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Hala Gorani Tonight
Jihadi John Reportedly Killed; Kurds Retake Sinjar from ISIS Forces; Russian Athletes Face Possible International Competition Ban; Jim Henson Artifacts on Exhibit in Atlanta. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 13, 2015 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:15]
HALA GORANI, HOST: Tonight, targeting the world's most notorious ISIS militant.
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GORANI: The masked man known as Jihadi John is thought to be dead after an American drone strike. We'll have a full report.
Plus, declaring victory. Kurdish forces free the Iraqi city of Sinjar from the grip of ISIS. Also this hour, a rock star welcome; the Indian Prime
Minister pulls in the crowds during his visit to the United Kingdom.
And meet a young woman who survived the horrors of human trafficking. To confront the man who enslaved her face-to-face.
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GORANI: Hello everyone I'm Hala Gorani, we're live at CNN London. Thanks for being with us. This is the World Right Now.
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GORANI: The U.S. Military says it is "reasonably certain" that a drone strike in Syria has killed Jihadi John, saying the world will be a better
place without the ISIS militant it calls a human animal.
The mass British executioner, you're probably familiar with his name, with his nickname in this case, he became the face of ISIS brutality after
appearing in a series of terribly grizzly videos. More now from Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon confirming U.S. Special operations forces launched a drone strike targeting the masked ISIS
executioner known as Jihadi John. A U.S. official says after tracking him for days, authorities are confident the drone strike killed the Kuwaiti
born British citizen identified as Mohammed Emwazi. But still, they are awaiting final confirmation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It certainly as a symbolic victory for the United States, the coalition and our partners. And it does bring closure to those
families.
STARR: The U.S. official says authorities knew it was Emwazi when they took the shot. Another U.S. official tells CNN Emwazi was in a vehicle at the
time of the strike, near Raqqa, ISIS' defacto capital in Syria.
Emwazi appearing in a series of horrific ISIS beheading videos, documenting the murder of several American, British and Japanese hostages. He was often
seen wielding a knife, only his eyes and hands exposed. Taunting U.S and British leaders.
JIHADI JOHN, ISIS MILITANT: We will continue to strike the necks of your people.
STARR: This morning, the U.K. government saying Britain was working hand and glove with America over the Jihadi John drone strike.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This was an act of self-defense. It was the right thing to do.
STARR: Emwazi, who is in his mid 20s, grew up in London and graduated with a degree in computer programming before becoming radicalized.
CAMERON: If the strike was successful and we still await confirmation of that, it will be a strike at the heart of ISIL.
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GORANI: And there you have it, Barbara Starr reporting.
Now The White House for its part says the strike targeting Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, is evidence that America is making "progress" in the fight
against ISIS. Let's get more now from our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns.
So the U.S. clearly selling this as a strategic victory.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's certainly true. But it's also true, Hala, that the White House is being cautious at
this juncture, being very careful not to elevate the status of this individual, Jihadi John. For example, being careful not to equate the
elimination of him, if he has been eliminated, with say the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden. While at the same time, that the administration was
also being very careful not to inadvertently confirm at least prematurely that the target Jihadi John was in fact killed in that drone strike.
Listen to Josh Earnest, the Press Secretary, from earlier today.
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JOSH EARNEST, U.S. PRESS SECRETARY: Confirmation of the results of the operation will be shared with all of you by the Department of Defense once
they have had the opportunity to take a close look at what exactly occurred. And there is a very rigorous process for assessing these
outcomes. And so, you know, any final determination about this will be issued by the Department of Defense. But the fact is the final
determination has not been made at this point.
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JOHNS: Assuming that final determination comes somewhere down the road, Earnest said there is some significance to it. Of course, it would
eliminate an important ISIS leader also a huge propaganda tool for that organization as well as creating the kind of distraction the United States
wants to see against ISIS making ISIS leaders worried about their personal safety. Hala?
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GORANI: All right. So this is the death, killing of one man. But ISIS itself still controls large, large parts of Iraq and Syria as well. And I
know the President has been talking about the fight against ISIS and conceding that in some ways the U.S. hasn't achieved some of the
originally-stated goals. Tell us more about that.
