POST PRODUCTION SCRIPT
FOUR CORNERS
2019
Escape from Saudi
41 mins 52 secs
©2019
ABC
Ultimo Centre
700
Harris Street Ultimo
NSW
2007 Australia
GPO
Box 9994
Sydney
NSW
2001 Australia
Phone:
:61 419 231 533
e-mail : miller.stuart@abc.net.au
Precis |
The women who make
it and the ones who don't. |
|
|
"My name is
Rahaf Mohammed. I'm 18 years old... They have my passport and tomorrow they
will force me to go back...Please help me. They will kill me." Rahaf Al Qunun. |
|
|
It was a voice of
desperation, an urgent SOS to the world. A Saudi teenager, trapped in
transit, on the run from her family and the Saudi state, hoping to make it to
Australia. |
|
|
"I planned my
escape...I planned it at dawn, paid for my tickets, left in the morning while
my family slept and arrived at the airport." Rahaf Al
Qunun. |
|
|
Within hours #saverahaf lit up social media and set off global
headlines. |
|
|
"There was no
going back for Rahaf now...I couldn't live with myself if this was a real
person and I didn't do what I could to help her." Author. |
|
|
Four Corners
reporter Sophie McNeill flew to Bangkok, slipped past security and joined
Rahaf Al Qunun as the young woman barricaded herself inside the room. |
|
|
"An
official...has just knocked on the door and tried to get Rahaf to leave,
she's refused... they've tried all sorts of ways of enticing her out of the
room." Sophie McNeill, reporter. |
|
|
On Monday Four
Corners reveals how the extraordinary events unfolded, using exclusive
previously unseen video recorded by both Sophie McNeill and Rahaf herself.
The program captures moments of high tension, despair and eventual jubilation
when Rahaf is offered asylum in Canada. |
|
|
Rahaf is one of the
lucky ones; not every woman gains her freedom. In this dramatic
investigation, Four Corners reveals how Australia has become a hotspot for
women attempting to escape the oppressive Saudi regime. Not everyone makes
it. |
|
|
"They beat her.
They taped her mouth shut. They bound her arms and legs together, and dragged
her onto a plane kicking and screaming, and nobody did anything. This is a
grown woman." Author. |
|
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The program shows
the tactics used and the pressure applied to try to stop these young women. |
|
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"The
Saudi state is active in exerting its diplomatic influence to try to
interdict them."Human rights investigator. |
|
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Those
lucky enough to make it to Australia say they are still at risk. The
investigation has uncovered multiple cases of Saudi women here in Australia,
living in fear, telling reporter Sophie McNeill of the attempts to intimidate
or trick them into returning them home. |
|
|
"They
are trying to reach the girls and speak to them to convince them to return
back to Saudi." Saudi woman in
Australia. |
|
BLACK |
|
00:00 |
Night.
Ext. Bangkok airport |
Music |
00:10 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEIL, REPORTER: 9pm at Bangkok airport on Saturday January the 5th. |
00:23 |
Interiors.
Bangkok airport |
Eighteen
year old Saudi Arabian citizen Rahaf Mohammed Al Qunun arrives on a flight
from Kuwait. She's desperate and on the run. |
00:27 |
|
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I left from Kuwait during my family holiday. |
00:40 |
Rahaf
100% |
I
planned my escape from my house, from my family and to the airport. This
happened within a few hours. I planned it at dawn, paid for my tickets, left
in the morning while my family slept and I arrived at the airport. So
everything happened very quickly. |
00:44 |
GFX:
Visa |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf has a valid Australian tourist visa. She had planned to spend
a few days in Bangkok before flying on to Melbourne and seek asylum in
Australia. But she is stopped as soon as she gets off her flight. |
58:20 |
Rahaf
100% |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: A man approached me, he lied to me and said he was going to help me
obtain a visa to Thailand. |
01:16 |
Bangkok
airport interiors |
The
truth was he worked for the Saudi embassy, he took my passport. |
01:23 |
Rahaf
100% |
The
reason was, my family informed officials that I was missing, and I must
return. |
01:28 |
Bangkok
airport interiors |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf is detained and told she has no choice but to return on the
next flight despite her insistence this will place her in danger. She is told her passport is cancelled and
she won't be allowed into Thailand. |
01:36 |
iPhone
footage of immigration official |
THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: You cannot videotape me. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: No, you just told me I have to come back to Saudi Arabia, you said
that. THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, you have to. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Why? THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: Because your visa is not granted. Okay, when you are
rejected… RAHAF
MOHAMMED: But I'm in dangerous. |
01:54 |
iPhone
footage continues |
THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: Huh? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I'm in dangerous. THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: You're dangerous? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Yeah, it is so dangerous to me. THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: What do you mean so dangerous to you? |
02:19 |
|
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Saudi Arabia. THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: Uh huh. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: So I can't go back. |
02:16 |
|
THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: You can go back. You just have to board the Kuwait
Airlines plane. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Not Saudi Arabia. THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: Not Saudi
Arabia. Because you came in with Kuwait Airlines, right? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Yeah. |
02:19 |
|
THAI
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL: It's going to be flight KU412 tomorrow at 11.15 RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Uh huh. |
02:29 |
iPhone
