Uncover - S27 E1: The Lost Boy | "Bloodlines"

Episode Date: July 24, 2024

Two-year-old Salmaan disappears in the chaos of the final days of the war against ISIS. In London, Salmaan’s grandfather, Ash, has been desperate for answers ever since. Poonam travels to Syria to find out what happened to Salmaan and the thousands of children like him.We want to hear from you! Take the Uncover audience survey now.

This is a CBC Podcast. Say hello. Hello. I love you daddy. Daddy. And I love you daddy. Daddy. And I hate you. You. Dadu. And?

I'll never forget the first time I watched this video. There's a little boy. He's about two. He's super cute. And he has these huge, beautiful brown eyes. He's smiling and giggling as his mum coaxes him to say a few words. His name is Salman. It's a phone video for Salman's grandparents, his daddy and dadu.

They're thousands of miles away in England. It was a rare and precious glimpse of their first grandchild. They had never met Salman, not in person. Videos like this one, a few photos, a few phone calls and messages were all they had and so they treasured them. Phone calls and messages were all they had, and so they treasured them. Salman and his mother Aisha, that's her in the video, were in Syria, a country being ripped apart by war. This video was one of the last Salman and Aisha sent. Not long after it arrived, the messages stopped. No more videos, no more photos,

no more calls. No one knew what had become of Salman. I love you. That was late 2018. It's now been almost five years. And still, no one knows. Right, OK, so... I'm going to take the vest, the helmet, the ballistic glasses and the trauma kit?

Yeah, that's correct. OK. That's the highest we can get. OK, oh, God. Blimey, they are heavy. Out in the Syrian desert, there are two sprawling camps. Tense cities, surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by armed soldiers. They're remnants of one of the most brutal regimes on earth, the so-called Islamic State, IS, what the world once called ISIS.

The terror group was largely defeated in 2019. Thousands of its members were killed. The men who were captured were imprisoned and most of the women and children were placed in these camps. I think when I get home, I'm just going to try it on again. Yeah. So I can get it on and off really fast. I'll just get used to taking it on and off. Yeah, it's just the weight of it.

I know, exactly. I've reported from these camps before. What struck me most were the children, thousands of them. Children from all corners of the world. Some born into IS. Others brought there. All now imprisoned for the actions of the world. Some born into IS, others brought there, all now imprisoned for the actions of their parents. I'm preparing to go back to these camps, to visit these kids again and report on what they're living through, to find out what will become of them. And if Fulman

is to be found, if he's still alive, these camps are the place to start looking. OK, so it's a trauma kit, helmet, ballistic glasses and a vest. I've kitted up like this before, but this trip, it's going to be different. Yeah, that's great. Thank you, Gacy. Have a safe trip and any issues, give us a call. Yeah, thank you. OK, see you then. See you later.

Along with my flat jacket, my helmet, my recorder and notebooks and maps, I'm also carrying an envelope with photos of a little boy no one has heard from in nearly five years. My name's Poonam Taneja. From BBC Sounds and CBC Podcasts, this is Bloodlines. Well, I just want him back home and just to be a normal grandparent to him, to love him, cater for him.

That's Salman's grandfather, Ash. He's a bus driver from East London. This is from a TV interview with him shortly after the videos and photos of Salman stopped arriving. What is your concern at the moment about Salman? Concern is locating him and finding out his well-being, where he is, if he's by himself, unaccompanied.

At the time, coalition forces were bombing the last remaining territory IS held in Syria, exactly where Ash believed Salman and his mother Aisha were. Ash was certain Salman was still alive. Aisha were. Ash was certain Salman was still alive. He could be lying injured in hospital bed or a camp or whatever. Ash was worried his grandson was lost in one of the desert prison camps. At the time, they were filling up with orphans and widows. And so back in London, he was doing everything he could to get people to care and to help him find his grandson.

I've covered IS for the BBC for the past decade. Stories of young people from the UK who travel to the region and joined the group. And I was one of the first to report on Ash's story, Salman's story. It got some play for a while, this cute kid lost in the chaos of war. A few papers picked it up,

but interest whittled away pretty quickly. There just wasn't much sympathy for Ash or his missing grandson. And so before long, the world moved on. And actually, most of Ash's family moved on too. But Ash, Ash never did. Hey, hi Ash. Hello, good night, nice to meet you again. How are you?