JOHNS: That's true. And in an interview last night, with ABC News, he also talked about the fact that in his view, at least in Syria and Iraq, ISIS
has been contained more recently. Though we do know from current events including the bombing in the skies over Sinai and the belief that ISIS was
involved in that, that they are very much a presence in the region.
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JOHNS: So to a narrow degree and at least from a tactical point of view, the administration is suggesting that they have been able to contain ISIS.
But the question of course, is how long something like that can last. Hala?
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GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Joe Johns, our senior Washington correspondent in Washington at the White House.
Well speaking of the battle against ISIS, there has been one victory. Kurdish forces are turning the tide in northern Iraq.
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GORANI: Kurdish and Yazidi fighters have taken the town of Sinjar on the second day of a massive offensive. Though pockets of offensive continue.
The Iraqi Kurdish President is declaring it victory. He says Sinjar is a step toward a much more important prize, Mosul. ISIS captured Iraq's second
largest city in 2004, still very much in control of that.
Our Nick Paton Walsh is very close to Sinjar. He's been covering this important battle. Tell us more about what you saw today, nick.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, remarkable, really the speed and success of this Peshmerga offensive of course backed
up by coalition air power that made it possible for them despite their overwhelming numbers to hold the roads they took and keep ISIS' car bombs
back. But still, as they enter the city this morning, when we join them shortly afterwards, they faced a very volatile scene.
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WALSH: Central Sinjar and ISIS are still there, their snipers still firing. The Peshmerga wanted to move decisively and did, hundreds from all
directions, resistance heavy.
The Peshmerga have advanced down this road, but there is still intense gunfire going on. They say that they've pushed ISIS away from here. But
still, there is that automatic gun fire and Peshmerga flooding in in their hundreds.
Toni from Sweden, and Jason from Canada are volunteers fighting with the Peshmerga against ISIS --
(TONI): They are all somewhere here. Yes we're going to drive them out.
(JASON): 15 days in (inaudible) right in the city prior to the offensive and we are (inaudible) every day and it usually stops once the aircraft
(inaudible) --
WALSH: What is the cause?
(JASON): To liberate fascists. These - essentially they're Islamic religious fascists.
WALSH: Endless booby traps found in ISIS wake, but also tunnels linked here to barrels of explosive hidden in the wreckage. A fear being ISIS fled
underground with detonators.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see some cables and stuff, you know so maybe trip wire, (inaudible).
WALSH: The coalition air power, less evident this day than last, won this battle. But also did this. And the fight isn't over yet. A sniper has fired
at them, panic rather than hubris, an appeal to calm, maybe its friendly fire.
It isn't quite clear what's happened here. We he did hear a round fly offer our head. But obviously the Peshmerga not a hundred percent confident
they've killed all ISIS out of inside Sinjar.
They rush forward to their men injured just further ahead. Bring an ambulance, he cries. The Peshmerga also pull back firing. Two Peshmerga
shot and injured we're told, one carried away here if the red truck.
The horror is gone but chaos has taken its place for now. The carefully tended lawn here of the ISIS court building now peppered with rubble. As is
even the Astroturf outside what became ISIS' prison. ISIS scarred whatever they could yet the fight to oust them killed off the rest of this town.
What life is left, still though, a little freer.
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WALSH: Now a key issue is, as this pocket of success in Sinjar remarkable in its speed, does it lead to something else or is it isolated?
It is on that vital highway between Raqqa and Syria and Mosul in Iraq? Do they try and move in either one of those two directions? Are the Peshmerga
now confident in their ability to yield overwhelming numbers, given the fact coalition air strikes have their back.
Vital questions to be answered but at least for those in Sinjar now, despite the fact there's little left of their town, the notion that at
least ISIS is not in it. Hala?
GORANI: All right. Our senior international correspondent, Nick Payton Walsh, great reporting as always.