shots. Walking to hotel room |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf is sent to the airport transit hotel under guard and blocked
from leaving. She sends out an urgent SOS message. |
02:36 |
GFX:
Tweet |
TWEET:
I am the girl who escaped from Kuwait to Thailand, my life is at stake and I
am now in real danger if I am forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia. |
02:49 |
GFX:
#SaveRahaf tweets |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Her plight spreads on social media, reaching activists around the
world. MONA
ELTAHAWY, FEMINIST AUTHOR: I couldn't live with myself if this was a real
person, |
02:58 |
Mona Eltahawy 100%. Super: |
and
I didn't do what I could to help her. So of course, I, I went and checked her
Tweets after, and then I began to translate them into English |
03:11 |
CU
Phone. Twitter account |
and
then I just asked people, you know, just Tweet about this. |
03:18 |
Eltahawy
100% |
Then
I DM'd her, and I said to her, "Rahaf, we need to see your face. People
need to see you, so that they can believe that you exist." |
03:23 |
iPhone
video. Rahaf. |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: My name is Rahaf Mohammed. I'm 18 years old. I can't do anything
because they have my passport and tomorrow they will force me to go back to
Kuwait and I'm here. Please help me they will kill me." |
03:30 |
Bangkok
airport. Morning |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: I saw Rahaf's tweets on Sunday morning |
03:54 |
McNeill
on phone to Rahaf |
and
made contact with her. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Has anybody come to your room to help you? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: No. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Can you leave your room or what, are they outside? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I have security outside. |
03:57 |
Bangkok
airport. Plane landing |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: I flew to Bangkok to cover her story. |
04:16 |
Bangkok
airport interiors |
Music |
04:23 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: By the time I arrive, she is due to be deported within hours. |
04:28 |
iPhone
video. Transit hotel corridor, into Rahaf's room. |
I
slip past the security guards and join Rahaf inside her hotel room. |
04:35 |
Rahaf
lying on bed |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I'm hungry and tired. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: When was the last time you slept? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Three days ago. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: What about ate properly? |
04:48 |
|
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: What? SOPHIE
MCNEILL: When was the last time you ate properly? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I think yesterday. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: So no food today, yeah? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Uh-huh. |
04:58 |
Airport
interior |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: How long are you planning on staying in the room? |
05:09 |
Rahaf
lying on bed |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I don't know. As I can. |
05:13 |
Rahaf
puts mattresses up against the door |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf decides to barricade herself inside this room. |
05:17 |
Rahaf
to camera |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I'm not leaving my room until I see UNHCR. I want asylum. |
05:29 |
NBC
News report |
NEWS
PRESENTER: The dramatic plea to the UN from 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed
Alqunun of Saudi Arabia. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I'm not leaving my room until I see UNHCR. |
05:37 |
News
report |
NEWS
PRESENTER: More than a day after her arrival 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed
Alqunun was still barricading herself in her hotel room… |
05:48 |
News
report |
NEWS
PRESENTER: This is Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun in one of the many desperate pleas
for help that she has been sending out on |
05:57 |
Australian
news report |
social
media… NEWS
PRESENTER: She's believed to be the daughter of a senior Saudi government
official. |
06:03 |
Eltahawy
100%. Super: |
MONA
ELTAHAWY: There was no going back for Rahaf now, so not only has she escaped.
Not only has she said, "I'm asking for asylum." Not only has she
said, "I renounce Islam." Not only has she said, "My family
will kill me if I go back," but we now find out that her father is a
very important man. So that, it's just a combination of all of these things,
and it just made it even more urgent that this ... there is no way this young
woman can be sent back on a plane to Saudi Arabia. |
06:12 |
Rahaf in hotel room |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf knows other Saudi women who managed to escape to Australia
successfully. |
06:38 |
Rahaf
interview in hotel room |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I have a friend there and she said it's a good country, they have
rights for women and I can work, I can study there. So that's why I want to
go to Australia. I read a lot about the weather and what can I do in
Australia, some stuff, and meeting people, and beach. A lot of things like
this. |
06:47 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: What did you learn about women in Australia? |
07:23 |
|
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: About what? About women? Their rights? They have everything, like
everything. You can do everything that we can't do. |
07:26 |
Knocking
on hotel room door |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: As the hours pass there are people outside the room trying to get
Rahaf to open the door. |
07:39 |
Rahaf
goes to door |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Yes? Who are you? ALI:
Ali, it's Ali. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: It's Ali. |
07:49 |
|
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Yes? What do you want? ALI:
Open the door. What's wrong with you? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I can't open the door. ALI:
Huh? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I can't. |
07:58 |
|
ALI:
Why? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Just because. ALI:
