the families I think the kids have a lot better chance. For example, in shoura, radical ideas, people might still hold the extremist ideas in their hearts, but they're definitely not saying them publicly. and children are taught you know that these, these extremist ideas snd this, You know glorification of violence is wrong. And so if a kid grows up, at least with these those ideas introduced to them, even if they're introduced to the extremist ideas as well, at least they have a chance of growing up in a world where they can exist outside of this tiny pocket of extremism. MA: I imagine there are many shouras out there in that region. Is there any effort in the region to deal with this problem of trying to to stop ISIS family members from becoming further radicalized because of the hostility they may face from the villagers? HM: It seems like, not only is there no sort of national or international effort. it seems like there's almost an effort to do the opposite. And there are local efforts the sheikh and shoura are not the only towns trying to reconcile and figure out how to live together. However, nationally and internationally very, very little has been done. the families of militants often live in huge camps, as I mentioned before, and when you go there, you find that, month after month, people become more and more radicalized. And, month after month, they become more and more extreme, and more and more determined to restart Islamic State and restart the jihad, and they truly do believe that everyone who doesn't believe like them should die.” MA: Heather, was this a difficult documentary, to put together? HM: Well i mean physically It was difficult because it was a 50 degrees every day and shot it over the summer. And that's about 115 hundred and 20 Fahrenheit. Emotionally, it was difficult because first, for starters, we just covered a war in which we were covering from behind, or on the front lines with Iraqi forces and coalition forces and refugees and the people fleeing Islamic State militants. We saw a world of tragedy during that war and in the camps. And so then, as the war was winding down in Iraq, starting to wrap your mind around the fact that the militants themselves were and are people and their families are often innocent. and now we know this intellectually, but really trying to get to know these families and sympathize with where they came from, and not judge, that was difficult as well. MA: So, this was an eye opener just wanting this whole documentary about the other sides. The other side of the story that we don't often hear about, but from you, Heather, as someone who works so closely with these children with these families. What do you hope our viewers around the world will take away after watching Shoura, an experiment in reconciliation? HM: What I hope they will take away from it is well basically the idea that the Islamic State militants were people and their families that are left behind can either become another huge security threat, or they can become part of this modern world again. And in some places in Iraq and Syria, the camps are neglected more and more. it's very difficult for NGOs to get aid to them because you know who wants to support a camp full of ISIS people? like that's, but that is not just a humanitarian problem, but it's also a crisis. And I just think it's something that if we don't pay attention to this now, 10 years from now we're going to be saying, Oh, we saw this coming. MA: It may be too soon to tell but is this experiment, working so far, has it worked? HM: I think on a small scale, in Shoura and in some other places it has worked. but I think if more is not done on a larger scale, it could be easily reversed. (MIL ARCEGA) Our thanks to VOA Middle East Correspondent... Heather Murdock who was part of the hard-working team of professionals who produced that documentary. They include supervising editor Elizabeth Arrott... video producer Brian Allen... our brilliant animator Brian Williamson... field producer Halan Ibrahim Shekwa... and camera operator Felipe Paiva. And of course, our deepest gratitude to the people of Shoura. You can watch the entire documentary – “Shoura: an Experiment in Reconciliation” on our website at VOANews.com, forward slash Shoura, along with related stories and our extended interview with reporter Heather Murdock. I'm Mil Arcega. Thanks for watching.