>> we never thought that saddam will be removed, never. so when i saw them, i felt hope. a country like america, this was my dream. >> narrator: this is ttory of the iraq war told by the civilians who lived it. >> major combat operations i iraq have ended. >>hen there was a chaos. >> the united states have prevailed. >> mission accomplishe yeah? seriously?e >> wdn't have a strong government, it was very weak. so, when they withdraw, it was a stake. violence that foll.he sectarian >> i ner thought that there

would be a civil war between iraqis. >> narrator: to the rise of isis. >> (speaking arabic) >> narrator: the memories and experiences from those who survived. >> it's very dangerous to forget. because memory all is what's left for us. >> narrator: now on frontline, "once upon a time in iraq". >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corration for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committe to building a more just, verdant more information d. at macfound.org. the ford foundation:rk g with visionaries on the frontlines of social change orrldwide. at fdfoundatio additional support is provided the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. the rk foundation, dedicated to heightening public

awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust. supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagle >> now, what are your preferences with regards tot? vaping or do you...? >> if you wanna do it, yeah. >> yeah? >> if it makes you feel morexe re >> thank you. hs >> (la

(speaking arabic (people laugh) ♪ >> (speaking arabic): >> iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward america and to support terror. states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil. terrorists... hatred... dangerous regimes... weapons of mass destruction... evil... and it must be opposed. ♪ (people yelling) >> narrator: this the story of the war in iraq told byed iraqis who l through it.

>> (laughing): i was very happye to seeat that time, like, "hi! i can speak english!" >> narrator: these are their personal accounts and lasting memories of the invasion of their country and the 17 years chaos that followed. (explosion booms) >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaki arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic):

>> it's very dangerous to forget. because memory all is what's left for u (cars humming, horns honking) (people talking in background) (man chanting on speaker) >> okay, new york,e're starting the show. >> five, four, three, two, one... >> hi and welcome. a i'm vanessa ra today, we're participating a historic discussion between then people of two countries on the brink of war. and let's, everyone in new yorkt say everyone over in baghdad.

>> hi! >> and if you guys could say hi back to us, just so we know that you saw us. >> hi. >> hi, people of ameri >> it's, it's very weird looking at yourself, you know, i think i was 18 yld atn. that time. (exhales) i me, am i wrong or did i sound like borat? you know, it's, like, i don't know, it's, like, "hello, people of america!" (chuckles) >> i'muh, generally interested in computers. and i like, uh, ternet, i like email and all this stuff. let's live, uh, a happy life, and, uh, let's rock and roll. you know, i love rock a lot. listen for some metallica, it will help you. >> let's take a little bit more of an in-depth look with this first video from waleed, who, as we all know by now, is a rocker. t's check it out! (heavy metal playing) >> so i form this little

group, and we were the only heavy metal band in iraq. (band continues) i was infatuated with the west. i wanted everything that was western. it was, like, i wanted t blue jeans, i wanted the skateboards, i wanted the headphones, i wanted all of these things that i grew up watching. and that's how i learned english, was from movi it's a cool place. but it's a fakmcdonald. we thought that it's a real mcdonald, and the first moment that we saw it, "oh, we have mcdonald's here in iraq!" >> there are two g, very's, no. beautiful girls there, are sitting there.ou >>now, i hadn't met that many americans at that time, but there are so many things about america that we appreciate, we like, we want. so when i hear, you know,

statements like, "they hate our freedom and our democracy," it's, like, , we actually love it, we fricking love it-- ("everybody" by thed. backstreet boys playing) (car horn honks) when we stard hearing the murmurs that we are about to be invaded, i was excited (people talking in background) >> i want to ask about know about them? what do you what are their latest?e >> i gotta bhonest, i think the backstreet boys have some really, really catchy tunes. ( ughing) >> so i'm definitely down with the backstreet boys. >> they are sucks, you know? >> (laughing) >> i always want to be one of the backstreet boys. (lr.gh: when i was a teena i even knew the dances, like... (murmuring, chuckles) i had the same clothes: the white pants and the open shirt >> ♪ backstreet's back, all right! ♪ >> and i go to the high school with these things, so...y

