The Oasis
A radical experiment in democracy and women's rights is under way in the old badlands of Islamic State. But as Yaara Bou Melhem reports, it could be crushed in an instant.
It was love at first sight – Azad, 26. My dreams are coming true! – Bercem, 19
Lovestruck couple Azad and Bercem are about to get married. They want the usual things - kids, a nice house, a car. They're just hoping war doesn't get in the way.
Azad and Bercem live in the town of Kobani in north eastern Syria, smack bang in the former territory of Islamic State. Their dream of a normal, peaceful life is shared by millions of fellow Kurds who now lead control of this area and are carving out a bold new system – a direct, secular democracy that enshrines gender equality.
For Azad and Bercem, that means getting married in a civil ceremony, no sheikh required.
We are building democracy, building a life we'd never dreamed of - Azad
In the drably named Autonomous Administration of North Eastern Syria, women hold 50 percent of official positions. Incredibly, Raqqa, the once notorious capital of Islamic State, is now headed by a young woman, Leila Mustapha. The bomber jacket-clad Mustapha is using her civil engineering skills to rebuild the city which will include a makeover of the square where IS displayed crucified and decapitated bodies.
The locals called it ‘Hell Roundabout' because of all the brutal acts committed here – Leila Mustapha
As she tours Raqqa with reporter Yaara Bou Melhem, she does what would have been unthinkable under ISIS: she shakes hands with men on a worksite.
But ISIS isn't wholly gone. It clings to a tiny pocket of territory south of Raqqa, moving among civilians as protection from attack, as Yaara Bou Melham discovers on a trip to the frontline.
The Kurdish-led authority has some 900 ISIS foreign fighters in jail and it wants their home countries to take them back. One prisoner tells Bou Melhem how ISIS pushed its fighters:
If you're not going to fight, you're not going to eat. People, kids, died from starvation - prisoner
ISIS is now the least of the administration's problems. To the west they must deal with Syria's Assad regime and to the north, the biggest worry, Turkey, which has sworn to smash the Kurds when Donald Trump pulls out American troops.
Soldier Azad and journalist Bercem know a Turkish invasion could wreck their new life together. They will do what they know best.
If necessary, he will go to war – Bercem
She will report the situation and expose it to the world – Azad
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Sight Unseen
Homicide detective Tess Avery is forced to quit the job she loves after nearly killing her partner and being diagnosed as clinically blind. Reluctant to accept help, Tess uses an assistance app and connects with Sunny Patel, a professional seeing-eye guide and agoraphobe living 3,000 miles away. Haunted by the unsolved cases she left behind, Tess uses a hidden camera and earpiece, while Sunny remotely steers Tess through life's obstacles -- and crimes -- as the two challenge preconceptions about ability, trust and where to draw the line.
Snapped: Killer Couples
Snapped: Killer Couples features couples whose passion drives them to commit terrible criminal acts. Through recreations and gripping firsthand accounts, each episode takes a deep dive into the stories behind the couples' romance, how their relationship evolved once love turned into manipulation and what ultimately drove them to commit the crime.
When Calls the Heart
When Calls the Heart is inspired by Janette Oke's bestselling book series about the Canadian West, the series tells the captivating story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a young teacher accustomed to her high society life, who receives her first classroom assignment in Coal Valley, a small coal mining town where life is simple, but often fraught with challenges. Upon arrival, Elizabeth befriends Abigail Stanton, a wife and mother whose husband, the foreman of the mine, along with a dozen other miners, has just been killed in an explosion. The newly widowed women find their faith is tested when they must go to work in the mines to keep a roof over their heads. Set against the wild canvas of a 19th century coal town, Elizabeth will have to learn the ways of the frontier if she wishes to thrive in the rural west on her own.
