Former child soldier of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), Amir Yaghmai is one of the relief subjects of the documentary Children of Camp Ashraf. The documentary was directed by Sara Moein and will be played in two Swedish film festivals.
Barnen från Camp Ashraf is the Swedish title of the film which has documented the lives of Amir Yaghmai, Parvin Hossein Nia, Hanif Bali and Atefeh Sebdani as 4 examples of about 120 children of the MEK parents who were resettled in Sweden. The number of MEK children who were smuggled from Camp Ashraf, Iraq to European and North American countries mounts to over 700.
Amir Yaghmai was smuggled back to Iraq when he was 14 years old and he was immediately given a military uniform and recruited as a child soldier of the group’s so-called National Liberation Army.
Amir has so far revealed facts on difficulties, segregation and mental pressure he suffered during his stay in the cult-like structure of the MEK.
Today, Amir has a PhD degree in Eco-logy, working as an environmental scientist. He lives in Sweden with his family.
The documentary, which partly develops on Amir’s testimony of what it is like to escape from a destructive cult, will premiere on January 31st at the Gothenburg International Film Festival and on March 4 at the Tempo Documentary Festival.