"'sup,me is kevin, not ahmed." (laughs) (yelling) (laughs maniacally) (singing in arabic): my family wanted me to be, you know, imam at e mosque. but they lost, lost that hope when i was seven, i guess, when i started to say bad words. >> right? >> (laughs i was cursing. and my father was very religious, it was very conflict. he had some, i don't know why, huge problem with the songs, with the music. ♪ when i take my father's car, i

remove the, his, his tapes, q which an or anashid, which is islamic songs.us and i put my and driving around baghdad. i go crazy. the music is very high. ♪ (imitating music) ♪ i was always asking myself why i wasn't born in the westernld world-- i sht be born in this world. ♪ >> (singing in arabic): em >> i remr... is when i get into the school, i see paintings of mickey mouse, and the picture of saddam hussein.

i saw his picture everywhere. (cldren singing in arabic) whenever his name is mentioned, you not just mentioned his name, u have to say, "may god protect him, may god save him,oe may god takes our lives and give it to him, beuse without him, we can't survive." and being a child, i thought he's immortal. we are humans, but he is something different. >> (speaking arabic): (audiee applaung) b at some point, i thought he is my grandfatheause i see him everywhere, and it was, like, yeah, this is my grandfather, he's cu's good, blah, blah, blah, he's brave.

thiss what they teach us in the schools. and then when i was, like, 12,or aybe 11, 12, i realized, like, that no, he's the president of the country. and i have to never say anything bad about him, because i will be killed. >> and there's this guy called ssain and he was, like, (bleep) (speaking arabic), which means like, "(bleep) on saddam." everytime he says it, it's, like, "oh, my god, like... shh, shh, shh, zip it! zip it!" and he's, like, "so it's okay to say, '(bleep) god'?" and i was, like, "yes." "but, '(bleep) saddam'?" d i was, like, "no!" (laughs) 'cause you don't know who's listening. and that's what he created. the idea that your next-door neighbor, your brother, your cousin, anyonecould be the one that reports you. ♪ >> (speaking arabic):

(people screaming on tv) (speaking arabic): (laughs) (birds chirping) (people talking in background) (dog barking) >> (speaking arabic):

♪ >> (interviewer): >> (speaking arabic): (people chanting, celebrating) (sound fades)

(speaking arabic): >> (sighs) (light clicks) (inhales) i was pro-war. absolutely pro-war. and so were many, many, many,

ny iraqis. it's almost the end, you know? it's, li, let's just push through, let's push through, let's get this (bleep) done, anh then a betteg is gonna come. the land of dreams. ♪ ns (air raid silaring) (explosions rumbling) (guns firing) on (explopounding) (guns firing) >> (speaking arabic):

♪ (bombs exploding) (c alarms blaring) (rocket passing) (explosion echoes)

ed>> you must have been sc >> (chuckles) (speaking arabic): (explosionecho) (emergency sirens blaring) (people talking in background) (woman cryin ♪

>> the bombing did not it was jusbombs-- bos, day and night.fi (g rattling in distance) but i was going out amidst all of that. i was looking for cigarettes. i'm a heavy smoker.th and i hear one of the shops are still open and they're still selling cigarettes. so i stole-- or took, borrowed-- my cousin's small little bike. so it was a small little bike, y and here i a know, it's, like, you know, i was, like, cycling on thithing. (gunfire rattling) but then all of a sudden, it got dark. and i look up, and there's this black cloud that engulfed everything around me. and i remember, like, i was just, like... like, "what's going on and then i discovered what it

was.ha here'st saddam did. they dug wells, and they dumped y crude oil in it, and thelit it on fire. so that they canreate visual distraction for the american pilots. they were thinking that these guys are using visuals to actually bomb, not satellite-guided missiles and stuff like that. they thoug that, "oh, the plane's gonna come, the pilot looks like this, and he's, like, 'o yeah, there's the target over here.let's shoot ri" (laughing) so then... (laughing) so all of baghdad, all of a yo suddenhad all of these, like, wells of oil burning up, and thsky literally just going dark. ♪ >> this is george w. bush, the president of the united states. at this moment, the regime of saddam hussein is being removedm

ower and a long era of fear and cruelty is ending. the government of iraq and the future of your country wilsoon belong to you. ♪ (men whistling, chring) >> (speaking arabic): (giggles) (laughs)

(birds chirping) >> the welcome here has been prty good, everybody's, uh helped us out, been friendly. so, uh, it's better than being shot at.u >> where're om? >> from texas. >> is it like texas, being here, or a lot different >> a lot different. i can understand what everybody's saying in texas. (people whistle and applaud) (crowd clamoring) >> we never thought that saddam will be removed, never. until i saw two american soldrs standing in the streets. i was very happy to see them at that time. like, "hi, i can speak english!" (chuckles) so when i saw them, i felt hopee

i had this that my country is becoming one of the good countries in the middleast. or maybe in the world. a country like america. this was my dream. actually, that was lots of people dream. ♪ >> there was a genuine sense of pe. it was, like, "they're here, they're here," you know? and then when we sawhe statue... (breathes deeply) uncle looked at us and he was, like, "it's over. it's done."