I'm joined now about the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Regional Security Council, Masrour Barzani. He's the son of the Iraqi Kurdish President who
declared victory in Sinjar. Masrour Barzani is on the telephone with me from (Dahuk) in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Mr. Barzani, can you hear me?
MASROUR BARZANI, CHANCELLOR OF THE KURDISTAN REGIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Yes, I can hear you, Hala.
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GORANI: Let me ask you first. We were watching Nick Payton Walsh's report there saying there are still pockets of resistance inside of Sinjar. What
is the latest on the ground inside Sinjar? Is it completely clear of ISIS fighters right now?
BARZANI: Yes, well please let me first and foremost congratulate the people of Kurdistan and especially our Yazidi brothers and sisters for this great
victory. Bringing the city of Sinjar and about 28 of the villages and the surrounding areas and cutting off the roads, the highway 47. The City of
Sinjar has been completely liberated today. Unless there are individuals that may have been hidden still in some houses, otherwise the city and the
surrounding areas that we have declared liberated are completely now free of Sinjar. Or free of terrorist, sorry.
GORANI: I get it. And completely under Peshmerga control and Yazidi control. What was the extent of U.S. involvement here? There were troops
on the ground were they at all at the front line?
BARZANI: Well, the air strikes of the coalition forces have been extremely helpful. They have been supporting the Peshmerga who have been the only
force on the ground and the Yazidis have been also with the Peshmerga there are Yazidi Peshmerga who have participated in this operation. The total
ground forces have been 7500 Peshmerga total that have taken the offensive on three different fronts. It started yesterday at 7:00 a.m. and concluded
today in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
GORANI: Were there any U.S. special forces or coalition forces helping call in air strike? Was there any involvement on that level?
BARZANI: There were no ground forces (inaudible) of any sort. There were only Peshmerga and also there were some of (inaudible) and officers that
were coordinating their tribes with the coalition.
GORANI: Can I ask you, what happens next now with Sinjar? We saw some of these images. It looks completely destroyed. What happens next? Is it
livable? Are people going to return there? What's the plan here?
BARZANI: Well as you may know, it's been over a year that Sinjar has been taken by ISIS. And today after liberation, we've all seen that it has been
devastated, it has been complete destroyed.
And of course, throughout this year there has been fighting, there has been bombardment by the airplanes to support the Peshmerga's as ISIS was trying
to hold Sinjar. So the city of Sinjar and some of the villages and the camps surrounding the area will need construction.
Definitely what we have to do again and we must try to clean the area from any possible IEDs and also try to start the campaign to reconstruct the
area. And most importantly we have to keep the area safe. So we have to defend it and we are expecting some sort of reaction by ISIS at any time.
So we must try to make sure that area is safe enough and try to launch a campaign, maybe something like to have a Sinjar construction in the town or
something of that (inaudible). Ask for the international support to help us rebuild the city and all those villages around to make it livable and help
all these refugees IDPs that have fled the area to be able to go back to their - to their homes.
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GORANI: Masour Barzani, the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Regional Security Council. Thanks very much for joining us with the latest on the battle for
Sinjar, and what it is, it has to be said, a pretty swift Peshmerga victory. Masour Barzani saying essentially that that town and others around
it are under Peshmerga control at this hour.
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GORANI: Still to come tonight, Lebanon mourns dozens of lives lost in a double suicide attack.
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GORANI: We'll have a report from Beirut just ahead. Stay with us.
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GORANI: Well, it is a big question with big implications. Will Russia be banned from competition in track and field for doping violations? Right now
as we speak, the world's governing body is meeting trying to decide that very point.
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GORANI: A scathing report from the World Anti-Doping Agency accused Russia of state-sponsored cheating. President Vladimir Putin has called for an
independent investigation and ordered officials to crack down on any wrongdoing. Let's get the very latest on this, Don Riddell joins me live
from the CNN center.
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GORANI: What is the expectation here? Because suspending Russia from track and field would be unprecedented, right?