Alright, can you open the door just a bit? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Kuwait airlines. |
08:04 |
McNeill
to camera |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: An official from Kuwait Airways has just knocked at the door and
tried to get Rahaf to leave; she's refused. She's made a barricade with a
table and some mattresses and they've tried all kinds of ways of enticing her
out of the room, offering breakfast and then lunch and she says that she's
not leaving, and that she wants to speak to the UN. |
08:20 |
Rahaf
in barricaded hotel room |
Thai
officials are now at the door telling Rahaf she has to leave. THAI
OFFICIAL: You don't have asylum in this country, you cannot take asylum in
Thailand. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: You don't have asylum? THAI
OFFICIAL: Not here in Thailand. |
08:43 |
McNeill
to camera |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The Thais are saying that Rahaf hasn't formally sought asylum, and
she hasn't, because she hasn't had the chance. She's been asking, and I've
witnessed this since 7 a.m. this morning, asking to talk to Thai immigration
officials to say she wants to seek asylum, to formally make that claim, but
they never came. She asked for two hours; so before she barricaded herself in
the room she was trying to do that but wasn't given the chance. |
09:00 |
Rahaf
in hotel room, looking at phone |
Music
|
09:27 |
|
Time
passes inside room 303. Then a small victory as we learn that the flight they
were trying to force Rahaf on has left. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The Kuwait airways flight has left. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Seriously? SOPHIE
MCNEILL: There's an Egypt airways flight in 15 minutes, but the Kuwait flight
has left. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Ah good. |
09:35 |
Knock
at barricaded hotel room door |
[knock
at door] THAI
WOMAN: Excuse me madam? SOPHIE
MCNEILL: There's more people at the door trying again to entice Rahaf out. They
claim the UN is here, but we know from checking with contacts that is a lie. |
10:08 |
|
[knock
at door] THAI
WOMAN: Madam, excuse me. We will not send you back to your country. Don't be
worried. |
10:22 |
Rahaf
at Australian immigration department website on phone |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf logs into her Australian immigration profile... but her
account no longer seems to be working. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: "That's your Australian visa account? It looks like it's been
cancelled." RAHAF
MOHAMMED: Shit. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: It didn't look like this before? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: No. |
10:33 |
Bangkok
airport exterior |
Music |
11:02 |
Hotel
room |
|
11:07 |
Rahaf
sleeping |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf's been in this room for more than 24 hours. |
11:10 |
BBC
News report |
JONATHON
HEAD, BBC News: Well, throughout today this hotel has been the scene of
extraordinary comings and goings with officials going in an out trying to
persuade the young Saudi woman to come out of her room. At one point we
thought she'd be deported, now we know that Thailand has given her an entry
permit, the UN is involved and her request for asylum they say will be
properly assessed. |
11:22 |
Rahaf
and McNeill in hotel room |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Inside the room, we have heard nothing officially from the UN. |
11:44 |
|
There's
another knock at the door... the UNHCR is here. |
11:53 |
|
UNHCR
OFFICIAL: Can you please open the door for us? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: ID, ID? UNHCR
OFFICIAL: Sorry? RAHAF
MOHAMMED: ID. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf doesn't believe at first that it's them. RAHAF
MOHAMMED: You have to prove. |
11:59 |
Rahaf
unblocks doorway |
Music |
12:12 |
McNeill
in hotel lobby with UN officials |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: So the UNHCR officials would
only come into Rahaf's room if I came out and they |
12:32 |
McNeill
to camera in hotel lobby. Super: |
looked
me in the eye and they promised that she would be safe now they said she
would remain in their custody and that they would do everything in their
powers to make sure that nothing happened to her and they are now conducting
an interview with Rahaf about her asylum claims and this is what they
promised. |
12:40 |
Stills.
Rahaf surrounded by UN officials and Thai police |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf is taken to a hotel downtown under tight Thai police guard. |
12:59 |
Ext.
Airport. Night. |
The
next day her father and brother fly into Bangkok to try to force her home. |
13:09 |
Meeting
between Saudi and Thai officials. |
The
Saudi embassy meets with Thai officials on their behalf. |
13:17 |
|
SAUDI
OFFICIAL: I wish they had taken her phone instead of her passport. |
13:23 |
Peter
Dutton walks |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: There is pressure on Australia to take Rahaf. |
13:28 |
Dutton
press interview. Super: |
PETER
DUTTON, HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER: There is no special treatment in this case,
the case will be assessed by the United Nations and therefore it doesn't make
it different to any other case of that nature. |
13:33 |
Still.
Rahaf with UNHCR signage behind her |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The UNHCR approves Rahaf's asylum claim under a fast track system
for those facing immediate threats to their life. |
13:45 |
Exteriors.
Australian Embassy Bangkok |
They
refer her case to Australia and Rahaf is taken to the Australian Embassy in
Bangkok to process her case. |
13:57 |
Marise
Payne arrival |
The
next day, Foreign Minister Marise Payne arrives in the Thai capital on a
short visit. |
14:05 |
Payne
press interview. SUPER: |
MARISE
PAYNE, FOREIGN MINISTER: There is no possibility that Ms. Alqunun will be
going back with me as you put it today. That is because there are steps which
are required in the process which Australia, and any other country
considering such a matter, would have to go through. We will go through those
according to our own system and our own processes. REPORTER:
Is there a time frame for that? MARISE
PAYNE: Not a specific time frame, no. |
14:15 |
Stills.
