This is a podcast about some of the most spectacular terrorist attacks in history. In this podcast, I tell the stories of the terrorists, their victims and the consequences for the survivors and society. About people who will sacrifice their own lives or the lives of others for a political, economic, religious or social goal. Who was behind it, who did they want to hit, and why. My name is Natasja, and I am a journalist with a Master's in Middle Eastern Studies. Unfortunately, I have experienced terror in my life several times. The massacre in Utøya in Norway happened half an hour's drive from where some of my immediate family lives. A good friend of mine was only a meter away from one of the suicide bombers on the London Underground in 2005. He miraculously escaped with two burst eardrums. Finally, I worked in Afghanistan some time ago, where a major terrorist attack on a local cafe claimed the lives of 21 people. Among other things, the owner, who had served me a layer cake on my birthday the year before. Fortunately, I have never been in the middle of a terrorist attack myself...
https://terrortalksinternational.buzzsprout.com
episode 11: Crimes of the mad dog
The elderly Arab man tried to catch his breath as he made himself as small as possible in the cramped, smelly drain he had taken refuge in. Sweat ran down his face and his khaki pants and shirt were soaked with sweat. Perhaps he knew even then that all hope was lost. Maybe he did not even think about it in the few moments he was alone on the phone. Outside the drainage pipe, there was chaos of gunfire and screeching car tires from war-torn trucks arriving on the scene. Shortly before, the man...
episode 12: Not real humans
The young Dane sat naked in the military tent while the scornful comments poured down on Ham. The year was 2001 and he was in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. The man was bound with chains on his hands and feet. He could do nothing about the soldiers' disgusting comments, or when they began to shave off his hair and long beard. It was humiliating, but he tried to calm himself by reciting the Qur'an. For a long time, rumours had abounded among the prisoners that they would be taken t...