Where Is Austin Tice?: 7. The Escape
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hei! Pystykö Jeesaan? No, kerro. Mitä mä nyt teen seuraavaksi? Kiristät 120 nyttommetriin ja pistät kaksi, vaaria. En mä ooo käynyt baareissa moneen vuoteen. Niin siis 2 ja500 kilopaskalia. Paskal? Aika paljon paskalia. Väistätkö niin mä näytän? Helpommin tehty kuin sanottu. Motonit.
What on it?
Tänäänkin Suomessa on tuhansia rahoittamisen arvoisia yrityksiä. Nyt niillä on varaa kasvaa. Me OP-pohjalassa avasimme juuri 100 miljoonien kasvurahoituksen. Lue lisää O.fi kautta kasvurahoitus. Yrityslaina myöntää osuuspankki tai OP-yrityspankki OJ.
Why does Austin Tice’s mother return to Damascus to search for him?
We just passed a sign of the raya.
That's where he was staying.
That's where he was staying, right before he left. Like that day.
That must be really strange to drive past that.
I would say so.
It's May twenty twenty five. I'm driving into Damascus with Deborah, Austin's mother. She looks out towards the neighborhood where Austin spent his thirty first birthday, just before his abduction. At the time, few journalists dared to report from Damascus. It was simply too dangerous.
and he just dispensed two a year. Too eager to go. And too confident after how long he had been here. Invincible.
I mean that's the danger of reporting in conflict for a while is that you sort of start to become a nerd to the danger and the and the violence. I think it's not unique to Austin that everyone goes through that to some degree.
Yeah, you have some kind of survivor Magic or something like that.
Five months ago, after the fall of the regime, this road was deserted. Now it's choked with traffic. The country has entered the post Assad era. During that time, nobody has been able to find Austin. And speculation has grown that he may have been killed. But Deborah rejects that and remains determined to find him. How does it feel to come into Syria?
I was just thinking about that. I can't even explain how much more deeply I can breathe than when I think about last and being here and I'm so much closer to him here than I have been. Since August of twenty twelve. You know, an ocean away.
You've got this massive smile on your face. I know. It's really nice to see. I mean I've seen
to be tears of joy. I can feel it. Bobbling up.
How does Deborah tell whether a witness really knew Austin Tice?
Deborah's hopeful that today will be the day she gets new information about Austin's whereabouts. We're in Damascus to meet a man who's contacted her because he says he was held with Austin and has new information about his location. Shaqran Shaqan Hajj Maslam.
Okay,
let's
get the car unloaded.
In a covered courtyard, we sit beneath an orange tree. Deborah, do you know how you want to have this chat? Have you thought about it?
Um No, no, I didn't have a beginning you're the
journalist. I think for me We want to be as specific as possible, right? And we want all these little details.
Well we also want to ask him, he says Austin's not in Syria. Well if Austin is not in Syria Where is he?
But also the crucial thing then is How do you know that?
How do you have this information?
Let me um I'll just write that down.
Deborah's told me that over the years, countless people have contacted her, claiming to have vital information about Austin. But often all they really want is money. The difficulty is, Deborah doesn't feel she can ignore them, because each message might be a chance to find her son. So today she's nervous about the meeting and has asked for my advice on how to fact check this person's story. And I want to know if he's telling the truth too. We should ask this man what did Austin look like? You know so Austin had tattoos.
He had the tribal.
Turn his arm.
Yeah, and it Which
arm?
Uh left.
Left arm.
And then he has a giant eagle on his back.
Don't think they're ridiculous. You don't like his tattoos?
I think we really need to go.
In a private room with the microphone off at Deborah's request. We meet a man in a long white robe. He takes Deborah's hands and calls her mother. His large gold rings glint in the light. Then comes the account of his imprisonment with Austin. He says they became friends and looked after each other.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:03
2
Why does Austin Tice’s mother return to Damascus to search for him?
1:03–3:30
3
How does Deborah tell whether a witness really knew Austin Tice?
3:30–8:59
4
What does former Syrian intelligence officer Safwan reveal about Austin’s interrogation?
8:59–15:26
5
How did Austin Tice escape custody and get recaptured in Damascus?
15:26–19:45
6
What did a smuggled prison letter reveal about Austin Tice’s captivity?
19:45–24:25
7
What clues do investigators find in Bassam al-Hassan’s abandoned office?
24:25–28:52
8
When did a Syrian doctor last see Austin Tice alive?
28:52–38:30