8 episodes
Bloodlines BBC Sounds & CBC Podcasts
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- News
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4.8 • 84 Ratings
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WINNER – BRONZE, GOLD & GRAND TROPHY AT NEW YORK FESTIVALS RADIO AWARDS
From BBC Sounds, BBC Asian Network and CBC. Syria. 2018. ISIS is on the brink of defeat. Two-year-old Salmaan disappears amid the bombardment. In London, his grandfather desperately searches for answers. After the war against the Islamic State was won, what became of the children of its fighters? There are thousands of kids like Salmaan, with roots in Canada, the UK, the US and beyond - they were taken to IS or born there. Now they are trapped there without a way back home. Investigative reporter Poonam Taneja has covered the terror group for a decade and now embarks on a dangerous journey to find out what happened to Salmaan and all the kids like him, left behind in the Syrian desert. And she speaks to the grandparents trying to get them home.
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Introducing Bloodlines
From BBC Sounds, BBC Asian Network and CBC. Syria. 2018. ISIS is on the brink of defeat. Two-year-old Salmaan disappears amid the bombardment. In London, his grandfather desperately searches for answers. After the war against the Islamic State was won, what became of the children of its fighters? There are thousands of kids like Salmaan, with roots in Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and beyond — They were taken to IS or born there. Now they are trapped there without a way back home. Investigative reporter Poonam Taneja has covered the terror group for a decade and now embarks on a dangerous journey to find out what happened to Salmaan and all the kids like him, left behind in the Syrian desert. And she speaks to the grandparents trying to get them home. Bloodlines will be released weekly, beginning Oct. 23, 2023.
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1. The Lost Boy
Two-year-old Salmaan disappears in the chaos of the final days of the war against Islamic State (IS) group. 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.
From BBC Sounds, BBC Asian Network and CBC, Bloodlines will be released weekly beginning October 23, 2023. -
2. Race Against Time
Bombs drop as Poonam enters Syria, blocking access to the areas she needs to get to. If things get worse, the troops guarding IS prisons say they will be forced to abandon their positions. The team makes contact with Salmaan’s Canadian family, learning what they believe happened to him and his mother. Poonam and her team see up close the dangers still facing children here.
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3. Breakthrough
Poonam finally gets into the prison camp where the women and children of suspected IS fighters are being held. There, she meets a Canadian woman who has information about baby Salmaan. But it’s clear she isn’t telling Poonam everything.
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4. DA's Secret
Poonam returns to DA, now knowing her true identity. What was IS like through her eyes? What can she tell Poonam about some of the terror group’s most heinous crimes?
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5. The Crater
Poonam makes the perilous journey to the last known location of baby Salmaan, a guesthouse near where IS made its last stand. But IS sleeper cells still lurk in the desert and Poonam only has one hour on the ground – can she find what she needs in time?
Customer Reviews
Captivating
I binged this series in two days. A very high quality podcast.
Compelling and nuanced
A careful and thoughtful podcast series. I was totally absorbed. I really appreciated the calm and nuanced reporting, yet filled with appropriate compassion and concern. Thank you!
Wow- amazing!
First of all- Poonum is amazing, she handled this with incredible honesty, authenticity, empathy, and a drive for the truth. She’s brilliant!
I come to this as a mother, but also as an Emergency Medicine physician who spent 7 years overseas working in South/Southeast Asia and Africa in refugee camps, prisons, conflict zones, and disasters. I have seen human beings living in despair in the worst of circumstances and it is NEVER acceptable.
I have fairly strong feelings about this, but it is appalling to me that we’ve left these children (or women, or men even) in deplorable conditions in the middle of nowhere, forgotten and disregarded.
I know I might be in the minority, but I don’t believe anyone should lose their right to due process or their citizenship. For the women especially (particularly those who were underage), there was enormous grooming that brought them to IS. But it doesn’t matter- those children deserve to be safe and with their family in the countries they rightfully belong to.
Even for these women, they deserve a chance to bring their children home and face justice properly. Leaving them for years rotting in camps is unacceptable, no matter what the circumstances.
I’ve been in camps like these- no human on earth (regardless of what they are accused of doing) deserve to live in such conditions. As an international community, particularly those of us from countries who purport to support humanitarianism and democracy, it is unacceptable.
My heart breaks for Ash and his grandchildren. As for DA and her kids- I hope they can find a normal life in Canada and she gets fair justice. I also pray every single child in those camps gets a chance at life, it is utterly cruel to think of them growing up there, with no one fighting for them or caring about them. These camps are an abomination to human rights, truly.
Thank you for this incredible podcast- and for the humanity, depth, and insight you gave this important topic. Well done.