SUNDAY SCREENING: ‘The Road To Raqqa’ (2023)

The road to ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital, Raqqa, has been long and hard. The battle rages in the suburbs of the Syrian city. Improvised explosive devices, suicide bombers, sniper fire and grenade-dropping drones have been deployed by the surrounded terrorists. The film features the stories of some fighters from the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG), as well as European volunteers who joined them. There are also stories of military hospital staff. Dr. Akhiv, a veteran military doctor considers his work a “sacred calling.” Adham, a frontline nurse, joined the field hospital after his brother was killed fighting ISIS. Sema, a Kurdish female commander, left her family to join the fight. “We’re not fighting for a certain nation. Humanity is what we’re fighting for,” she says. Some Europeans have joined the YPG as volunteers, like “Rosa” who says she left a mundane life in Sweden to fight for women’s rights in Syria. Robin, a volunteer from Germany, got sick of hearing how “someone should do something about” ISIS after every terrorist attack in Europe. He left his girlfriend and a comfortable life to do something about them himself. Watch