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Raqqa - Hope Among the Ruins

February 2, 2021

Leila Mustafa is a young Syrian Kurd. She’s also mayor of the so-called Islamic State’s former capital. Raqqa has been levelled as a result of the Syrian civil war.

https://p.dw.com/p/3okXC
Dokumentation "Rakka - Zwischen Trümmern und Hoffnung"
Image: Taskovski Films

But Leila Mustafa, an engineer, wants to rebuild the city on foundations of democracy and equal rights.

Dokumentation "Rakka - Zwischen Trümmern und Hoffnung"
Image: Taskovski Films


Her story is incredible: a young woman elected mayor of a city that was once IS’s self-proclaimed capital. It was the scene of beheadings. Women were forced to be completely covered in public.



The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of mostly Kurdish fighters, recaptured Raqqa with support from the US.

Dokumentation "Rakka - Zwischen Trümmern und Hoffnung"
Image: Taskovski Films


Leila Mustafa was elected as co-leader, charged with advancing Raqqa’s reconstruction. It’s a daunting task given the thousands of booby-trapped explosive devices that remain.
 



She has a vision of building a livable city out of the rubble of what was a stronghold of radical Islamism. She aims to create democratic structures and a spirit of reconciliation. Leila Mustafa's story is told by French writer Marine de Tilly.



Broadcasting Hours: 

Dokumentation "Rakka - Zwischen Trümmern und Hoffnung"
Image: Taskovski Films

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