Local journalists declare war I SIS

A new documentary film recently shown refers to a group of citizens journalists from Raka, the Syrian city occupied by ISIS. They risk their lives to reflect in social media the atrocities of militants against civilians. Penelope Powell of the Voice of America spoke with director Matthew Heineman, Oscar candidate, as well as with Mr. Abdul-Aziz al-Hamza, co-founder of the group called “Raka is silently massacred”.

They are citizen journalists facing unimaginable difficulties in the fight against the Islamic State.

The film “Spirit City” documents the work of the group “Raka is quietly massacred”. There is online information about atrocities committed by I SIS in its self-declared capital Raca in Syria.

This illegal organisation, which has been honoured by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, is removing the veil of isolation for the world to learn about the fate of its stranded citizens in Raka. With this she's pissed off. I SIS.

Abdul Aziz al-Hamza is co-founder of the organisation “Raka is quietly massacred”. Al-Hamza, who was born in Raka himself, explains what drives him and others to risk their lives.

<x0) SIS will not solve the problem. We're fighting the ISIS ideology because we've seen it everywhere, not just in Raka, Syria and Iraq. We've seen it in Europe, U.S.A., Asia. So, the main thing is against this ideology”He says.

Matthew Heineman is director of film “Soul City”. He filmed members of the organisation working secretly in Turkey and Germany.

They're the faces of the movement. They're threatening, their colleagues are still in Raka, while we're doing this interview, talking about the atrocities of I SIS”Says Mr. Heinman.

Al-Hamza says he doesn't know what fate awaits. But in this war against ISIS propaganda, he does not want to hide his identity.

It was important to show who we are, because when we started this job, many people suspected that we could be a government organization. We wanted people to know we're local, we're from Raka”, he says. “I've been threatened in an ISIS social media channel. But as we say in Raka, death is death.“.