Rahaf and Canadian official |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: By Friday morning there is still no decision from Australia - and
the UN is increasingly worried about Rahaf's security. They take her to the
Canadian embassy where her visa is approved in a matter of hours. She will
fly out to Toronto tonight. |
14:37 |
Toronto
skyline |
Music
|
14:58 |
Arrivals
hall. Toronto airport. Rahaf and Freeland. Super: |
CANADIAN
FOREIGN MINISTER CHRYSTIA FREELAND: Everyone please… I'll give the flowers to
Rahaf… So everyone this is Rahaf Alqunun, a very brave new Canadian. |
15:06 |
Rahaf
and McNeill hug |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: I travelled to Canada to meet up again with Rahaf. She still can't
believe she made it. SOPHIE MCNEILL: You look beautiful. |
15:25 |
Rahaf
100% |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I felt that I was free and that I was born again. It was an amazing
thing and made me happy because I felt loved and welcomed. Freedom is the
most important thing for a person. I gave everything up to be free. |
15:43 |
Women
in Saudi |
Music |
16:00 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Under Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system, a man controls a
woman's life from birth until her death. Every Saudi woman must have a male
guardian, normally a father or husband, who has the power to make critical
decisions on her behalf. |
16:07 |
Rahaf
100% |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I'm not allowed to marry the person I want. I'm not allowed to get
a job without the permission of my guardian. The guardianship laws determine
a woman's pathway...her employment, her job, even travel isn't allowed. Saudi
women are treated like minors even if they're 50 or 60 years old. |
16:27 |
Eltahawy
100%. Super: |
MONA
ELTAHAWY, FEMINIST AUTHOR: Sometimes that male guardian can be the teenage
son of a professor, who just doesn't feel like giving her the permission she
needs to travel. So this is incredible power given to their male guardians
that renders them -- renders women in Saudi Arabia perpetual minors, and I
call this state-sanctioned patriarchy a form of gender apartheid. |
16:45 |
Women
in Saudi |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Escaping is not easy. |
17:07 |
|
ADAM
COOGLE, MIDDLE EAST RESEARCHER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: There's really two
methods for doing this that I've seen. One is they hack into their father's
phone and change the permission settings for their travel, they steal their
passport somehow, if they don't have it, and you know, run to the airport,
get out of the country, you know, as soon as they can. |
17:13 |
Coogle
100%. Super: |
The
other method is if the family takes a vacation, they flee and abscond while
outside the country. So we have seen in some instances when women do this,
they try to flee abroad to other places, the Saudi state is active in
exerting its diplomatic influence to try to interdict them. |
17:29 |
Still.
Dina on plane |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Saudi woman Dina Ali Lasloom is one of those that tried to escape to
Australia but didn't make it. |
17:47 |
Philippines airline plane on tarmac/ airport interior |
In
April 2017, the 24-year-old was stopped in the Philippines while she was in
transit on her way to Sydney. |
17:57 |
Reconstruction.
Dina approaches Meagan Khan at airport. Super: |
MEAGAN
KHAN: She came up to me. And I was like, "Hi." And she said,
"Hi." She said, "Can I use your cell phone?" And I asked,
|
18:06 |
Meagan
100%. Super: |
"Why?"
And she said, "I've, something's wrong with my flight." I said, |
18:13 |
Return
to reconstruction |
"Okay.
Sure." And I gave her my cell phone. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Canadian Meagan Khan was sitting in the Manila airport transit
lounge |
18:17 |
Still.
Dina |
when
she was approached by Dina Ali. |
18:26 |
Return
to reconstruction |
She
told Meagan that her passport had been confiscated by an official from the
Saudi embassy. Meagan was with her as she tried to talk to Philippine Airlines
staff. |
18:30 |
Meagan
100%. |
MEAGAN
KHAN: They said, "I'm sorry, but an important person called and told us
to hold her documents and not allow her to leave." And they did not tell
me who this important person was. |
18:43 |
Return
to reconstruction |
She
was crying, she was like, "Meagan, they're not trying to help me.
They're not listening to me. They're just waiting for my family to come who
wants to kill me." |
18:53 |
Meagan
100% |
And
that was the first time she said that to me, and that's when I was,
"What are you talking about?" And that's when she started sharing,
"Meagan, I'm Saudi and I'm not allowed to go anywhere on my own. |
19:02 |
Return
to reconstruction |
I
wasn't allowed to travel on my own. I'm trying to get to Australia to seek
asylum. |
19:13 |
Meagan
100% |
I
couldn't believe it, to be honest. I was in complete shock. |
19:18 |
Return
to reconstruction |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Dina Ali told Meagan she had escaped from a violent family and a
life with no freedom to make her own decisions. |
19:22 |
|
The
two young women began to desperately try and contact anyone who could help. MEAGAN
KHAN: We tried to call a lot of human rights numbers that we were literally
Googling off online. We were calling everyone. Her friends were sending us
Snapchat. We were literally just in mission mode. Our mission was to find
someone to come into the airport and help us. And |
19:31 |
MEAGAN
100% |
I
called every single person possible. I called the police station in Manila, I
called the local Manila newspapers. |
19:57 |
Return
to reconstruction |
I
left voice mails for dozens of people. |
20:03 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Dina Ali asked Meagan to record a video documenting her plight. |
20:07 |
Khan's
video of Dina |
DINA
ALI: My name is Dina Ali and I'm a Saudi woman who fled Saudi Arabia to
Australia to seek asylum. I stopped in Philippines for transit. They took my
transit and block me for 13 hours just because I'm a Saudi woman. With the
collaboration of the Saudi embassy. If my family come they will kill me. If I
go back to Saudi Arabia I will be dead. Please help me. I'm recording this
video to help me and know that I'm real and here. |
20:14 |
Airport
arrivals |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: And then Dina Ali's worst fears were realised. |
20:42 |
Meagan
100% |
MEAGAN
KHAN: And I remember, she was sitting, eating a sandwich and she was holding
it, and then she just stopped. And I was, I looked at her, and I'm like,
"What's wrong?" And she said, "Meagan, they're here." And
I was like, "What?" She said, "Meagan, they're here. Send the
video." And I was like, "What are you talking about?" And I
turned around and I saw these two guys and this lady, and I said, and -- to
be honest, one of the uncles looks a lot like Dina. And I said, "Is that
your uncles?" And she's like, "Those are my uncles." And I'm
like, "Oh my God." |
20:50 |
Still.
