• Director(s):

    KRAJINOVIC (Jasna)

  • Producer(s):

    DERIVES, PETIT A PETIT PRODUCTION PARIS, ARTE FRANCE

  • Territories:

    Worldwide (except Belgium).

  • Production year:

    2015

  • Language(s):

    German, English, French

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

This sensitive profile of Saliha, the mother of a young jihadi who died in Syria, gives a voice to a group whose pain and loss are often brushed aside - the families of radicalized young Muslims.

In August 2013, Saliha's 19-year-old son Sabri left their comfortable family home in Brussels from one day to the next to "make jihad" in Syria. Three months later, with equal suddenness, his parents, brothers and little sister were informed that he was "presumed" dead (young Europeans who have joined ISIS are not officially recognized as dead by their countries of origin). All that Sabri's loving, grief-stricken family have left of him is an empty bedroom full of reminders that have nothing to do with the bloody cause he embraced.
 
To come to terms with their bereavement and its terrible circumstances, Saliha and her husband contacted other French and Belgian parents of youngsters who set off for Syria. They support each other and try to fathom how their sons and daughters reached the point where they were willing to sever all ties with their families - leaving wounds that will never heal. To combat the jihadi networks and fight the ostracism suffered by jihadis' families, Saliha talks about her bereavement to audiences ranging from Belgian members of Parliament to secondary school pupils, denouncing the lax attitudes of the authorities towards those who recruit the youngsters.