[♪♪] [Speaking alternate language] [Nahlah] It was one
disturbing entry in a growing video diary,
and we would never have seen it if not for the
desperation of the owner. She would repeatedly put that
phone to use at that airport to tell the world her story. My name is Rahaf Mohammed. I'm 18 years old. I can't do anything because they
have my passport and tomorrow they will force me
to go back to Kuwait. And I'm here. Please help me,
they will kill me. [Nahlah] Determined
to avoid that fate, she dug in. The world then invited into
her airport hotel room as she transformed it into a
one-woman protest camp. I'm not leaving my
room until I see UNHCR. I want asylum. [Nahlah] Her stand,
documented also on phone by an Australian reporter
who'd joined her. I'm hungry and tired. [Reporter] When was
the last time you slept? Three days ago. [Reporter] How long are you
planning on staying in the room? I don't know. As I can. [Nahlah] But how could
one teen, with one phone, draw such attention? What we didn't know was
that she wasn't alone. A world away, a network of young
women who recognize the danger Rahaf faced worked their
phones to raise the alarm. [woman] We helped a lot with
reaching the media. [Nahlah] Others directly urged
her to take yet another risk. [woman] She was very scared to
show with her full face. We were telling her, Rahaf,
like, if you didn't that you will die,
so just do it. [Nahlah] They all belong to
a secret online network that rarely sleeps. A private chat group
we're calling the Defectors. But the very real women
involved regularly watch over heart-stopping escapes by
Gulf Arab women to the west. Young women who've never
met, yet helping each other help themselves, to plan gutsy,
one-way defections, preferably to Canada. A dangerous gamble that
could cost them everything. I would be on the group 24/7. We're all sisters to
each other, yeah. If one of you is
leaving, how would the conversation go? No one sleeps. We all stay awake just
to check, like, yeah. [Nahlah] As a Gulf Arab
woman, laws, family traditions or both see you effectively
as a minor, unequal to a man. In Saudi Arabia, you can't
travel without a male guardian or even get a passport
without their permission. And in a region where family
honour revolves around the behaviour of its women... [Nahlah] ..escaping could get
you locked up and beaten. Renouncing Islam? Possibly worse. Despite those dangers,
the ultimate protest is a flight out. "R" was a special education
student often beaten at home. Her movement
severely restricted. Before graduating high school,
she'd secretly chosen to leave Islam, then graduated to
a decision to leave home. We've changed her name
to protect her identity. My mom was, like, planning
for me to get married. She would bring other ladies to
come to the house to look at me so they could
choose me for their son. And my mom would make me look
pretty and just sit me down so the ladies can look at me,
and then they can choose if they wanted me or not. So you chose the hard way. Yes. I chose, yeah, I chose
to leave now than later. [Nahlah] Long before
R's decision, the Defectors were indispensable
for her day to day survival. But for discussing
plans for her escape, they became critical. We were looking through what the
best flight was for me to leave which was 11am. We were looking through the
prices because I had to-- I didn't have that
much money to leave. [Nahlah] Two weeks later,
R walked out the door, terrified someone
would be on to her. It was a whole, nerve-wracking
hour to the airport and she still had one more stop to make. I told my mom I had
an exam at 8am. So I left. I went to the university. There is a finger print thing
where you have to-- your parents get a message. [Nahlah] To prove that you were
actually attending. Yeah, so I did the finger print
thing and my mom did get message but I didn't actually go
into university, so I left. I was scared that they
would stop me at the airport. That the security
guards would tell me, why are you leaving alone? You've never left
the country alone. [Nahlah] This is what she
and so many others fear most. [Nahlah] Dinah Ali Lasloom,
from Saudi Arabia, a name that looms in every
fleeing woman's nightmare. So does the name of princess
Latifa Mohammed al Maktoum, the Dubai ruler's daughter. If you're watching this video,
it's not such a good thing. Either I'm dead
or I'm in a very, very, very bad situation. [Nahlah] Both tried to
escape and both failed, accused of tarnishing
family reputation. Their fate, 'til today,
is unclear. [♪♪] [Nahlah] J was desperate
to leave behind a lifetime of abuse. It would be very
risky and costly. She was one exam away
from a university degree in the sciences. She'd also campaigned hard