Dina with uncles |
Music
|
21:28 |
Reconstruction.
Dina talking with uncles. Super: |
MEAGAN
KHAN: And I was sitting back down, trying to take pictures, and at this
point, her uncle got up, and |
21:35 |
Meagan
100% |
he's
like, "What are you doing? Give the -- don't take pictures! Give me your
phone! Delete those pictures!" |
21:39 |
Meagan's
video of Dina appealing to airline staff |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Meagan filmed Dina Ali pleading with airline staff for help. |
21:45 |
|
DINA
ALI: Don't confuse me. I know him. No. He's not my father. He's not my
father. You're not helping. You don't know him. |
21:51 |
Meagan
100% |
MEAGAN
KHAN: That's when I was, like, really, I was crying a lot and Dina was crying
a lot at this point. |
22:01 |
Meagan's
video of Dina appealing to airline staff |
DINA
ALI: I beg for you I beg. No one help me. No one help me. No you don't… He's
not my father. You are not helping… This is the worst airlines. No one help
me. All just treat me bad. |
22:05 |
Reconstruction.
Dina and Meagan hug |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Dina Ali's uncles left the transfer area... A man purporting to be a
lawyer arrived, promising to help get back her Ali's passport and ticket. Feeling
hopeful it was going to be okay, Meagan Khan went to catch her flight. |
22:26 |
Meagan
100% |
MEAGAN
KHAN: I heard from Dina the next morning. She called me. And when she called
me, she was crying. And she said, my uncles tricked me, and they tried to get
me onto a flight back to Saudi Arabia. And they have me locked up in a room
right now. |
22:47 |
|
She
was crying and she told me she was beaten and I felt ... like ... I guess I
didn't care really how I felt. I think I was in shock. I- I was like, I need
help. I like, what am I doing? Why did I leave? I felt really bad. I felt
really bad. I felt like I left her. I felt like I left her... |
23:04 |
Passenger's
film of Dina being dragged to plane |
WOMAN: She has human rights. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Another passenger filmed as Dina was dragged screaming to the plane. MAN:
No, they say they're from the Embassy. |
23:35 |
Coogle
100%. Super: |
ADAM
COOGLE: Well the guard who had been responsible for keeping an eye on Dina
while she was at the airport hotel, he was really quite horrified by what he
had seen. |
23:52 |
Eltahawy
100%. Super: |
MONA
ELTAHAWY: They beat her. They taped her mouth shut. They bound her arms and
legs together, and dragged her onto a plane kicking and screaming, and nobody
did anything. |
23:59 |
Coogle
100% |
ADAM
COOGLE: They essentially forcibly abducted her and took her to the aeroplane,
and these would've been apparently her uncles as well as airline officials. Duct
taped Dina's mouth shut, they duct taped her hands together, they duct taped
her to a wheelchair, threw a blanket over her. |
24:10 |
Saudi
Airways plane on runway |
And
we did hear from other passengers who landed in Riyadh that a woman was
dragged onto the plane screaming. |
24:27 |
Still.
Dina |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Dina Ali Lasloom has not been heard of publicly since. |
24:40 |
Meagan
100% |
MEAGAN
KHAN: I wish I could say we could have done better, if I could do a list of
things we did better, I would. You know, one of those would be I wouldn't
have left. It's not worth it to leave. It's better to stay. It's better to
stay. It's not an expensive flight to be there for. It's ... it's just a phone.
You know, this person's life. Give them the phone. You know, there's thing I
learnt in that situation that I would do differently for her. |
24:49 |
Eltahawy
100% |
MONA
ELTAHAWY: What happened to Dina Ali now has become this awful traumatising
worse-case scenario for Saudi women who try to escape and seek asylum. |
25:18 |
Ext.