(crowd cering wildly) (cheering wildly) >> allahu akbar!al hu akbar! (sound fading) >> slowly but surely, the belief started becoming more and more cemented that this is, it's actually happening right now. and then, oops, all of a sudden, we see saddamn in the streets. (crowd chanting)

>> (speang arabic):

(crowd cheering) (crowd chanting) >> (interviewer): >>speaking arabic):

>> and then he disappeared. and nobody knew where he was. just... (blows out sharply) gone. but yeah, he just frickin' left. is sadm gonna come back? because he wasn't captured. where was he? did he have another plan? we didn't know. (crowd yelling, clanging metal) things were changing so fast. we couldn't cope. (metal dragging, crowd cheering) >> it wathursday. i came back from the school,

and when i went inside the house, i saw all my family watching the tv, like... (gasps) like this. and i thought, "it's, it's not happening, this is not possible, like, saddam is gone?" no, this is not possible. cause on the tv, they ar saying saddam is gone. in the street, it's different, so i believed the street, not the tv. (helicopter whirring) (guns firing) (explosion pounds) saddam was still the president of iraq in mosul. d all the mosques werepr ching the same prayer of, "may god protect saddam," and

then they start, like, shouting against thamericans. after a few minutes, a humvee stopped by the mosque, and this very se preacher, all of a sudden, changed his mind, and he started shouting against saddam. i washocked. at just happened? (people clamoring) many people followed him and swapped sides in a momen >> (chanting): >> then there was a chaos. you'd see people running toyw everre, stealing things from buildings, from the schools, from everything. >> they are looting everything, i don't know why.hing.

goodbye. >> when you have years and years of poverty, anthen all of a sudden, the floodgates are open, with no supervision, what would you do? i mean, i was tempted. and i remember, you know, it was, like, seeing american soldiers, you know, it was,ye like, wavingyou know, as people literally just looting building, schools,tals, you name it. >> everyone was running inside the bank, money was everywhere. people were out of their mind. >> if you go from a pressive regime, we've seen in that transition period, tre's tidiness. freedom's untidy, and freepe le are free to make mistakes

and commit crimes and do bad things. stuff happens! (people exclaiming) >> primarily, our big concern right now is trying to get baghdad.ack to normal they had a lot of problems with locals out here looting.'s pretty tough situation, because we're not a police force. anwe can't go through patrolling, acting as policemen guarding everybody. >> right after the invasion, one of the verfew jobs that you can do in iraq is to work as a translator. i was ready to work for a dollar.

and they were, like, "would, uh, $50 be okay?" and i was, like, "$50 a what?", you know, and i'm trying to compose myse. and they were, like, "a day." and i was, like, "50 fricking bucks, this is fricking awesome." $50 was my dad's salary for six months. i s making it in a day. and i was, like, "all right, we got a deal." i would hire a cab, would take r list with me, and we'd just drive around. this is mutanabbi street. th is one of the most old stets in baghdad. and it's such an odd feeling, because before the war started, shops are open, people are walking, buying, selling, eating, drinking, and now... it's a ghost town. there is no electricity, no

water.n 's apossible situationha for anyone tt was there. on the one hand, you're hopeful, "oh, the future is going to be great," and all of that. at t same time, you are seeing clear evidence that... (exhales) things are not good. ♪ (people talking in background) and then iraqis were under thisn impressi, it was, like, "okay, this is the greatest power in the world, they're gonna come and rebuild everything in, like, months." month one passed, there's stilli no elety, there's still no water. ♪ baghdad became, like, a city of garbage. what's going on? etal clanging)

