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The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Daily: The City trader who fought ISIS

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2021

⏱️ 27 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What makes someone give up a lucrative job in the City of London to risk their life fighting ISIS in Syria – with no prior military training? In one of our most astonishing interviews, Macer Gifford describes how he left the UK to spend three long tours fighting with the Kurdish YPG militia against the brutal terror group Islamic State. He tells Arthur Snell what it’s like to cross into a warzone, his book Fighting Evil: The Ordinary Man Who Went To War Against ISIS (£2 on Kindle!) and the shocking, inspiring and sometimes tragic stories of his fellow foreign fighters. “It wasn’t about fighting, it was about standing in solidarity” “Volunteers aren’t all left-wing activists. I’m a card carrying member of the Conservative Party.” “The Kurds are talking about amazing things like women’s rights and gay rights – and it’s all off the back of the most brutal conflict” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

My name is Stan. I'm at. Nice to meet you. So you took up photography where? I've always loved

0:05.5

photography but I turn it into earning a living at 60. I enrolled on a day course.

0:11.8

Well college. I loved going to college. It's good you can retry. I'm enrolled on the day course. But college?

0:13.0

I loved going to college.

0:14.0

It's good you can retrain and do something.

0:16.0

Yeah, yeah.

0:17.0

Let's talk about working, learning, saving and making the most of living longer.

0:22.0

Phoenix Group is the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business.

0:28.0

Search Phoenix Group living longer.

0:30.0

Pets brings so much joy.

0:32.0

From those happy greetings at the door to the warm cuddles on the sofa

0:36.7

so give a little love back with dental life from Purina a range of delicious chues made for dogs and tasty snacks for cats that help clean and support your pets, teeth and gums, essential for their overall well-being and a happy, healthy life. They give you plenty of smiles so

0:55.3

look after theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello and welcome to the bunker I'm Arthur Snell. When the Islamic State swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, its force contained an estimated

1:17.8

40,000 foreign fighters, recruits from all over the world that had signed up to its fanatical destructive creed.

1:25.2

Of these foreign fighters, according to credible estimates, nearly a thousand came from Britain,

1:30.9

including the notorious killer known as Jhadi John, seen beheading

1:34.7

hostages in horrific videos. Much less well known were those volunteers that went to fight the Islamic

1:41.6

state, like modern-day members of the international brigades

1:45.0

that fought fascism in Spain,

1:47.0

these people traveled to a war zone

1:50.0

to fight something that they felt was evil.

1:52.0

And one of those people was Mesa Gifford. to fight something that they felt was evil.

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