Women, veiled or not, couples holding hands, peaceful men
who chat in the shade of the acacia trees. Less than 50 kilometers from ISIS, Turkey offers a haven of peace to those
who fled the new order of Daesh. It is here, in Gaziantep and Urfa,
that I am going to meet them. Some were subjected
a time for the jihadists, others got rid of it as quickly as possible. This is the case of Rana, young
high school graduate who lived in Syria, there is still little time with his family. I actually knew her there,
one year ago. They have since escaped
from the influence of terrorists, which always start the same way: The symbolic confinement of women. - That's obligatory. Patrols pursue girls
who are not in uniform. Yes, women's patrols. - Syrian women?
- No, Egyptian women. Once I was arrested
by an Egyptian woman. I was going right next door, in my street,
dressed normally. A car stopped. - Was it a man who was driving? - Yes, driven by a man. The woman asked me why
I was dressed like that. I asked, “What should I wear?” Rana, like his family,
doesn't want to show us his face. Too dangerous. She wants to be able one day
return to Syria peacefully. - Here is the niqab. - And how you can see in front of you. - Eyes may be visible. I lift the veil when I walk in town
to see my way. - And how many thicknesses? - There are two thicknesses, the 2nd must
be folded over my face when I travel. - And when you walk in town? - In the city, that's how it is. Before, we went out dressed normally. There, it's at school with my friends, when we were all forced
to put on the regulatory outfit... We looked at each other strangely
and we laughed. We said to ourselves:
The model of your abaya is beautiful, as we said before:
Your t-shirt or pants are beautiful. Laughter when everything leads to tears. Rana, his two brothers and his parents
didn't ask any more questions. We had to flee and abandon the life of yesteryear. In particular a civil servant position
for the mother of the family. - When Daesh dominated everything,
whole life was turned upside down. We were forced to leave
when they drove out the free army. There was no more university
for my 2 student sons. And for my daughter, with this rigor
imposed on women, it had become too unbearable. So it was difficult
for us to stay in Raqqa. We absolutely had to leave. - And the rest of the family? - They were forced to adapt
to new living conditions. Not everyone can afford to leave. Rana and his family will not return
soon in Raqqa, a city of 300,000 inhabitants. First to come under absolute control
of the Islamic State from the end of 2013. These images were produced by Daesh, Arabic acronym for Islamic State
in Iraq and Syria. They tell their epic story,
propaganda to their glory. With their black flag,
struck by the profession of Muslim faith, these men, descendants
of Al Qaeda in Iraq, entered Syria in early 2013
thanks to chaos, and the void left by the war
against Bashar al-Assad. Jihadists from all over the world
join them, of 80 different nationalities. But never their conquest of a part
from Iraq just before summer, is a stunning victory. In less than 48 hours, a few
thousands of jihadists, take Sunni areas
from the northwest and approaches Baghdad. The Iraqi army is in disarray. Daesh films its exploits
to American blockbusters, and distributes them on the Internet
to promote it. A jihadistan, on horseback
on Iraq and Syria was born. Big like the UK. A caliphate is proclaimed. Its leader, the Iraqi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, makes his first public appearance
in a mosque in Mosul. Daesh has practically
all the attributes of a State. Territorial continuity, head of state,
government, population. Powerful army,
equipped with American equipment, seized from Iraqi army depots. Return to southern Turkey. The Euphrates moves a few meters away
only Daesh territory. This former teacher left
his village on the other side of the river. His name is Jarablus. Large-scale massacres
took place there. Beheadings by the dozens. - Jarablus is that way. And in front, there is a Kurdish village. Look, moreover,
we see the black flag. At the moment there are clashes
between the Kurds and Daesh. In the second trimester, there was no
already no more school in Jarablus. Classes were organized at the mosque
according to a new program, with masters trained by Daesh
to teach children. They also organize courses for
women, indoctrination sessions, etc. In the middle of an interview with the teacher,
a man joins us. He is a farm worker and fled
also the village of Jarablus. He had participated in the bloody battle
from the beginning of 2014, alongside the resistance
Syrians against Daesh. - We were forced to leave,
because we fought against Daesh. We fought for
two months in the region. Two of my brothers were killed like this
only cousins. 22 deaths in total in the family. They have everything, money, everything. They are very strong. They get everything from Iraq. - At first they broke in
gradually to Jarablus. They came from Aleppo. They didn't mingle
at all in people's lives. People elsewhere respected them
because they kept themselves apart. They absolutely did not approach civilians. Once there was a problem
between two tribes. They came to settle things
as a mediator. But after that,
they began to dominate everything, and get involved with everyone
city affairs. Before the crimes and the slaughters,
people received them quite well. Everyone was looking for safety. The jihadists arrived in
cities with a double face. In their propaganda films,
they appear smiling, even friendly. With their false affable air,
they go to the merchants, like in this scene for example, convincing them to remove
a tight dress on a mannequin, an image deemed indecent that they will
to the point of blurring in their videos. But afterwards, beware of those who will not follow
their imposed rules, throughout daily life. - There's a lot of people there
in front of a bakery. This Daesh man,
with his staff in his hand, watch people
and corrects them if necessary. This young activist shows me these images
clandestinely filmed in the streets of Raqqa. He must hide his face out of fear
reprisals against his family. - Is this the souk?