Saudi embassy, Manila. GFX: |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The Saudi embassy in Manila issued a statement calling the case a
"family matter" saying Dina Ali "returned with her relatives
to the homeland." |
25:27 |
Coogle
100% |
ADAM
COOGLE: What we understand, and we've heard from sources inside Saudi Arabia,
is that she was taken to a women's shelter in Riyadh and held there for a
period of time. After that the trail more or less goes cold and there's not a
lot of public information. |
24:42 |
Saudi
woman |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: But in Saudi Arabia women's shelters operate more like de-facto
prisons, and alleged abusers of women are protected by the state. |
25:56 |
Coogle
100% |
ADAM
COOGLE: Saudi women who attempt to approach police, for example, to report
abuse by a male family member for example, sometimes they go to a police
station or they call the police station and somebody there will tell them,
well you can't -- you know, you can't come here, you can't make a complaint
unless your male guardian is with you. And in many cases that person would be
the abuser. |
26:12 |
Satellite
Google map, photos of Dar al Reaya – Riyadh |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: It's believed Dina Ali was initially taken here, to a closed women's
'shelter' in Riyadh. These state-run institutions called Dal Al Reayas are
where women who disobey the male guardship system or 'shame' their families
end up - including victims of domestic violence. They are found in cities and
towns throughout Saudi Arabia. |
26:33 |
Coogle
100% |
ADAM
COOGLE: When they enter, many of them don't realise that these shelters are
entirely closed, right? Once they go in they can't get out. The state isn't
going to release them to go live on their own. |
27:07 |
al-Sharif
100%. Super: |
MANAL
AL-SHARIF: You're treated in an undignified way, as a prisoner, not as a
survivor, or a victim of domestic violence. So you're locked, you're not
allowed to finish your education or get a job. You're not allowed to even
make phone calls. So the way they treat women in shelters, government run
shelters, was really humiliating to women. |
27:19 |
al-Sharif giving talk at university |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Manal al-Sharif is one of Saudi Arabia's most renowned female rights
activists. She now lives in self-imposed exile in Sydney. |
27:43 |
|
MANAL
AL-SHARIF: 2 a.m. they knock at my , the secret police and that means you are
a threat to the national security in my country. |
27:53 |
al-Sharif
100%. |
MANAL
AL-SHARIF: But the worst part is not being locked in that shelter, the worst
part, you can't leave that shelter without having a male guardian getting you
out of there, and that male guardian could be your abusive husband, your
abusive father or brother. So, what do they do, they find them husbands, who
are willing to marry them. That's the reality of women who run away from
abusive relationship in Saudi Arabia. |
28:00 |
Coogle
100%. Super: |
ADAM
COOGLE: In some cases we've actually seen them encourage women to get married
to strangers who will take them out and then become their new male guardians.
And some women actually do that. They just say, you know, we'll roll the dice
and hopefully we'll have a better chance with a new person. |
28:23 |
President
Trump and Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman |
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We've become very good friends over a very short period of
time. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Since Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman took power in 2017, he's
been selling himself to the world as a reformer. |
28:37 |
'60
Minutes' interview excerpt. |
NORAH
O'DONNELL, 60 MINUTES: Are women equal to men? |
28:52 |
|
MOHAMMED
BIN SALMAN: Absolutely. We are all human beings and there is no difference. |
28:54 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: MBS, as he is known, proudly announced that Saudi women, would be
finally given the right to drive. |
28:59 |
|
MOHAMMED
BIN SALMAN: This is no longer an issue. Today, driving schools have been
established and will open soon. In a few months women will drive in Saudi
Arabia. We are finally over that painful period that we cannot justify. |
29:06 |
al-Sharif
video in car driving |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Manal al-Sharif was briefly jailed in 2011 for staging a protest
calling for women to be allowed to drive. She was excited by the thought of
real reform in her home country - but it didn't last. |
29:20 |
al-Sharif
100% |
MANAL
AL-SHARIF: So I was really hopeful, and I think it wasn't only me, it was a
lot of Saudi youth. And when the arrest happened, I knew that's the moment
that it is not what we thought. It was all a propaganda. |
29:41 |
Billboard
showing Saudi royal family members |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Just before the driving ban was lifted, the Crown Prince oversaw a
brutal crackdown, |
29:55 |
Stills.
Arrested Saudi women |
arresting
the Saudi women who had spent years campaigning for the right to drive. |
30:03 |
Still.
Manal and Loujain |
One
of Manal's closest friends, Loujain Al Hathoul, was among those thrown in
jail. MANAL
AL-SHARIF: On March 15, 2018, Loujain was kidnapped from Abu Dhabi. |
30:10 |
al-Sharif
100% |
She
was handcuffed, blindfolded, flown on a private jet to Riyadh |
30:23 |
Still.
Loujain |
where
she was interrogated and placed under a travel ban. |
30:30 |
al-Sharif
100% |
In
May, like a few weeks before the official date of lifting the ban, |
30:36 |
Still.
Loujain |
she
was placed in solitary confinement, in a place that no one knows, even her
own family didn't know where she was. |
30:41 |
al-Sharif
100% |
There
was like a wave of arrests amongst female activists. |
30:48 |
Still.
Aziza al-Yousef |
Aziza
al-Yousef, she's a grandmother, she's also a professor. |
30:52 |
Still.
Eman al-Nafjan |
Eman
al-Nafjan, she's a professor, and a blogger, a very famous blogger in English
language. |
30:58 |
al-Sharif
100% |
She's
a mother of four kids, her youngest is a toddler, and this woman who's been
put in custody without allegation, without charges, without trial, without
access to lawyers or her family, or her kids, who are these people doing
this? |
31:04 |
Coogle
100% |
ADAM
COOGLE: One of the reasons I think that MBS and Saudi authorities moved
against these women is they didn't want them claiming credit for reforms.
They did not want the image that women had campaigned, had generated
international pressure, and that Saudi Arabia had capitulated to that
pressure. They wanted it instead to look like MBS had decided to become a
benevolent ruler and liberate his women. |
31:21 |
Exterior.