I'm good to see you again. Are you comfortable being here and chatting here? It's a bit of a secluded park. It's quiet though. Yeah, yeah, take a seat. It's a Friday night in mid-November 2022. Ash looks older, more tired than I remember. The park we're meeting is cold and eerie. Meeting here, on a bench in the dark, is Ash's idea.

He doesn't want his wife or anyone in his family to know. How have you been? I've been good. I've been good. Just waiting for some good news to come through. Ash has his phone in his hand and soon enough he's showing me photos of Salman. Salman in traditional Arab dress, another in a blue t-shirt with a shark on it. He's a smiley happy kid. But then Ash swipes to another photo. Salman's smile is gone. There's a bandage on his forehead. He looks scared and emaciated.

This is the one I have, yeah. I've seen it before. I've seen most of these photos before. The videos too. Ash has shared them with me. But today, there's one I haven't seen. Where did the donkey go? He's gone to English. Where did he go?

No, he didn't go to China. Where's Baba? Baba is in the man. Really? Man, look at me. Where did the donkey go? Where did the donkey go? Where did it go?

No, it didn't go to Jannah. Where's Baba? Salman is lying in a cot, draped with a mosquito net. And what he's saying is that Baba, his father, Ash's son, is in Jannah. Jannah is paradise in Islam, the afterlife. Really? Baba is in Jannah. Really? Baba? Really?

When you look at that, how do you feel? Yeah, that's my son's son and he looks exactly like him. Ash's son, Salman's father, was named Haroon. Haroon grew up here in East London. Right here, in fact, he played in this park as a boy. We used to come here, we done rollerblading here, we done play tennis here and generally yeah like on hot days we'd have ice cream. But in 2013 Haroun secretly left the UK for Syria where he ended up fighting for IS. He also met Aisha who had travelled there from Canada.

They married, and Aisha gave birth to Salman in 2016. Later that year, Haroon was killed by a sniper in Syria. He was 21. Ash and his wife tried to convince Aisha to leave Syria with Salman, but she didn't. I've covered a lot of stories about British citizens who've become foreign fighters. But the Brits who left for Syria and Iraq to live under IS, it was like nothing I'd seen before. Nothing anyone had seen. was like nothing I'd seen before. Nothing anyone had seen. IS had this knack, this savvy ability to sell the idea of a perfect Islamic utopia. And it appealed to a lot of young men,

but also a lot of young women, and sometimes even entire families. when we first met back in 2019 it was about February March I think and it had just been recently that you'd lost touch with your grandson Salman yeah so I remember chatting to you and you were convinced at that time that Salman was alive. Yeah. What about now? The thing is, until somebody says otherwise, nobody's stated, shown a body. Yeah, that's proof and that's clear-cut to say, well, you know what, all your efforts, they're going to be in vain.

But we've not come to that stage yet. But time has gone on. Do you not think that if he was alive, you would have known by now? Well, the thing is, the reality is, I don't really know. I'd accept it if somebody gives me clear-cut proof. Up until then, you live in hope. When you have ambiguity, it's a chance. It's not 100%, it's not zero, there is a chance. So you're living on that chance. And other children have been rescued. That's factual.

So that's kind of like supporting the chance that you're willing to take, because that's your blood. And, you know, you do anything and everything for your blood. There's a detail I should mention. Shortly after Salman went missing, Ash's family got a strange text.

It said Aisha had been killed. But it was from a woman Ash had never heard of before. A complete stranger. And it was from a woman Ash had never heard of before, a complete stranger. And it was suspicious too, because it was encrypted and there were absolutely no details, including no mention of Salman. It wasn't nearly enough for Ash to give up hope. He knows that children did survive, even when their parents were killed, and many of them ended up in these camps I'm going to. Some of the women in these camps have even told me they've looked after unaccompanied children, or know women who did. So is it unlikely I'll find someone?

