In late 2013, a Yazidi family fled to Sweden in the hope of a better life, far from persecution. After three troubled years struggling to seek asylum without proper paperwork, their traumatised son “fell asleep” - and didn’t wake up again for another five years.
For half a decade he was in a coma-like state, a condition that afflicts thousands of other asylum-seeking children in Sweden.
Producers Zeina Dowidar and Andrei Povoviciu travel to Sweden to find out what causes this mysterious illness - and how to treat it.
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar and Andrei Povoviciu. It was edited by Dana Ballout with support from Alex Atack and Nadeen Shaker. Fact checking on this episode was by Deena Sabry, audio editing by Youssef Douazou, and sound design and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Translation by Amina Khalil.
A special thanks to all of the families we spoke to, as well as Dr. Elisabeth Hultcrantz, Dr. Karl Salinn and Dr. Debra Stein for speaking with us for the episode.
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Find a transcript for this episode at our website.
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