(tires screech)o ("haile chief" playing) >> major combat operations in iraq have ended. in the battle of iraq, the united states and our allies have prevailed. (audience cheers and applauds) >> mission accomplished. (laughs): yeah? seriously? (c horn honks backgrounng simple ts are what we were asking for, very simple. a hope of a job-- en aicity, and job, just a hope that you'll get a job. these things, had they happened, iraqis would not have reacted in the way they did. we would have actually been

liberated for real. ♪ >> three to four mortar rounds t were reported landing within the vicinity. we have 18 soldiers who were wounded. (jet roaring overhead) (person yelling in distance) (object bangs) ♪ >> wtre going for haifa stree in order to do a folw-up for ay of... an explosion happened for a humvee for the... ngi remember going and doi the story. (speaking arabic) there is an attack near

american humvee, but then kids were there, and they all got basically shredded by shrapnels. (people speaking arabic) >> the whole casualties of this was 17 child, five of them get killed, and 12 of them were injured.ey a girl lost he completely lost her eye. this is the child. she lost her eye. hello! (speaking arabic): >> (girl): (speaking arabic): >> (sobbing) >> (speaking arabic): >> alaa. ♪

>> (softly): okay. (speaking arabic):

>> (crying and shouting) >>speaking arabic): that's it. >> (speaking arabic, crying): >> her, uh, daughter was seriously injured in this attack. they were in the street. >> (sobbing, yelling) ng >> (speakirabic): sh

>>outing in arabic): eo ple yelling) >> (shouting in arabic): >> (crying softly) (speakg arabic):

♪ >> that girl represes the beginning of the end for me. at that time, rega of all okay of these atrocities that werece taking p the focus of the attacks was the americans. so people were still somewhat now, the question is, how long did it last? and that was not long.

♪ s >> ladd gentlemen, we got him. (audience cheers and applauds) iraq's future has never been more full of hope. there is a new opportunity for the members of the former regime to end their bitter opposition. >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic):

>> so when he was captured like that, like, ah, no, it's his double, it's not him. impossible to be the same gu he is invincible, he is like hercules. but they know it's him. he's saddam, but he is a... he's a person. he's not a god. >> (speakingrabic): >> (interviewer): >> (speaking arabic):

>> (talking on loudspeaker) >> (speaking arabic):

(people talking in background) (people chanting) (explosion pounds) (people screaming) ♪ (explosion pounds, rumbles)

>> (spking arabic): >> it's like there was a nest for car bombs in iraq st, this nest is open now, and you can hear 30 explosion every day. you just get used to that.

sometimes i was sleeping in the morning and i just hear the car bombs, i was, like, "shut the (bleep) up, i wanna sleep." i swear. before that, there wasn't al qaeda. ere was only insurgents. (sirens blaring) we know that now it's never gonna be safe again.>> (sobbing, yelling) >> (speaking arabic):

(children calling) >> (speaking arabic):

(laughs) >> (talking in background) bi >> (speaking a: (sirens blaring)

(helicopter passing overhead) (people talking in background) >> you know, working, doing what i did, bei seen with foreign journalists puts you immediately in danger as a person with a target painted on your chest. another friend of mine, by the name of amanj, we received similar death threats almost at the same time. with him, they sent him his i brother's hea garbage bag.in (people tain background) so once i heard this news, then the decision was very clear, cause i have three young brothers.

it's hard. it's so hard to see all these ofthings happening in fron you, and you're not capable to do a thing towards that. nothing, as in nothing. but the problem is, therisn't there isn't.. we don't have any options. (sniffles) ♪ three days after that, i was in jordan, and i was illegal in jordan for a few months, then started the process of coming to canada. ♪ i felt... and i don't think i've shared this with anyone. i felt guilty. to have survived it.

♪ the people you love the most are in the most dangerous place in earth. their life could end in any second every time you talk to friends, so-and-so got murdered, so-and-so died, and then the stories just continue andin co and continue, so i dreaded fricking phones. >> you know, i know some fear the possibility that iraq could civil war.t and fall into a i don't believe these fears are justified. g ey're not justified so l we do not abandon the iraqi people in their hour of need. ♪

americans asked saam, "how much time you need to, uh, to make the situation in aq better?" he said, "i will need one hour. 45 minutes to shave and to change my clothes, and 15 minutes to say my speech on tv. and this is how iraq will settle down, and it will be fine." it's not, ... (speaking arabic) >> he believed that it could ve happened. >> he could do it. ♪ >> (speaking arabic):

