Raqqa, Syria
November 2014
DISCLAIMER: This video was shot with the approval of ISIS and subjected to review and censorship before publication. The appearance of this video on the Transterra Media website does not in anyway constitute an endorsement by Transterra Media of any claims or statements made in this video.
Footage shows members of the ISIS-run department of control and inspection at work. The video includes an interview with a member of the Control and Inspection Office, who says that the office monitors the quality of different food products and whether they have been produced according to Islamic law. It also includes an interview with a grocer. ISIS members are seen destroying what an announcer says are expired products.
SHOTLIST AND TRANSCRIPT
Wide/ external of “Control and Inspection” office run by ISIS
Wide of Raqqa city and ISIS flags
SOUNDBITE (Arabic, Man) Unnamed ISIS Official
00:08 - 00:44
“The Control and Inspection office has been established in Wilayat [Province] of Raqqa. The office is divided into [two] departments; the first is the Health Inspection Department, whose task consists of inspecting food items and other supplies in the markets. The reports filed by this department are eventually given to the Islamic court. The Meat Department, on the other hand, inspects the quality of all kinds of meat that are being sold. All meat obtained from animals that have not been slaughtered at the slaughterhouse is confiscated; butchers who slaughter animals outside the slaughterhouse are punished.”
Wide of people inside Control and Inspection Office
Close-up of inspector filling in Control and Inspection report
Wide of motorcycles with plates that read “Control and Inspection”
Wide of two men driving away on motorbike with a plate that reads “Control and Inspection”
Wide of pickup truck carrying melons and watermelons
Wide of street and passersby
Various of inspectors examining packed food items inside a grocery store
Various of packed food items stocks
Close-up of ISIS official reports
SOUNDBITE (Arabic, Man) Unnamed grocery store owner
01:33 – 02:10
“Thanks be to God, and peace be upon God’s Messenger. The Islamic State has set an office for control and inspection, which has had a positive role. It has reminded Muslims of the Prophet’s saying: ‘He who cheats us is not one of us.’
However, a merchant might unintentionally forget certain items on the shelf. Other grocers deliberately leave [expired] merchandise in their shops. We advise them to fear God. We have seen that they [inspectors] – may God reward them – bring this issue to people’s attention. Whenever they find expired products for the first time, they issue a warning and destroy these products. May God reward them.”
Various of inspectors spraying writings saying that stores are being sealed for malpractice
NAT SOUND (Arabic) Announcement by ISIS member
02:26 – 03:12
“In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate; thanks to be God, Lord of the worlds; and peace be upon God’s messenger.
The Office of Control and Inspection, which is part of the Hisba [Islamic Police] department, has confiscated large amounts of spoiled, expired or badly stored goods, including foodstuff, grain legumes, detergents, beauty products and [UNINTELLGILBLE] products. These products were located in markets in Raqqa province and have an estimated value of 2 million Syrian pounds.
Now, we are going to destroy these products in this public square, in front of all the people. Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds.”
Various of ISIS members destroying food and other items in public
Various of ISIS members unloading and burning boxes in a dumpster
Wide of clock tower covered with ISIS flag in central Raqqa
Various of ISIS traffic police
Various of workers removing garbage from the street
A girl at the Saint Ivan Rilski Sofia Institution's playground. Like this little girl, many children, disabled or not, wait for adoption.
A little boy stands in the playground of Saint Ivan Rilski Sofia Institution.
Feeding bottles for babies in the Saint Ivan Rilski Sofia Institution that houses around a dozen babies.
A nurse watching over disabled children as they nap at Shumen Institution, the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
Shumen Institution is the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A little girl plays in the garden of Shumen Institution. Shumen institution is the oldest in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A little girl rests in her sister's arms. Roma children have the highest rates of abandoned children in Bulgaria.
A nurse plays with a little girl playing in the garden of Shumen Institution, the oldest institution in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
Shumen Institution is the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A doctor and a nurse in front of a sleeping disabled child. Shumen Institution is the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A little girl playing in the garden of Shumen Institution, the oldest institution in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A doctor and a nurse in front of a sleeping disabled child. Shumen Institution is the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A doctor walking in the courtyard of Shumen's oldest institution. Shumen Institution is the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
A little boy playing in the Shumen Institution garden. Shumen institution is the oldest in Bulgaria. It was built in 1935. In the past there were hundreds of children lived here. Because of de-institutionalization, they're now less than a dozen, all with disabilities. During the day, children with light disabilities come to spend the day and then go back to their home at night.
A little girl playing in the garden of Shumen Institution, the oldest institution in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
Children playing in the garden of Shumen Institution. Shumen Institution is the oldest one in Bulgaria. Built in 1935, it has previously housed hundreds of children. Because of de-institutionalization, they are now less than a dozen children within its walls, all with disabilities. Children with lighter disabilities come to spend the day there before heading back to their homes at night.
Dani Dukova welcomes abandoned children in her home for one year before they get adopted. Here, she shows painted hand-prints of all the children she has hosted.
Dani Dukova playing with little Anna. Dani Dukova's apartment smells like chocolate cake. When she opens the door, a small brunette with two braids enters. It is Anna, age four. Dani has been in Dukova's care for one year. "It is the fifth child I have at home since I decided to become a host family," explains Dukova. "When the girl first arrived from the institution, she used to bang her head against the walls. It was hard to watch. Now, she's much better. " Dukova knows that one day, Anna will leave when foster parents in Bulgaria or in the United States decide to take her on. "I cry when they leave, but I am very proud of how they have changed in my care," she adds.
Dani Dukova playing with little Anna. Dani Dukova's apartment smells like chocolate cake. When she opens the door, a small brunette with two braids enters. It is Anna, age four. Dani has been in Dukova's care for one year. "It is the fifth child I have at home since I decided to become a host family," explains Dukova. "When the girl first arrived from the institution, she used to bang her head against the walls. It was hard to watch. Now, she's much better. " Dukova knows that one day, Anna will leave when foster parents in Bulgaria or in the United States decide to take her on. "I cry when they leave, but I am very proud of how they have changed in my care," she adds.
Dani Dukova playing with little Anna. Dani Dukova's apartment smells like chocolate cake. When she opens the door, a small brunette with two braids enters. It is Anna, age four. Dani has been in Dukova's care for one year. "It is the fifth child I have at home since I decided to become a host family," explains Dukova. "When the girl first arrived from the institution, she used to bang her head against the walls. It was hard to watch. Now, she's much better. " Dukova knows that one day, Anna will leave when foster parents in Bulgaria or in the United States decide to take her on. "I cry when they leave, but I am very proud of how they have changed in my care," she adds.
Dani Dukova welcomes abandoned children in her home for one year before they get adopted.
Dani Dukova playing with little Anna. Dani Dukova's apartment smells like chocolate cake. When she opens the door, a small brunette with two braids enters. It is Anna, age four. Dani has been in Dukova's care for one year. "It is the fifth child I have at home since I decided to become a host family," explains Dukova. "When the girl first arrived from the institution, she used to bang her head against the walls. It was hard to watch. Now, she's much better. " Dukova knows that one day, Anna will leave when foster parents in Bulgaria or in the United States decide to take her on. "I cry when they leave, but I am very proud of how they have changed in my care," she adds.
Dani Dukova welcomes abandoned children in her home for one year before they get adopted. On her computer, she shows an older child who was adopted last year.