Introducing... I’m Not A Monster

I'm Not a Monster

BBC

Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime

4.8 • 6.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2020

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

An American mother living in the heart of the ISIS caliphate. Her husband an ISIS sniper. Her 10-year-old son forced to threaten the U.S. president in a propaganda video shown around the world. She claims she was tricked into taking her young children to war-torn Syria, but where does her account end and the truth begin? Over four years journalist Josh Baker unravels a dangerous story where nothing is as it seems. From the depths of Raqqa’s infamous torture prison to an elk hunt in Idaho, he uncovers secrets, lies and the lasting consequences. “I’m Not A Monster” is the story of one family’s journey from Indiana to the Islamic State group and back. Reporter: Josh Baker Written by: Josh Baker and Joe Kent Producers: Joe Kent and Max Green Production assistant: Lucie Sullivan Composer: Sam Slater Series Editor: Emma Rippon Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor: Jason Phipps “I’m Not a Monster” is a collaboration between BBC Panorama and FRONTLINE (PBS) for BBC Sounds.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, so she starts off with,
0:05.1	Hey Laurie, I'm so glad you're available. I really hope you can help me.
0:09.2	I have to be forward with you because I don't have a lot of time.
0:12.6	A few years ago, a desperate message reached a suburb in Indiana.
0:17.7	Almost every day, five to ten bombs are dropped around us.
0:22.4	The shock waves are insane and the sound is something you cannot imagine.
0:26.2	I have no idea where I will end up if you don't help me.
0:29.1	So please help me now. We are talking a matter of days, not weeks.
0:33.6	This could be my last time online.
0:36.6	The email was from a woman called Sam.
0:39.2	She'd left behind a comfortable life in America
0:42.2	to go to the Isis Caliphate in Syria with her family.
0:46.4	Sam's husband became an Islamic State group sniper.
0:49.8	Her young son was forced to appear in their infamous propaganda.
0:54.6	My story? Oh, yeah, absolutely.
0:57.5	It is very difficult to believe. It is very hard to believe.
1:02.0	Why did the family go? What happened next? And who is she?
1:07.0	What kind of person is Sam?
1:10.0	Just a thrill-seeker, intelligent, manipulative.
1:13.4	At the time you can't tell what the truth is or what not the truth.
1:17.0	Do you have the read between the lines?
1:18.8	I felt saved with her. She's the strongest woman I have ever met.
	...

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