>> (speaking arabic): >>speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> how did that make you feel

when you saw those images? >> mm... i had a relationshipt that time, i didn't, i didn't care anything. i didn'tare about anything. >> well, tell me about the mood on the street, then.ou doemember the mood of the country? grow., his, his... popularity he lost it, zero, and then he started to gain it again. from the court.re >> on the s. >> on the streets, yes. ♪ g) (birds chirp >> (speaking arabic):

>> i wouldn't want to call it an exodus, but we've, we've come across quite a few people leaving for good. mostly people with money. uh, the poor can't really afford i've noticed a lot of doctors and guys like that doing it. ♪ e >>re carrying two i.ds. one for, uh, sunni checkpoint checkpoint.er for the shia it'sifferent, the names, the tribe, the province, everything. lots of people got killed and they are sunni, they were killed g sunni checkpoint, because they pulled the i.d.

and they were, like, "no, no, faking we are shiabut we are they...d. they got kille >> (speaking arabic): okay, here we go. >> (speaking arabic): >> it was very bad time, especially 2006 an2007. very bad time. al normivilians fighting normal just because they are sunni and they are shia, and that's it. but never thought that there would be a civil war between iraqis. this i never saw coming. i was ready to die. everyone in iraq was ready to

die. he knows that he could die any minute. random bullet, explosion. american convoy, anying in the street could kill you. >> (yelling) >> it was like hell in iraq. sh >> (ting) >> i don't think there's a family and they didn't lose anyone. everyone was losing everyone. (gunfire rattling) >> can you tell what happened to your brothe >> (chuckling): (bleep) do i have to? >> of course you don't have to. >> (exhales)'s uh, i hate that moment.

my brother was, uh... he... uh... he was killed in a very brutal way. the, the mortar shell fell right on his head. and he was... he became pieces, literally. i saw the pieces. and we collected the pieces toy, make a bo my mom thinks that there's a human. but there wasn't a human. please. want to talk about it, ♪

>> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic):

♪ >> (speaking arabic): >> (cheering)♪ >> (speaking arabi (people talking in background) >> (speaking arabic)

(people talking in background) ♪ >> (speaking arabic):

>> (speaking arabic): ♪

♪ (helicopter flying)

>> for nearly nine your nation has been at war in iraq. the troops are now preparing to make their final march across the rder and out of the country. iraq's future will be in the hands ofts own people. our war there will be over. >>t just touches my heart to see our troops coming home. job well done. ♪ >> (speaking arabi:

>> my friend!? >> how are y how's your day? >> not too bad, can't complain. yeah, another day in paradise. >> (chuckles): yeah. ♪ ♪ they do say, and it's true,ar home is where is. and my heart is in baghdad and forevewill be. plus, it's (bleep) cold here.

(laughs) i arrived to canada, met this beautiful, loving, fricking woman. i'm married. got educated here.lm i studied nd media. my name is waleed rabiaa. >> sorry. >> i was really an intense individual at that time. edn laptop): my name is wa raaa. i left my country eighyears ago. and now i want to return. i couldn't return home until 2012, because that's when i finally got my permanent residency. i spoke to my fe and i was, like, "i can't take it anymore." i gotta go home.

and i knew that my brothers were waiting for me. >> (laughing) g) (car horn honkin (music playing) >> i don't even know what i'mn gonna do wi see my mother. (laughing) >> (speaking arabic): >> i mean, not to see your mom for eight years, it was an insanely happy moment. (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): ll >> ai, what are you doing? >> "what are you doing," yes. i, i clean your face. >> and it just hit me. i left my brothers, they were kids. the d.ungest was nine years olhi

i puto bed. and i was thinking, like, it's most like i was in a dam, and i just woke up and you're expecting that not two minutes have gone >> (speaking arabic) (laughing) >> i wted to do a high schoo friend reunion. teme of them, you know, st coming up with excuses and excuses, and there's this friend of minealled hakkam. he, finally, he was, like, "no, no. if you want to hang out,ust come here, we'll hang out, you and i," and i was, like, "but why, our frien..." and he's, like, "because you (bleep) invited al samarai." "yeah."i an like, "do you not remember, like, we fricking snuck out of school together, like, you know, it was, like, we, we did all of these, of course i invited him." and the guy was, like, "oh, you're one of those. he is sunni." and i was, like, "hold on. t

do you mean l me that you don't speak to him because he's sunn" and he was, like, "yeah." like, "and let me tell you something, waleed. the iraq you left is no more. this is the new iraq." (music playing, people shouting) the sunnis at that time had gotten it really, really bad. 'cause the iraqi government was just pushing and pushing on these people. >> (speaking arabic): (people shouting, cheering) (chanting)

>> the pme ministeis a disaster. punishment of the lective with the support of america. maliki started arresting the sunni leadership, he cleaned the government from all the sunnis. it became impossible for both sides to find peace again. ♪ t he iraqi army has been intensifying their operations. there is sessions of torture. this was going on for years. >> (speaking arabic): >> and the sentiment was very clear. the iraqi government is shia we are sunnis. we are gonna get our rights back.