DON RIDDELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it would be unprecedented but Hala you have to realize the predicament that the IAAF
currently is in. Because it's not just the Russian doping scandal, it's the fact that the governing body for International Athletics is also miad
in scandal.
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RIDDELL: We didn't here too much about that earlier this week when WADA's independent commission reported because there are legal reasons. But the
fact is that former President of the IAAF, Lamine Diack was arrested last week. He is accused of taking bribes to cover up doping violations.
And so that is why Sebastian Coe, the current President of the IAAF is under immense pressure to be seen to be acting tough here. There are 27
council members who are involved in this debate which has been going on for about 2 hours and 20 minutes. We understand that whatever the decision is,
it's not going to be unanimous. Throwing Russia out of athletics, even if just for a small amount of time, is a very big deal given the status they
have as a global sport super power.
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GORANI: All right, Don Riddell, we'll get back to you once we hear from the world governing body about whether or not they decide to suspend
Russia. And if it's yes, for how long, et cetera. Many important questions there that hopefully we will get an answer to this hour. So Stay tuned to
our viewers and Don, we will get back to you as quickly as we have a decision.
Now to Lebanon. We covered it on this program yesterday as we were coming to you live from Istanbul.
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GORANI: That country is in mourning following the suicide attack in Beirut. At least 43 people were killed yesterday. More than 200 injured. Two
suicide bombers blew themselves up in a civilian area. It happened in a Shiite neighborhood. A strong hold of the militant group Hezbollah. CNN's
senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward is in Beirut.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene where that second suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest. More than 40
people were killed and more than 200 injured. And if you walk around here, you can see the streets here are still covered with broken glass and the
blood of all the people that were killed and injured in this attack.
Now ISIS is claiming responsibility. They say because this is a Shiite Muslim neighborhood and most of the people living here support Hezbollah.
And actually, if you look at these yellow flags around this neighborhood, these are the flags of Hezbollah and Hezbollah has been fighting with the
regime of Bashar al-Assad inside Syria inside that country's civil war.
And ISIS has said that it will continue to hit more Shiite neighborhoods in retaliation for that cooperation. But if you look around, you can see, this
is a civilian neighborhood. There are shops here. There are restaurants here. This would have been a very busy time of day early evening. People
coming out, buying their groceries preparing for the evening meal. And Lebanon is no stranger to sectarian violence and certainly we've seen many
incidents of spill over from Syria's civil war. But this is the bloodiest incident we have seen in some years and many people here are very afraid
that there will be more to come.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Beirut.
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GORANI: All right, a lot more coming up.
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GORANI: Fireworks, thousands of adoring fans and a headline gig at Wembley Stadium. It's for the Indian Prime Minister, who's getting a rock star
treatment on his trip to the U.K. Stay with us.
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GORANI: Well, you saw it there it was a negative day for markets, Friday the 13th.
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GORANI: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a busy second day on his trip to the United Kingdom. And I mean busy.
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[GORANI: He met the queen for lunch at Buckingham Palace where it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit India in 2016.
Then it was off to London's Wembley Stadium where Mr. Modi spoke to tens of thousands of people. He was introduced by British Prime Minister David
Cameron who said it would not be long before there was a British-Indian in charge at Downing Street. The event wrapped up with fireworks above the
stadium.
Now among the thousands of British Indians who travelled to that event at Wembley, was the Samani family. CNN caught up with them. Very excited
Indians who live here in the U.K. They wanted to go see Narendra Modi speak at Wembley, and they did. Here's their story.
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SONALI SAMANI, BRITISH INDIAN FAMILY: I live with my parents (inaudible) and my brother, Rick, who is a couple years younger than me. The extended
family includes, this is my dad's dad's brother. So this is (inaudible), my dad's cousin. This is my brother, Rick. He is 22.
RICK: 23.
SAMANI: 23. So this is (inaudible) my granddad's cousin's wife.
AIKA SAMANI: We are more British than we are Indian. But there are parts of the Indian culture that I think we're really holding onto and almost
fighting to keep.
SAMANI: Indian traditions are inherently a part of who I am and I guess it is dual heritage.