for an end to Saudi Arabia's guardianship law. I was feeling that my life
in danger because I'm an activist on Twitter. I was always tweeting in the
"drop guardianship" hashtag. Talking about how much that
system affects Saudi women's lives in a negative way. [Nahlah] One day another
online activist was arrested. J was using a fake account
but realized she could be next. So she gave up on Canada
and started planning to escape to Europe. But she didn't
know where to start. I didn't know anything,
like I didn't know how to get passport, how to get,
uh, any permission to travel. I didn't know like, what's
the asylum-seeking process. [Nahlah] So she
looked to the Defectors, whose members, one by one,
were quietly guiding each other abroad. She'd leave a few weeks
before Rahaf landed in Canada. But how to slip away from
home to the airport undetected? The Defectors again stepped in. [Nahlah] Do it or die. So she did. But there was an even bigger
fear that once her family found out, their reach would
extend beyond Saudi borders. It's why we're
hiding her identity. I've heard a lot of
stories about girls. They're detained
inside the airplane. [Nahlah] Yeah, yeah, and
you were afraid the same would happen to you. Yeah, and they didn't
allow them to get out. We were very,
very scared for her. It was like-- it's very scary,
because you'd never know what happens because she
wouldn't always contact us, when she's at the airport. [♪♪] [Nahlah] Em already knew that
when she's mentioned leaving, family threatened it
would cost her life. Her friends online gave her
the courage to leave anyway. She arrived in
Canada last summer. We're not saying where,
for her security. When I first went to
university, I became an atheist. With time, I realized how
bad of a situation I was in. Did you tell anybody
you became an atheist? Yes, I did. I told my brother. And he threatened to kill me
and that's why I decided I have to leave. [Nahlah] We can't reveal
every detail of Em's departure. It could be life and
death for those involved. Even the Defectors
limit what they say online, concerned about infiltrators. Every step of this is
fraught with danger. Was there an easier
solution for you? Could there have
been another way? I don't know because even
if I moved to another city in the country, they can simply
go to the police and say, our daughter is missing,
and they would bring me back. I came to Macedonia,
running away from Dubai. [Nahlah] The Defectors are
always shining the light back, keeping up the vigil
for others who follow. Right now, it's a mother
of four pleading for asylum in North Macedonia, threatened with
deportation back to the UAE. Her name is Hind Albolooki. There's a hashtag going
around called, "Save Hind." [Nahlah] And you've been
following it? Yes. A lot of people are
tweeting about it. As I've been
threatened from my father, his big brother, my brother,
that they will make my life hell. It's just heartbreaking to hear. She's about to cry too. It's sad. And she's most likely going to
get deported if no one notices what's happening to her there. [Nahlah] When we come back, the
Defectors' social media lobbying worked for Rahaf. Will it work for Hind? There is no justice here. They don't care. Especially if you're a female,
your life is so disposable. [♪♪] [Mixed shouting] [Nahlah] With her
gripping story, Rahaf Mohammed became the public
face of a quiet but growing exodus from Gulf Arab countries. Rahaf wanted Canadians
to see that she's arrived at her new home. [Nahlah] But the outcome,
speedy asylum in Canada, is anything but typical. [Reporter] How does it
feel like to be in Canada? [Nahlah] No such certainty for
these Defectors who must wait for their asylum hearings. A process that might still
end with their deportation. I didn't know what to do,
they came to me asking for my passport, for my ID. [Nahlah] Deportation back to the
emirates is what Hind Albolooki feared after escaping
to North Macedonia. R has been busy
getting the word out. What worries you
about Hind 's case? It's just not a lot of
people are on the case. It didn't get as much
attention as Rahaf did. And she's most likely going to
get deported if no one notices what's happening to her there. [♪♪] There is no justice here. They don't care. Especially if you're a female,
your life is so disposable. [Nahlah] Remember
the Emirati princess, Latifa, was forcibly
brought home. Human rights watch and
others demanded to know her whereabouts. Groups that often call out the
UAE for treating women as lesser in marriage, divorce and as
victims of domestic violence. [Nahlah] And then, there was
Saudi Dina Ali Lasloom. Two yeas ago, she was dragged
onto a plane and taken home. And not a word since. It was Lasloom's failed attempt