Saudi embassy |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The Saudi Government also tried to pressure Manal al-Sharif to stay
quiet about the lifting of the ban. |
31:41 |
al-Sharif
100% |
MANAL
AL-SHARIF: I received a phone call from the National Security asking me not
to talk about it or Tweet about it. And I was in Australia, that was really
strange, how did they get my Australian number? |
31:51 |
Exterior.
Saudi embassy, Canberra |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: They encouraged her to visit Saudi Arabia, but she now believes they
had sinister motives. MANAL
AL-SHARIF: And they were really keen. They asked me to go to the embassy here,
they were really keen to grant my son a visa, |
32:02 |
al-Sharif
100% |
and
apparently were just luring me to go back to Saudi Arabia to be put in jail.
I barely escaped a very ill fate, that is being served by my friends who
fought for women's right in my country. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: So you believe that they were trying to lure you back, Manal? MANAL
AL-SHARIF: Yes. Yes. |
32:17 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: And what do you think would've happened if you'd gone back? MANAL
AL-SHARIF: I would definitely be in jail. Definitely. |
32:40 |
Still.
Loujain |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Human Rights groups say the Saudi women activists have been tortured
and abused in jail. |
32:46 |
Eltahawy
100%. SUPER: |
MONA
ELTAHAWY: They said that they'd been subjected to electric shocks, flogging,
and sexual harassment, and one of the relatives said that their detained
relative could barely walk when they met them, some of them had been hung
from the ceiling. |
32:56 |
|
The
Wall Street Journal also broke the
story that Saud al-Quhtani, the same aide who was the one who conveyed MBS's
orders to kill Jamal Khashoggi, was in the room when Loujain al-Hathloul was
subjected to water- waterboarding, and that he, himself, threatened her with
rape, and threatened to murder her. |
33:07 |
Coogle
100%. Super: |
ADAM
COOGLE: Women have reported that they were subjected to various forms of
brutal torture including electric shocks, including whippings, including
sexual harassment, verbal threats, verbal threats of rape included as well. |
33:25 |
Hong
Kong skyline and GVS |
Music
|
33:43 |
Saudi
Embassy Hong Kong |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The Saudis are increasingly working to enforce male guardianship
outside their borders. |
33:53 |
McNeill
at Hong Kong airport |
I've
come to Hong Kong to learn what happened to two Saudi sisters who were in
transit here on their way to Sydney in September last year. |
34:04 |
Hong
Kong GVs |
News
of their plight emerged via twitter. |
34:14 |
GFX
tweet: |
Tweet:
Help me please. They will kill me. I'm stuck in Hong Kong. I'm Saudi girl
with my sister. |
34:21 |
Interior.
Hong Kong airport arrivals |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The Saudi consul general was waiting for them when their plane
landed. He confronted them at the airport. |
34:28 |
GFX
tweet: Tweet: I came her transit from Colombo to go to Australia but Consulate
General of Saudi Arabia take my passport and cancel my flight. |
Tweet:
I came her transit from Colombo to go to Australia but Consulate General of
Saudi Arabia take my passport and cancel my flight. |
37:37 |
Interior.
Hong Kong airport departures |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The sisters had valid Australian visas. They booked seats on the
next Qantas flight but an Australian Border Force official working in Hong
Kong airport blocked them from boarding. |
34:47 |
Tweet: I book another flight and they tell
the immigration guy that I'm going to take asylums and he did'nt allow us to
go! Please my family will kill me if I back to saudi
please help us |
Tweet:
I book another flight and they tell the immigration guy that I'm going to
take asylums and he didn't allow us to go! Please, my family will kill me if
I back to Saudi. Please help us |
35:01 |
Driving
shot. Hong Kong |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: The young women managed to flee the airport - but they remain
trapped here in Hong Kong. |
35:14 |
Hong
Kong skyline |
The
Department of Home Affairs cancelled their visas. |
35:21 |
Hong
Kong market GVs |
The
girls' passports have been cancelled, |
35:26 |
McNeill
to camera |
but
there is no way they are going anywhere near the Saudi consulate to get them
renewed. They have now been living here in hiding for four months, moving
locations several times to avoid their family or Saudi authorities tracking
them down. |
35:33 |
Rahaf
100% |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: They share my story. I hope they reach a safe country and are not
forced to return or kidnapped. Help them, and don't stand in their way. they
really need your help so that they can reach a safe country. |
35:48 |
McNeill
visits safe house apartment |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: I've come to an apartment in the western suburbs of Sydney that is
now being used as a safe house. |
36:09 |
Women
on balcony of safe house |
At
least 80 Saudi women have sought asylum in Australia in the last few years.