(crowd chanting) i know something bad is going to happen and i have leave again. i was sobbing like a kid.id 'cause i dn't know whether i will see them again or not. ra >> (speaking abic): >> (blows kiss) yeah. something was a-brewing.

and that thing... (bleep) us for good now. (sirens blaring) (peoe shouting) (horns honking) >> (speaking arabic): (murmurs)ar (man speakinic) (people cheering)

>> we drove through the city. the armyhat used to insult thpeople on daily basis in the checkpoints have disappeared. they collapsed. we thought the security forcesk, would come b fight back, the terrorists would leave. but then when i saw the weapons, the new cars, they were almost all in one uniform... i became totally sure that isis here to stay. (horns honking)

(guns firing) >> can you just explain why people are cheering? >> they weren't welcoming isis, but after years of oppression from corrupted troops and government, people felt free for the first time. this what isis was selling to the people. g but maliki andovernment is gone. (people cheering) (whistles blowing)♪ ♪ what we used to see as the police now is the islamic police. at used to be iraqi flag now is the black flag of isis.

om day one, you would see in the street what they called the media outlet putting on the tv, on the monitor, isis videos, showing their propaganda. >> (singing in arabic) >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaki arabic): >> i saw myself childr between just after watching a video.sis

♪ >> would isis have existed ifay america had ? >> i don't think so, no. americans would have, would have stopped that. the u.s.a. committed two major bad things in iraq. first was invasion, and the second was withdrawal from iraq. because we were not ready at all, not, we didn't, didn't have an army, good army. control the ground, we didn'tto have a strong government-- it was very weak. so when, when they withdrawal, ♪ was a mistake. so in blinking of eye, isis controlled three cities, three

major cities, in iraq. >> (speaking arac): >> (cheering) ♪ (people shouting) (guns firing, horns honking) >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic):

♪ >> (speaking arabic): (child laughing) ♪

(both laugh softly) (man singing in arabic) (speaking arabic):

>> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): (breathes deeply)

(sniffles) ♪ (voice trembling) (guns firing)

(breath trembling) (exhales) (imitates snoring)

♪ >> (speaking arabic):

(people calling in distance) ♪

>> (interviewer): >> (speaking arabic):

>> (speaking arabic):

>> (speaking arabic): bi >> (speaking a: >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): ak (man sg arabic on tv) >> i w back in canada. my btheralled me and he was, like, "daesh just took overkr

."d en the speicher thing happened. it was a matter of time until daesh come to baghdad. and i was, like, "okay, how much money do you have?" and he was, like, "i don't have any," and i was, like, "all right, okay. give me one day and i'll come back to you." so i scrounge up as much money as i can put together, send it over, and i was, like, "you buy tickets right now, and you go to turkey, right now." so i moved the whole family to turkey within a matter of a week. and remember talking to my wi and telling her, i was, like... it just never stops. s never stops. like, daesh madeok at al qaeda time and they were, like, "ah, they are st a bunch of jokers, these guys."th an were, in comparison.

(laughs) ♪ >> we heard of speicher.ri as isis dibuted directly videos, so we were aware of what was happening. ey were talking, like, that it is a great victory for the islamic state. ♪ mb but i still re seeing those people in the, in the truck while begging isis and this guy who was killing them using the pistol andwi th them into the river. who would, who, who would be able to this? who can do this? once you are part of isis,

you are monster. l >> t, did you, did you know you were joining isis? >> (speaking arabic):

(people chanting) (speaking arabic

(guns firing) >> so what happens at the training camp? ea >> (ng arabic):

>> (inrviewer): >> (speaking arabic): (voice over loudspeaker) >> (speaking arabic):

♪ >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> (speakingrabic):

♪ >> (speaking arabic):

♪ (laughs)

♪ >> there werrumors in town, some people were saying mosulew eye is ah iraqi o love his city. some others saying that this is a professional psychological operation from cia. >> (speaking arabic):

