Development Cooperation Handbook/The video resources linked to this handbook/The Documentary Story/The motorcycle journey back to Rome

The motorcycle journey back to Rome

Vrinda had completed her job in Beirut and we decided to return to Rome overland, more or less on the same road that I took at the beginning of the video production.

In August 2011 when we passed through Syria in journey back to Italy, political tensions were raising. Foreign journalist had been asked to leave the country. But we were not officially journalists, and it was still safe to move around in Syria.

With Paolo dall'Oglio, the Jesuit father founder of the monastic community of Mar Musa, we went to Aleppo, to meet it  Dr. Abul-Huda Alhussainy, a sufi master  who is the head of an Islamic NGO working internationally for increasing dialogue amongst nations.

In Aleppo we stayed in the house of Hend, a young Syrian Christian woman who had recently returned from Canada, where she had been living for 9 years, in order to take a role in the political confrontations that were boiling up in Syria.

After we left Syria, the situation there quickly deteriorated.

After six months, in February 2012, father Paolo was exiled from Syria on accusations of criticizing the Government. In July 2013 he entered again in Syria from Turkey, but was soon kidnapped by the rebels. The reports that he was executed by the fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant had never been officially confirmed.

Mahmoud Abul-Huda Alhussainy has remained in Aleppo and his NGO has been very active in assisting the civil population of Aleppo and in trying to defuse tensions between the different communities who still leave there. He sided with the freedom movement against the Government of Bashar al-Assad.

Hema returned to Canada when Christians started to be persecuted in rebel controlled localities.

We left Syria and entered In Turkey. We stayed in Antakia and Izmir.

From Greece we decided to take the ferry to Italy in Albania and we crossed Bulgaria and Macedonia.

It was a beautiful journey that gave me the possibility of thinking over again at the whole project.

Finally we arrived to Rome. Now it was the time for the postproduction.

Next ⇒ RAI1 broadcasts the Speciale TG1 with the news documentary on our project

Video clips
⇒ Mahmoud Abul-Huda Alhussainy

⇒ Paolo Dall'Oglio

Interviews
⇒  Mahmoud Abul-Huda Alhussainy

Backstage
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