These young women are among them. Yet even here, they won't reveal their
identities because they don't feel safe. They all have harrowing stories of
escape. |
36:25 |
Rawan
interview in silhouette |
RAWAN:
It took me five years to plan it. So every time I try it just fail. So
eventually it succeeded. We booked a late flight when he was asleep. So that
gave us time to, to escape, yeah. |
36:46 |
Nourah
interview in silhouette |
NOURAH:
In one week I took everything I need. One small bag. Nothing, nothing
important. Just my life and my freedom. And I escaped. It wasn't easy, it's a
long journey to be here in Australia. But it's worth it. |
37:03 |
Sydney
airport international arrivals |
Music
|
37:29 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Even when Saudi women manage to make it all the way here there's no
guarantee they will get in. |
37:35 |
|
We
have been told that Saudi women who arrive alone in Australian airports are
being asked by Border Force officials why they are not travelling with a male
guardian. |
37:45 |
McNeill
to camera at airport |
Four Corners has evidence of two young Saudi women arriving at Sydney
airport, and when they made their asylum claims clear to Australian officials
they were turned back. |
37-58 |
McNeill
with women at safe house |
Two
of these women went to the airport to pick up their friend but she never came
out. |
38:10 |
Ranya
interview in silhouette |
RANYA:
She was planning to apply asylum here, she came from Saudi to Indonesia and from
Indonesia to Sydney. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: They have not heard from since. |
38:17 |
|
RANYA:
Then since that time I never heard about her or what happening to her. We
tried actually to reach her, but we haven't heard from her anymore again. Hopefully
she's alive. SOPHIE
MCNEILL: But you don't know? RANYA:
But we don't know what happened to her. |
38:30 |
Women
in safe house apartment with McNeill |
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Some of the women here say they have been harassed and intimidated
by Saudi men living in Australia - trying to coerce them into returning home. |
38+52 |
|
Four Corners has established that one of those men works for the Saudi
Ministry of Interior. |
39:02 |
|
RANYA:
I don't know how actually they got my email address. |
39:10 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: And what did he say? RANYA:
He just tried to meet me actually. He said don't worry we will meet and chat.
Of course, I refused and I said no way. |
39:14 |
|
RAWAN:
They're saying that we want to talk to you. Can we meet, can we meet up in a
coffee shop? We can get you what you want, what you like. We can get you, we
can, we can offer you anything you want. |
39:25 |
|
They
say nothing is going to happen to you if you go back, don't worry we'll try
to talk with your male guardian there, it's ok, nothing's going to happen to
you. They lie to us so we can go back and not talk about what's happening
inside Saudi Arabia for women, so they want to keep us silent. |
39:39 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Like the majority of the Saudi women in Australia these women are
all here on bridging visas - they're terrified the Australian government
might reject their asylum claims and send them back. |
39:59 |
Nourah
interview in silhouette |
NOURAH:
I live with this fear every day because I know what's going to happen to me
if I went back to Saudi Arabia. It's really hard to say that, but I'm not
going back. I prefer to kill myself, because anyway they will kill us but
with torture. |
40:14 |
Rahaf
press conference |
Music
|
40:42 |
|
SOPHIE
MCNEILL: Rahaf Mohammed is now a free resident of Canada. Her dream is for
women in Saudi Arabia to have the same rights she now has. |
40:50 |
Rahaf
100% |
RAHAF
MOHAMMED: I don't wish for them to escape as I did but I do wish for the laws
to change in Saudi Arabia so that nobody is forced to escape and give up
everything in their life. |
41:03 |
Rahaf
press conference |
MONA
ELTAHAWY: When Rahaf escaped, and when Rahaf forced her issue onto the global
consciousness, thereby forcing onto the global consciousness the status of
women in Saudi Arabia, |
41:16 |
Eltahawy
100% |
I
was like, thank you! Thank you, Rahaf! It took the plight of an 18-year-old
young woman to finally make the world ask, "What the fuck is Saudi
Arabia doing to women, that they are escaping?" |
41:32 |
CUT
TO BLACK |
|
41:47 |
END |
|
41:52 |
CREDITS:
reporter
SOPHIE
MCNEILL
Producers
SHARON
O’NEILL
MARY
FALLON
editor
MICHAEL
NETTLESHIP
assistant
editor
JAMES
COGSWELL
camera
LOUIE
EROGLU ACS
JOHN
MEES
Sound
ANDREW
TIMLIN
additional
camera
ZIYUAN
WANG
DAVID
LELAND
LIAM
COCHRANE
additional
sound
RICHARD
MCDERMOTT
MICHELLE BADDILEY
MICHAEL OSMOND
designer
PETA
BORMANN
digital
producer
BRIGID
ANDERSEN
social
media
TIM
WILFORD
digital
designer
GEORGINA
PIPER
legal
ROSS
DUNCAN
JENNIFER
ARNUP
publicity
JILLIAN
REEVES
promotions
RICHARD
MARTIN
sound
mixer
EVAN
HORTON
colourist
SIMON
BRAZZALOTTO
post
production
JAMES
COGSWELL
additional vision
GETTY
IMAGES
AAP
IMAGES
REUTERS
APTN
RAHAF
MOHAMMED
MEAGAN
KHAN
UNIVERSITY
OF OREGON
FAHAD
ALBUTAIRI
set
designer
LEIGH
TIERNEY
theme
music
RICK
TURK
titles
LODI
KRAMER
technical
producer
JONATHAN
MORTLOCK
lighting
director
TONY
WALDRON
make-up
JULIETTE
FLANAGAN
studio
wardrobe
MARIA
PETROZZI
studio
director
JANET
ARGALL
program
assistant
SAMUEL
DUNN
production
manager
WENDY
PURCHASE
supervising
producer
MORAG
RAMSAY
executive
producer
SALLY
NEIGHBOUR