- Yes, it's the main souk. Here, the church was taken over by Daesh. They broke the cross on top and burned it
religious books inside. They transformed it
in awareness center, then, they put up their flag. There is the well-known Islamic court. There is a specialized section for
men and another for women. There, these are the stores of the central artery,
closed at prayer time. Any offender is punished. - What is marked
on stores? - They are stamped Islamic service. This is the recording
for payment of taxes, including electricity costs,
water, cleaning. This all adds up to €50 per month. €50 per store. With their laws and their administrations, these hordes of obscurantist terrorists
are they beginning to establish some sort of state? In any case, Daesh took advantage
chaos to establish order, as this blogger confirms
just out of Aleppo. - The most important thing is
that they have the necessary organization, and that they are capable
to pay salaries, to collect taxes,
to have police on the streets. Certainly, a primitive font
who hits people with sticks, who pursues them for
cigarettes or for prayer, but it's a real font. Their courts are expeditious,
but security is assured. People are reassured, especially since the areas they control
are not bombarded by the regime. Those who live in areas under control
of Daesh suffer from pressure, for prayer or for the veil. But these are details. In return, people are
safe, their rights are protected. An institution has been set up,
state institutions. State institutions,
but with what means? Daesh neglects no resource. Fines
for absence from prayer, or even for
illegal consumption of tobacco, are rigorously cashed
and recorded, like here in these binders. The farm worker who fought them
before fleeing to Türkiye, tell me the details
of these violations. - Little by little they began
with tobacco, for example. The one who caught them smoking
a cigarette in the street, we imposed on him
a fine equivalent to €20. For the woman who goes out without a veil,
the fine can reach €180. Little by little, the samples
have multiplied. The farmer must pay zakat
for his land and his harvest. We also pay for the car.
Everything is imposed. Taxes, fines, ransoms,
control over wheat harvests, Daesh is the terrorist formation
the richest that has ever existed. His fortune is estimated at more than
$2 billion. Its most important resource
is black gold. The jihadists seized the rich
oil regions in Syria and Iraq. These installations have also been targeted, by the first strikes
American countries during September. This regional engineer
from Deir ez-Zor, worked in the oil industry
until the arrival of Daesh. - Syrian production,
before the revolution, 4 years ago, varied between 350 and 400,000 barrels per day. After the 2nd year, production
decreased considerably, to almost nothing... With the takeover by Daesh
vast territories, exploitation has resumed in a big way. Precise income is difficult to assess
taking into account variations in production, and markets, supply and demand. So difficult to give a precise figure,
but the minimum remains enormous. The abandonment of oil fields by the regime
of Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2012 opened the way, to wild exploitation,
devastating for the environment, health and oil reserves. From extraction to sale, through smuggling networks
in Türkiye or the regime of Bashar al-Assad, hydrocarbons bring in on average
$2 million a day to ISIS. - I left the same day
where Daesh has invaded my region. I definitely didn't want to cooperate with them. Because I disagree
with them on all levels. Their policy is to keep executives,
engineers and technicians. Some had left as soon as the regime
of Bashar abandoned the region, then others when Daesh arrived. But we asked the last ones to stay, by offering them good salaries
and everything they need. This is an organization
which has existed for years, and who has gained experience
in Iraq then in Syria. This experience allowed them
to have executives and experts. In addition, a number of Arab jihadists
or Europeans who come, are qualified and competent,
including in oil. They come to fight at the start, but when they have skills,
they are called elsewhere. We therefore find qualified men
in oil and engaged in the Islamic State. Recruitment offers are increasing
through all their communication relays, including this monthly magazine published
in Arabic and English. Inside,
a call to emigrate to hijrah, and more specifically a call
to all qualified Muslims: Doctors, engineers,
academics and other specialists. Daesh therefore displays great ambitions
for his caliphate. But terror remains its main mode
daily action for the population. - This is the Al Naïm crossroads
where the beheadings take place. The severed heads are hung
on these black flags in the middle. Every week, 2 or 3 performed
have their heads hanging here. We see them swinging. They are executed
for all kinds of excuses. Pro-Bashar Al Assad regime
or anything else. Generally, the inhabitants of Raqqa