that moved Saudi psychiatrist Dr. Taleb Al Abdelmohsen to act. He, too, claimed asylum in
Germany after his atheist views elicited threats at home. I called the UNHCR, I called
Amnesty International. I did everything
I could to save her. But that failed. And when this
happened, I thought, I have to do something. I must open a website on which I provide advice for Saudi people
interested in asylum. [Nahlah] Dr. Al Abdelmohsen says
almost all who ask his help are women between 18 and 30
and there have been more since Rahaf's escape. They're well educated,
and mostly ex-Muslim, like him. He's asked us to
conceal his identity now. They ask me about
the asylum process, asylum benefits. How can a woman leave
Saudi Arabia and make it to asylum country? They ask me about everything. I call it an encyclopedia. [Nahlah] The website,
wearesaudis.net, has grown into an
exhaustive, living manual, banned in Saudi Arabia and only
accessible with a workaround. But for many
women in the region, it is a handrail to freedom. So this is telling you basically
how to claim asylum in Canada. Yeah. And these are basically the two
ways for Saudi asylum seekers. This is only about the
asylum process inside Canada. [Nahlah] Inside Canada,
okay. So, how are you
getting this information? I don't rely a lot on
Internet because, you know, what you read is different
than the real experience. So I try to gather all
information from people who are already there in
the asylum country. [Nahlah] In other words, it's
still asylum seekers helping each other help themselves. But the website puts
it all in one place. Did you
correspond with Dr. Taleb? [R] Yes. [Nahlah] What kind of
questions did you ask him? I would ask him, what do
I say, what do I even say when I see the officer? I didn't even know what to do. [Nahlah] So what did he tell
you to tell the officer? Just say, I want asylum. Yeah. -And that's what you said?
-Yeah. The day-- as soon as I saw the
officer I couldn't even speak. I was just looking at him. And he's like, yes? He wanted me to
give him my passport. I kept holding it,
looking at him. I was so scared. -But you said those words.
-Yeah. [Nahlah] So, Save Hind,
that's the hashtag. What's the latest? It's just, like, trying
to ask the UN, um, anyone who can help,
you can see here Dr. Taleb. [Nahlah] He's tweeting
about her as well. Yeah, he-- I think he was the
first one to do so actually. [Nahlah] He always seems to know
the latest and has an update on Hind's case. So this is the reception
centre for foreigners. Gazi Baba. That's where she is being held. I want to tell people that
she is about to be deported. [Nahlah] According to
her Twitter account, Hind has more recently been
allowed to travel to Germany. A reprieve, for now. I love being here. [Nahlah] Though
it is some relief, Hind joins nearly two dozen
of the Defectors' group and countless other asylum
seekers in a state of limbo. Not yet entirely safe. Not yet at home either. I always just bought
my books online and just read them at home. I wasn't-- I didn't have
a library to go to. So it's exciting, something new. [Nahlah] They left
everything behind. For R, it was many loved ones
and her precious books. When people look at you,
what is it that they don't see? They don't see a
girl who escaped. They don't see a girl who
left her family to have freedom. So, I'd sacrifice
anything for it. [♪♪] ♪ He left no time to regret ♪ ♪ Kept his lips wet ♪ ♪ With his same old safe bet ♪ [Nahlah] There is no doubt this
is a solo existence now. Liberating, just like
singing is for Em, but with no guarantees. ♪ As my tears dry ♪ ♪ Get on without my guy ♪ I threw everything away. And it was very
liberating to get out, without any hijab or anything. Because it makes you
feel like, I'm free! [Nahlah] Free, though also
lonely and poor and yes, tearful about walking away
from their achievements too. Like the science degree
J just about finished. Yes, so it was just,
like, one final exam. I was just wishing that
I just could have, like, one more day. [Nahlah] Here, too, the
Defectors stand in for family. But just online. How much closer they would be if
only they could meet in person. She was helping me a lot and we
were planning to meet each other but every time, something
happened and we can't meet so yeah, I'm excited. [Laughter] Oh, my God. I would call it
a revolution, yeah, yes. Because it's changing--
I feel like it's changing history of Arab woman. How are you doing?
I'm so good! You're so beautiful! [Laughter] [Speaking alternate language] Oh, my God. [Speaking alternate language] We've always been silenced. Yes. [Nahlah] And you're
no longer silent. Yes. I can't believe it.
I can't believe it. [Laughter] I'm so happy. Me too. I'm so glad to see you. You too. [♪♪]