Yeah, probably. Is it totally impossible? No. Is it totally impossible? No. I do absolutely not want to get your hopes up. I really don't. I will ask around. I'll do whatever I can. But it is, and I have to tell you,

it's going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Yeah. So we'll just leave it at that and just go with the right motivations and do your best and then we'll just see what comes of it. That's all we can actually do. Because you're willing to go out there and I'm very grateful that not too many people do that.

So I can't thank you enough. And then we'll see what your efforts bring about. I can't promise to find Salman but what I think Hash is hoping for what I think he really needs what I think I have a better chance of helping him find

is just to finally know what happened to his grandson. brings you award-winning investigations year-round. But if you want to listen ahead, all episodes of Bloodlines are available right now. Binge listen to the entire series by searching Bloodlines wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen ad-free by subscribing to the CBC True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts. Uncover the best in true crime. Thank you. Going up. Please mind the doors.

Doors closing. Going up. There are thousands of people like Ash. Grandparents whose sons and daughters ran off to live under IS. And whose grandchildren are now in the camps. They're from all over the world. Britain, Canada, Trinidad, Australia, Belgium, China, Tunisia, Sudan. I've spoken to a lot of them. Tunisia, Sudan. Floor three. Door eight.

I've spoken to a lot of them. There's so much shame and fear within these families and so little sympathy outside them. So Ash, talking to me on the record, he's an exception. And so is Charlene. Hi. Hi Charlene. How are you?

I'm all right thanks, not too bad. You looking good? Thanks. Charlene Jack-Henry is an emergency nurse. She lives on the edge of a council estate in West London. I've been speaking with her for the past few years too. Closer, it'll be closer. So close. in West London. I've been speaking with her for the past few years too. Charlene's been cooking her favourite dishes and her flat smells absolutely amazing.

On one wall there's a photo of Charlene's eldest daughter, Nicole. She's wearing a blue shift dress and long white evening gloves. Nicole looks like a young woman who's going places. But her life took a dark turn. The doorbell rang and I answered the doorbell and then it was like three police officers and they said, oh, just can we come in? So they came upstairs and then they told me that and they had information that

she and the whole family were in Cyprus and they thought that they were going to Syria. Nicole told Sharnine she was moving to Somalia with her husband and their four kids. Really, they were on their way to live under IS. She's been gone for so long now. Charlene hasn't seen Nicole or her grandkids in more than seven years. And today, the day I'm visiting her flat, is especially poignant.

I think it just got to me and that it's another birthday passing. She's 36 years old today. Wow. You've missed a lot. Have I? You've missed a lot. She's... Yeah, I have. So much. Because when she left, she was in her 20s. Now she's in her mid-30s.

There are pictures of Charlene's grandkids on her walls too, from when they were much younger. If the tragedy for Ash is not knowing, the tragedy for Charlene is knowing too much. She knows exactly what happened to her grandkids. They're stuck in one of the camps along with Nicole. That's no place for them kids to grow up. That's no place for them kids to grow up. And my fear is that leaving them there will only create a bigger problem for this world.

Because if you leave kids in a place where violence and that is normalised, then you'd just be creating a big problem. Charlene hopes that talking to the media, talking to me, might put pressure on the British government to bring them back. I want them out of that place, but it seems so hopeless. to bring them back. I want them out of that place, but it seems so hopeless. It seems that they've just been abandoned by the British government.

But what preoccupies Sharneen most of the time are the day-to-day worries. What her grandkids are eating, the lack of clean water and sanitation, the lack of health care, one of them needs an EpiPen, the constant risk of violence, and the fact that all of this is getting worse, and quickly. You know, sometimes I think, maybe I'll never see them again, maybe they'll just die out there. The last time I was in Syria, I interviewed Nicole and her kids. This time, I'm hoping to do the same.

Charlene, do you want me to pass a message on? Just tell them that I'm here. If they can't speak for themselves, I will always speak for them. And if it comes to fighting for them, I will fight for them. I have that in me too. Because it seems nobody else is willing to, but I'll do it. As I leave Charlene's flat, I'm struck by all the other families here in London

whose bloodlines have been stolen by IS, who don't want to speak out about it, or feel they can't. Charlene's neighbourhood was home to one of the group's most brutal cells. That image you have of a masked executioner standing behind a kneeling prisoner, that man was part of a group of men who lived just a couple of miles down the road. Their hostages called them the Beatles because of their British accents. Together they were responsible for beheading several journalists and aid workers.