SAMANI: (inaudible) are a really important tradition for us. It's the one time in the year I think we all kind of go back to our roots and bring in
the sort of cultural side of things back into our lives for those few days.
SAMANI: Hi, come in.
I've taken the day off today to actually go and hear Prime Minister Modi and actually Mr. Cameron to see what they say about the links between India
and Britain.
KELAN SAMANI: Well we've heard some very positive sort of clips on the news really. He's addressed sort of members of parliament and the message seems
to be very positive.
SAMANI: I am just getting ready to get to the Modi event with my mom, my dad, my grandma. And my friends and family will be there.
So we'll go in and they're just a couple of blocks away.
(Inaudible) is already here as well.
(inaudible) for an ethnic minority you know, to have all of the community coming together and it feels harmonious and you know people feel happy and
it is a really good atmosphere.
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GORANI: Coming up.
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GORANI: Jihadi John, ruthlessly took the lives of these men. Next, I'll be joined by a woman whose friend U.S. officials say was among the mass
militant's victims.
And Kurdish fighters retake Sinjar from ISIS. But the Yazidi refugees reaching Europe say it is no longer a home they can go back to. We'll have
a powerful report from Greece. Stay with us.
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[15:31:38]
GORANI: Welcome back everybody, a quick look at your top stories.
The Iraqi Kurdish President is declaring victory over ISIS in the northern town of Sinjar.
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GORANI: Kurdish and Yazidi fighters recaptured the town in just a couple of days. ISIS fighters seized Sinjar 15 months ago, terrorizing the minority
Yazidi population. But it was a swift victory, it has to be said, for the Peshmerga.
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GORANI: In Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, the NLD has won a super majority in parliament after landmark free elections.
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GORANIL: Now the win gives Suu Kyi and not the military the power to choose the next President. The win comes on the fifth anniversary of her release
from her 20-year house arrest.
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GORANI: The -- also among our top stories, certainly making big headlines here in the U.K. The former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC are
being sued for racial discrimination. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: According to lawyers for the BBC producer who was at the receiving end of what has been described as a physical and verbal incident with
Clarkson earlier this year. Now the BBC says it'll be responding to that claim.
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GORANI: All right, let us turn now back to our top story this hour.
Senior American officials saying he is confident that a drone strike in Syria killed the infamous ISIS executioner known as Jihadi John.
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GORANI: This is the man behind the mask, real name, Mohammed Emwazi. A British citizen, he grew up in a London suburb not too far from the center.
But a path to radicalization took Emwazi to Syria ultimately to ISIS where he became the group's terrifying mouth piece because he speaks perfect
English of course. Appearing, or spoke I should say, it appears as though he is probably dead now.
He appeared in numerous brutal propaganda videos. He was shown beheading tied up captives and murdering innocent prisoners. Pentagon officials say
this man was one of Jihadi John's victims, Peter Kassig. He was a 26-year- old U.S. aid worker when he was beheaded by ISIS back in 2014.
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GORANI: My next guest was friends with Kassig. She is also the daughter of Terry Anderson, held hostage by Shiite Hezbollah militants for seven years
until his release in 1991.
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GORANI: One of the longest periods any American has ever been held captive. Sulame Anderson joins me now live from New York.
Thanks for being with us. I know you knew Peter Kassig. I had the opportunity to meet him once in Beirut a few years ago. Very determined
passionate young man. There because he believed he could help innocent victims of war.
When you heard the news that this Jihadi John character had probably been killed, what went through your mind?
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SULAME ANDERSON, FRIEND OF ISIS VICTIM PETER KASSIG: Honestly regret that his superiors weren't among the dead as well. I think you know the thing
about Jihadi John is that he was just an actor in a commercial and I don't think you can really celebrate until the company that makes the commercials
is put out of business.
GORANI: but at some - was there - just a modicum even of a sense that some measure of revenge was exacted here?
ANDERSON: I mean yes I'm not crying for man for sure.
GORANI: Yes. But this isn't just -- it is just one man, but it is a huge symbolic victory, if it's true, isn't it?