>> isis feared what mosul eye ars dog. telling them thenot alone in town. someone is watching you. isis is not controlling everything in our life. w someone said, h i knew who was mosul eye, because i would behead h myself." from the very beginning i felt the responsibility and the importance of exposinghat's happening, putting everything online.

this led to the creation of mosul eye. >> that was you? >> yeah. ateast i was doing somethi against them.si thatwith all its weapons couldn't manipulate the truth. (people shouting, chanting the normal day under isis rule was hand cutting... stoning women in the street, and yeah, this was a nday in... under isis. and if this didn't happen, we would say like, "wow, there's something wrong. why there is no execution?"

♪ >> did you watch the executions? >> yes. they were beheaded. (traffic sounds) ♪ the moment i decide to leave mosul was the most difficult moment in my life. was an isis senior leader.i ve the house behind us was also an isis leader.

the fear that my family would be punished as a result of what is was doing tting higher. er was only one wayo leave. (speaking arabic): ♪

>> the battle to retake mosul begun. it was the iraqi security forces with the support of e united states. (rapid gunfire) liberated.he city to be but i was afraid because it's a fight... to finish isis. it's completely different from liberating the people. (heavy gunfire) when trump came to power, he said that he wanted isis to be

defeated at any cost. part of this cost was my brother, my eldest brother. he left four children behind. >> we've done more against isist in nine montn the previous administration's done during s whole administration, by far, by far. (cheers and applause) and isis is now being dealt one defeat after another. (explosions, rumbling) they never got hit like this before, and we've made their lives very, very difficult. (thunderous explosion) (man yelling)♪ ♪

(gunshots, screams in distance) s hs) ♪ >> (speaki arabic): (explosion)

(gun shots) (child crying) (speaking arabic): (gun shots, shouting)

(explosion gun fire, shouting) ♪ (helopter droning) (people chatting) >> i'm still 33 and i have lived all of this. americans, al qaeda,ivil war,

the killing of sunnis, the killing of shia, the executions, the beheadings. it's a macle i'm still able to talk, isn't it? it's very dangerous to forget. because memory all is what's left for us. ♪ i remember the... the people in my neighborhood. and that we were able to play it thet. with no fear.

(sighs) yeah, this is, this is what i remember when i was a ild in mosul. mosul is known of its minaret, which we call our old lady. because it is watching us and protecting us. ancient houses.very old and you will see mosque close to a church and then a shrine. it's the place where you belong and the place where you identify yourself with. and when the sun shi you could feel that the sun isin g just because mosul is there.

unfortunately, everything i have described has been destroyed. my city is gone. ♪ >> the goals of our coalition are clear and limited.rc coalition foes will help maintain law and order so that iraqis can le in security. and i assure every citizen of iraq, your nation will soon be free. ♪

♪ >> (speaking arabic):

♪ >> gto pbs.org/frontline for more about the people >> at some point i thought he's my grandfather, because i see him everywhere. >> cause you don't know who's listening and that's what he created. >> and watch our past film. about ir connect to the frontline community on facebook and twitter, and watch anytimen the pbs video app or pbs.org/frontline. >> narrator: they are the essential workers. >> i startth getting lighded. my chest starting to hurt. i couldn't really breathe. >> narrator: in the factories and farms. >>thhey're more exposed to o people.

lot of them do in fact live in fear. >> narrator: producing america's food supply. coworker showed up to work and she was coughing. if she didn't show up to work.b >> narrator: frontline investigates. >> it doesn't feel like we're essential, it feels like we're slaves. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pb station from viewers like you. tiank you. and by the corpo for public broadcasting. john d. and catherine t.d by the macarthur foundation, committed to building a more jt, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change at fordfoundation.org. additional support is providedhe bybrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. f the pandation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust.

supporting trustworthysm journahat informs and inspires. and by the frontline journalism fund, jo ann hagler.port from jo captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> f more on this and other "frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ "once upon a time q" is available on amazon prime video.

♪ ♪ you're watching pbs. ♪ ♪

from the new york life foundation. ♪ -kai had felt sad before, but this was different, something more. mom didn show it, but she was sad, too. without kai's dad, their whole world was turned blue. but this didn't mean they'd be frightened forever. brave sometimes hides in the strangest of places. for kai, that place was a sweater. ♪ ♪ -there's something we don't talk about, even though it affects each of us,