SBS documentary participant shot at by Islamic State
A participant in an upcoming SBS documentary has told of how she was shot at by insurgents after filmmakers took her within 800m of the Islamic State front line.
In footage released by SBS, Kim Vuga, Andrew Jackson and another participant named only as "Nicole" can be seen wearing body armour while being instructed to keep their heads down after they were seen by Islamic State insurgents.
The trio were participants in Go Back To Where You Came From, a three-part series that aims to question pre-conceived ideas about asylum seekers.
"It was surreal I actually felt I'd climbed through my News 24," Vuga told Fairfax.
“It was crazy to actually see a black flag in place.
"At one stage we were 800m from the front line and definitely getting shot at.”
"Probably the worst part was going as close as we could and knowing that their bullets could reach us. We were told to listen for any whistling sounds coming through the air and that would mean a mortar had been fired. We were told we had 30 seconds to run 100 metres."
Vuga runs a Facebook page called ‘Stop the Boat People’.
She told Fairfax she would have joined the Kurdish fighters she met in Syria but for her responsibilities back home in Townsville.
"Had I not had any family or commitments at home I personally would have stood alongside them ... I would have fought with them," she said.
"These guys are fighting for the very same things that we also fight for and have fought for in the past – the very same freedoms, democracy."
In the documentary Vuga shared her stubborn views before heading to Syria.
"Australia is under attack," she said.
"We already have the terrorists here. We are already living amongst the enemy."
Go Back to Where You Came From starts on Tuesday 28 July, at 8.30pm on SBS
