My Son Joined ISIS: Nicola Benyahia tells her story

Nicola’s son, Rasheed, 19, from Birmingham, UK was a normal boy from a loving family. He was an engineering apprentice by day and enjoyed parkour (free running) and football in his spare time. On Monday 1st June 2015, he suddenly travelled to Syria to volunteer as a foreign fighter for the self-styled Islamic State. He never returned.

Losing her son to terrorism has left Nicola devastated, but she is determined to help prevent this happening to another family, to another parent’s child. She’s a professional counsellor and founder of the Birmingham based organisation Families for Life. In a 13 minutes movie she shares details of the tragic exploitation of her teenage son groomed to join ISIS by people who remain at large.

Watch the movie on connectfutures