Into the Fire The Yazidi deminers of Sinjar, Iraq

Now you can experience a MAG program without ever leaving your house. Explore MAG's work in Iraq with a new documentary short film by Academy Award-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel. 

Into The Fire tells the story of Hana Khider, a MAG team leader in Sinjar, western Iraq, working to rid her Yazidi community of the deadly improvised landmines planted by ISIS.

The film, commissioned by the Nobel Prize, will be release on May 20 on the National Geographic YouTube channel.

Orlando, who won an Oscar for his film The White Helmets, said: “I’m often drawn to stories of hope in the face of extreme adversity; to stories about ordinary people who show extraordinary courage, dignity, and resolve. Even after unimaginable tragedy, people don’t give up. They rebuild."

Hana has worked for MAG for almost four years and leads a dedicated and highly skilled team working to clear mines. The film focuses on the married mother of three and her team's work and the impact ISIS had on their lives and the wider Yazidi community.

A minority religious group, Yazidi people and thousands of other Iraqis suffered greatly at the hands of ISIS. Among other human rights atrocities, ISIS planted hundreds of thousands of deadly landmines and other devices throughout the region.

As well as the deadly legacy of ISIS, landmines, cluster munitions, and other unexploded bombs litter Iraq. MAG has worked in Iraq since 1992 to make the land safe for populations affected by decades of conflict.

In 2019, MAG teams across the country found and destroyed more than 100,000 landmines, unexploded bombs, and other explosive remnants of war. Teams made 1,500 acres of land safe, directly benefiting more than 300,000 people.

Into The Fire was commissioned by the Nobel Prize and is being screened by National Geographic Documentary Films, starting May 20.