[15:35:08]
ANDERSON: I think on some level, yes. But it must be, you know, sort of teased out how much of it is real victory and how much of it is -- I
hate to say it, but good PR.
I'm really -- I'm not - I'm not saying that this man's dying doesn't mean something in terms of - you know -- but I do think it's important to really
address the underlying situation, which is the war in Syria and the men who actually killed my friend.
GORANI: Yes, and so what do you, looking at this, of course we don't all have ready-made solutions. Otherwise it would be easy to fix the problem.
But when you look at the situation with ISIS in control of so much of Syria, of so much of Iraq, what would you want the involvement of western
countries like the U.S. to be? What would a better solution be here, do you think?
ANDERSON: I mean I think you're right in that it's really difficult to find a magic silver bullet to take care of this problem. But I think what we're
doing now, in my personal opinion isn't working. I find it hard to believe that limited air strikes and the kind of sort of varied involvement that we
have right now is going to be -- is going to do anything except you know give them another propaganda video to say, you know oh, look at they struck
our village. Come help us because they're attacking us. But actually if you help us, you probably won't die because they're not doing that much.
I think -- i think -- while I don't - I don't particularly like war. I don't approve of it. I don't like my country being involved in it, I think
you have to measure the sort of the likelihood of this working out long- term.
GORANI: Talk to us a little bit, remind us, and we will show his picture as well, about Peter. What kind of - what kind of young man he was.
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ANDERSON: Peter was just -- he just lit up the room. That's the best thing I can say about him. He made everybody laugh. And he helped many,
many people and I miss him very much.
GORANI: I mentioned that I met him once, really very briefly. But he was described to me as somebody who just didn't have to be there. He really
felt like he could make a difference. I mean he was volunteering his time to help victims of war and that's quite exceptional.
ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, there are very few people like Pete in this world who would take on the kind of risks that he took on and for the reasons
that he did it. Which weren't about self-glorification or getting praise or anything like that. He did it because he wanted to.
GORANI: So as we come to the end of this day with this - with this news out today, big headlines, top news stories certainly on our show, what goes
through your mind as we - as we discuss Peter who, by the way became (inaudible)-but Peter as you knew him and the death of this one Jihadi John
terrorist.
ANDERSON: I think what Pete would probably be behind me saying is that there are -- ISIS is responsible for the deaths of thousands and thousands
of people.
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ANDERSON: And I mourn my friend but I also - I also mourn the people that we don't talk about that aren't on the news everyday. And I hope that their
killers will eventually be brought to justice.
GORANI: Yes, we hope for justice certainly for all those who have been wronged, who've been jailed, who've been kidnapped, killed as well and the
list is very long. Sulame Anderson thanks so much for joining us we really appreciate your time.
ANDERSON: Thank you for having me. Thanks.
GORANI: All right, and speaking of ISIS militants as we've been discussing, they seized the Iraqi town of Sinjar more than a year ago. They terrorized
the minority Yazidi population. Tens of thousands climbed mount Sinjar in a desperate attempt to get away. They ended up trapped without food and
water. Others managed to escape and started to make the dangerous journey to Europe in search of a better life. It is a very long journey. It
starts in Iraq, through many countries, and ends here at our doorstep in Europe, and that's where we find our Arwa Damon.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the rubber dingy nears, the bulk of its passengers cramped into the front come into vision.
They are all children. The little ones are lifted out first, carried the last few steps to solid ground. Many of them crying. Some perhaps lucky.
Too young to understand the circumstances that brought them here.
Most of these refugees are Yazidis from Sinjar and Iraq that ISIS swept through 15 months ago, slaughtering men and enslaving women and girls.
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DAMON: They left a year ago when ISIS came in and took over Sinjar. Calling of course, the first thing a lot of people do when they get here is call
home and tell them that they got there safely.
Many are emotionally torn up. Relieved to be alive and heart broken. This is the beginning of a journey to a new life. But if any of these people had
a choice, they would not have left their homes behind.
