The Raqqa Diaries: Escape From Islamic State

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' Remarkable rare intimate Samer is an understated hero of our time' Anthony Loyd The Times'A clarion call to all of us that we should not give up Somewhere there is a voice in the wreckage' Michael Palin' This is brutal non-fiction plainly & urgently told' Robin Yassin-Kassab Guardian' The simple act of bearing witness is one of the most powerful human responses available The Raqqa Diaries is so important' Evening Standard Everyone should spend a couple of hours of their life reading it to remind themselves that even in the darkest depth of human misery the bravest souls still exist' Sunday Times Since ISIS occupied Raqqa in eastern Syria it has become one of the most isolated & fear-ridden cities on earth The sale of televisions has been banned wearing trousers the wrong length is a punishable offence & using a mobile phone is considered an unforgivable crime No journalists are allowed in & the penalty for speaking to the western media is death by beheading Despite this after several months of nervy & often interrupted conversations the BBC was able to make contact with a small activist group Al-Sharqiya 24 Finally courageously one of their members agreed to write a personal diary about his experiences Having seen friends & relatives butchered his community's life shattered & the local economy ruined by these hate-fuelled extremists Samer is fighting back in the only way he can by telling the world what is happening to his beloved city This is Samer's story