The chilling and courageous account of a Danish-Somalian boy in Copenhagen who fell victim to al-Shabab recruiters
His back turned to the camera as he looks out over a nondescript housing development in Copenhagen, “The Shadow” describes how he fell victim to recruiters from the armed Somali group al-Shabab.

He outlines the conditions that make boys such as him susceptible to the lure of the “holy war,” explaining that, “Nothing in my life made any sense.” So eloquent is he in his account that one might think it was scripted, but what happened to him is as real as the scenes from a suicide attack by one of his former friends.

A number of other very young fighters from countries including the Netherlands, their identities concealed, explain why they left hearth and home and are prepared to die.

Abukar, a cleaner, represents the voice of the parents who are doing everything within their power to convince their children to return home.

FILMMAKER’S VIEW

Warriors from the North is about the people who are easy to condemn and write off as “extremists” or “crazy jihadists,” but these young men grew up in the suburbs of Western Europe.

See more: The documentary- Warriors from the North

Source: Al Jazeera