Jalal and his family having fled ISIS and Sinjar, lived in a tent in Iraqi Kurdistan for a year. It flooded with the rains and boiled up in the
summer. And there was no school for the kids, he says.
At this very moment, the Peshmerga and coalition operation to liberate Sinjar is well under way. It won't help, Jalal laments, there is Mosul.
Mosul is very close to Sinjar. It's going to take 5 to 10 years at least. Mosul is the ISIS strong hold in Iraq.
And even then, there will very likely be nothing to go back to. Especially not once the Yazidi's saw most of their Arab neighbors turn on them. If
this child grows up there, where will he go? No school, no work. Is this a life? He says, clutching (inaudible) one of his four children. Jalal's
sister regularly burst into tears. Her fiance is waiting in Germany. But she already misses her mother. And it breaks her heart that her parents,
still in Iraq, won't be at her wedding.
Jalal's youngest is cradled by his wife. All he wants is to go somewhere they as Yazidis are not persecuted, where they can live without fear. And
as he says, be treated like humans.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Lesbos, Greece.
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GORANI: This is The World Right Now. Still to come.
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GORANI: Forced into prostitution, this woman confronted the man who coerced her into sex slavery. We will show you what happened when they met face-to-
face. Next.
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GORANI: As part of our freedom project initiative, tonight we want to show you a particularly twisted scheme where men target young women. They lure
them to falling in love with them. It's part of a sophisticated grooming network.
CNN's Rafael Romo went to meet one woman who fell victim, but was eventually able to confront her former captor, face-to-face.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's an apocalyptic scene, hundreds of young men, dressed as pimps, whipping each other in a show of
strength and dominance. But for 23-year-old Patricia Gonzalez, seeing this video of the Mardi Gras festival in this small Mexican village of
Tenancingo is a reminder of her time in hell. What does Tenancingo mean to you?
PATRICIA GONZALEZ, HUMAN TRAFFICKER SURVIVOR: (As translated) Evil, evil. And I think they're people without heart. I think.
ROMO: In 2008, Gonzalez was forced into prostitution by a network of human traffickers based in Tenancingo.
GONZALEZ: I was there for a month and a half.
ROMO: Patricia says many of those involved in this celebration come from powerful families who enrich themselves by exploiting women and girls in
Mexico and the United States.
Usually it starts with pimps in training trolling shopping districts and local fairs looking for shy or vulnerable girls. Patricia's trafficker
approached her in a park near her home. Once seduced, the young men will propose and take her to Tenancingo to live with his family.
Girls like Patricia think they've found true love. Instead it is prostitution. Many are taken to the filthy alleys of Mexico City's
(inaudible) marketplace, often the proving ground before being moved to the U.S.
GONZALEZ: (As translated) when the first customer, the first man approached me to ask how much I charge, I remember all I could do was look at him and
cry.
ROMO: The first day Patricia says she had more than 40 customers. Her trafficker took all the money.
GONZALEZ: (As translated) I remember they said, fresh meat has arrived.
ROMO: How many girls did you manage it have working for you at the same time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) about 8 or 10.
ROMO: This is the man who trafficked Patricia. When you were doing this, when you were right in the middle of it, what did the girls mean to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) they mean income, they mean merchandise.
ROMO: Gustafo who agreed to interview provided we not use his real name is serving a ten year for trafficking of minors and forced prostitution in
Mexico. He wanted to meet with Patricia because he says his time in prison has made him realize the pain he caused her and his other victims. Why did
you do it, she asked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) I was blind by my ambition because I wanted power no matter the means or how. No matter the harm I was causing
you or other people.
I'm aware of all of the harm that I caused you. But I know that I can remedy that or try to remedy that somehow. Not erase it. But I can prevent
that many other girls don't fall into the same trap or fall into the hands of a trafficker that will exploit them like it happened to you with me.
GONZALEZ: (As translated) I forgive you but that doesn't mean I have forgotten everything you did. It allows me to be at peace with myself. I
think that this is a very important is part of the process to say that I have overcome the harm caused. I don't see myself as a victim any more. I
have overcome that.