now call this place, the crossroads of death or hell. Because there is always blood,
corpses which are left for 2-3 days. Then the ISIS media comes
shoot the images and broadcast them. And there, in this square, this is where the crucifixions take place. Crucifixion after execution
and the fate reserved for renegades, those who deny religion, be for Daesh all those
who do not rally around them. A former teacher explains it to me. He fought for a time alongside
jihadists before deserting. - Any man who does not belong to
the Islamic State, which does not submit to him, with his weapons, his thoughts, his words
and his actions, is considered renegade. This is a terrible judgment. How to accuse a cousin,
a former colleague or a renegade neighbor, while I was with him shortly before,
as brothers in arms or school comrades? An unmanageable dilemma for this veteran
teacher who had not measured initially, all the violence of the men of Daesh. - My tribe had put itself under protection
of Daesh to be defended. Because this organization
provides money, weapons and fighters
to those who rally behind it. In all honesty, at first,
when Daesh appeared, like any Muslim,
I was for an Islamic state. The idea is good at the start, including
that of a well-guided caliphate, which is a historical reference
and a desire for every Muslim. But when we saw the behavior of the State
Islamic and what he did to ours, especially to the tribes,
we changed our outlook. This extreme brutality affects
all residents on a daily basis. Milad wanted to report this. He therefore filmed his abuses
risking his life. One day he was arrested for this. - I was on the 4th floor. I tore the curtain
and I filmed an execution. That's why I was arrested, like all media activists
who document their abuses. Milad was detained for 13 days by
Daesh in a pediatric hospital in Aleppo, transformed into a prison. He benefits from an attack by the Syrian Army
free against the jihadists to escape. But returning
on site that same evening, he discovers the bodies of his fellow prisoners, visibly killed since
a few days already by Daesh. - These two people were
in the same cell as me. I thought they had been released, but I discovered when I came back
that they had been executed, and their bodies thrown
50 meters from the prison. There was also
other corpses of detainees, including media activists like me. But these two
were in my cell. I knew them well. They were killed because they refused
to convert to Islam. They were Armenians. One day we heard the call
of their names when we were detained. We thought they were going to be released. In fact, they were liquidated
with 50 to 60 other people. This episode marked Milad,
but he wants to stay positive. - Fortunately, strong resistance fighters
were able to rout Daesh in Aleppo, otherwise we would be in the same situation
than in Raqqa or Deir ez-Zor, where armed groups made them
allegiance or were beaten. The assault on the Aleppo prison by
the Free Syrian Army is proof, that Daesh is not invincible. Furthermore, the atrocities committed
by the jihadists, sometimes end up disgusting
those who had rallied them. - At the beginning, as elsewhere
certain groups of the free army, we didn't want to fight them,
in the name of solidarity between Muslims. But after discovering the truth
on the Islamic State, there was unanimity in fighting them. This unanimity on the ground as well as within
of the international community, now mobilized
in the war against Daesh, will she overcome
of this barbarian invasion? - We must put an end to this situation.
How ? By military action, first. But their military defeat in a given place
will only chase them to another place, like the Taliban in Afghanistan. They will reappear. After Syria, in Saudi Arabia, in the Emirates or again in Algeria, the entire region is threatened by this return. Only the appearance of a new model
providing a political solution, a convincing, stable project
and acceptable, can overcome crises. For Moustapha El-jarf, the rejection of Daesh
could bring this new model. Because today, the paroxysm of terror
is such as all Muslims, all classes combined,
will be forced to rethink their religion. - These people believe they are purifying society. But this is an attack
of political Islam, which dismantles religion itself. For me, this is the intellectual beginning
and social aspects of secularism. All that people
believed without thinking, on the good and evil of religion, is now in doubt
by extremist practices, causing a questioning, much more interesting than the one proposed
until now by liberals and secularists, because it touches
popular layers, who do not have access
to intellectual material. And that is very new. I'm leaving Turkey holding on
on this optimistic note, but can't help but think
to everyone who just spoke to me. How many more will cross the border?
to leave the hell of Daesh? How many more will endure,
a few kilometers away, a destructive power born
of a chaos that it only perpetuates?