And they came to symbolise the barbarity of Islamic State Group. OK, see you in three weeks, darling. Love you. Love you too. Have a safe trip. Thank you, sweetheart. That's one of my boys. It's the night before my flight. I've just reminded him where the paperwork is.

That's the euphemism I use for my will. This is one of the hardest parts of a trip like this. OK, and I'll send you pictures if I can. Yeah, same thing. And you do the same. Yeah, I will. OK, see you, darling. Take care.

Bye. Love you. We have a family WhatsApp group. I'll check in daily and post photos on the road. Quirky stuff, light stuff. But I probably won't speak with my boys for the next few weeks. And I definitely won't tell them about any near misses and skirmishes. It always feels a bit dysfunctional, really.

Compartmentalising my two lives like this. I call it going into reporter mode. It's a coping mechanism. And it's kicking into high gear in the hours before I fly. Good morning! Good morning! The 11D is right here. Thank you. Good morning dear guests.

Welcome aboard of Austrian flights to Vienna. It's going to be a long couple of days. From Vienna, I'll fly on to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. From there, I'll cross the border and meet up with my team in northeast Syria. We'll be there for more than three weeks. It'll be me, a local journalist who will also be our driver, a medic who was once with the special forces, and my producer,

Juwan Abdi. city, which is the main city of the province, Hasakah, northeast Syria. Johan's based in Europe, but he's originally from Syria, and he's covered the rise and fall of IS extensively. He's left ahead of me to meet Kurdish security officials. We need their permission to access the camps where children are being held. It's a small team. We need to be agile and we don't want to stand out. We are now ready for takeoff. Please fasten your seat belt and pull it tight. Make sure that the back of your seat is in its proper position. A few hours later, I touch down in Vienna.

I'm checking my phone, and there's a text from Juan. In the last few hours, Turkey has launched airstrikes into Syria, targeting the Kurdish forces which guard the camps. Hi, Fonam. Hey, Juan, how are you? I'm good. I mean, you know, I don't want to disappoint you or stress you, but they cancelled all my meetings because of the bombing. Oh, no.

Yeah, and now they're kind of, you know, emergency things here. The bombs that was near the rig is about like 15 kilometres. So nine people got killed. One of them is a local journalist. Also 300 people. So just to keep you posted about this. Yeah, no, absolutely. Thank you for doing that. So it's

15 kilometres from where we were going to stay and where you were staying, right? Yes. Okay. All right then, Juwan. Keep me updated. Thank you. Keep me updated. Okay. Bye. I hang up the phone,

trying to figure out what this means for the trip, for the story. Then it really hits me. Nine people dead. Three injured. Not far from Joanne. Just before we take off, I call Joanne back. But it goes to voicemail.

Hey, Joanne, just a quick message to you. We're just about to board. Listen, please do be very, very careful. Don't take any risks out there for this, OK? It's all fine. OK, speak soon. Next time on Bloodlines. It looks like actually hundreds of children are buried here. You know, I'm lost for words, actually.

It really is a race against time to bring them back. You've been listening to Bloodlines from BBC Sounds and CBC Podcasts. The series concept and reporting by me, Poonam Taneja. It's written and produced by Fiona Woods and Alina Ghosh. Our investigations producer is Juwan Abdi, and our contributing producer is Michelle Shepard. Fahad Fattah is our field producer.

Our sound designer is Julia Whitman. Original score by Phil Channel. Emily Connell is a digital coordinating producer for CBC Podcasts, and Caroline McEvoy is a digital producer for BBC Sounds. Our senior producer and story editor is Damon Fairless for CBC Podcasts. Executive editor for BBC Sounds is James Cook. The executive producers of CBC Podcasts are Cecil Fernandes and Chris Oak. Tanya Springer is the senior manager of CBC Podcasts and Arif Noorani is the director. Claire McGinn is the executive director of BBC's Creative Development Unit.

BBC Commissioner is Ahmed Hussain, head of the BBC Asian Network. Thank you for listening to Bloodlines.