ROMO: Despite the obvious divide that remains, both Gustafo and Patricia agree what has taken place for generations in Tenancingo and elsewhere
cannot be allowed to continue.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Mexico.
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GORANI: All right, she forgives him. That's very interesting. Some people would have a much harder time. I can tell you that.
All right, you may remember a few weeks ago I posted on our Facebook page, a pledge that I wrote on one of those paper planes which have come to
symbolizes the Freedom Project?
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GORANI: Well we -- you can do the same. We are calling it our flight to freedom campaign. Here is what you do. You make a paper airplane, you write
your pledge on it, then you tag your friends on social media and you ask them to do the same. You use the hashtag #flytofreedom. Go to
CNN.com/freedom for more and I just came back from Turkey today and found out my entire team had done the same. So this gives you an idea of how you
can actually do this yourself.
You can help raise awareness, you can donate to a charity, either way, #flytofreedom on social media is how this will get picked up by as many
people as possible. So there we have this rainbow of paper planes.
Again, the website, CNN.com/freedom.
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GORANI: And coming up next, we visit the new museum where you can take a walk down memory lane with some very familiar childhood friends. Stay with
us.
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GORANI: Well, his creations sure kept me glued to the television when I could have been a terrible 2s and 3s toddler.
Jim Henson was the man of course behind creations such as The Muppets and Sesame Street. And now there is a museum that puts all his creations under
one roof. Nick Valencia has that.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This really is the first time that I've seen all this.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With his masterful creations. Jim Henson touched the heart of millions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is fantastic.
VALENCIA: Now his family of unforgettable characters are getting a new home. Inside Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts, his daughter, Cheryl, gave
CNN the first look at what is now the largest collection of Jim Henson's artifacts in the world.
CHERYL HENSON, PRESIDENT JIM HENSON FOUDATION: Well the whole building is new.
VALENCIA: It's brand new, right, yes.
HENSON: It's spectacular. What I love about this building is that it feels like you're in a television studio.
VALENCIA: It took 8 years and more than $14 million.
Talk to us about some of the things that we're seeing here.
HENSON: Oh my god, I love these. So this is Muppet Treasure Island.
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VALENCIA: With the heart and enthusiasm of one of her father's famous Muppets, Cheryl Henson showed us some of her favorites.
HENSON: Oh, we have to talk about the seven deadly sins.
VALENCIA: Let's talk about it. With every turn, precious reminders of her father, from the unmistakable to overlooked and yes of course, the
classics.
BONNIE ERICKSON, MUPPET SHOW DESIGNER: Whether the pig was going to be successful, I didn't know. But she did. And she obviously has done very
well.
VALENCIA: On this day, we meet Bonnie Erickson, the designer of the original Miss Piggy who reveals some behind the scenes secrets. Perhaps
enough to make miss piggy clutch her pearls.
ERICKSON: They were originally to hid the seam between her neck and her head. She had to lose that high neck line. We had to hide it somehow so
that's how the pearls came to be.
KELSEY FRITZ, CENTER FOR PUPPETRY ARTS: It's been a really wonderful process to kind of go from seeing these things in a warehouse in New York
to getting them here and bringing them back to life to share with everyone.
VALENCIA: And what a process it's been. The center's Exhibition Director, Kelsey Fritz says it took three years of restoring, restuffing and
preserving.
FRITZ: Puppets like (inaudible) here he - his innards were filled with foam. So foam deteriorates over time so you have to - you know we have used
archival materials to conserve him and kind of get him back.
VALENCIA: The depth of the collection showcases Henson's stunning legacy after four decades in television and film.
HENSON: We want to remember my dad. We want to remember his Kermit. We want to remember how his characters cared about each other and hope they really
take care of each other. My next dream is that people actually show up. You know. Build it and they will come. We hope they actually do come.
VALENCIA: If only to feel like a kid again. Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
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GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani, this has been the World Right Now, thanks for watching. Quest Means Business is next.
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