Top 5 kidnapping documentaries where life and death are moments apart

When liberty is lost there can be all manner of consequences. In the RTD series of kidnapping documentaries, we examine lost childhood, lost innocence, and lost lives. From the children of the disappeared in Argentina, to child soldiers in the Philippines, to the children forced to be part of atrocities in Syria, all have harrowing tales to tell. Here are the top 5 kidnapping documentaries you shouldn’t miss:

1. Escobar's Hitman

‘Escobar’s Hitman’ looks at the life of John Jairo Velasquez, aka Popeye, the man who murdered, kidnapped and tortured for drug lord Pablo Escobar. After more than 23 years behind bars, Popeye is free, and in some parts of Medellin in Colombia he is seen as a martyr, not a murderer. But not everyone sees the confessed killer as a hero.

2. Argentina's Stolen Children

After decades, young Argentines are discovering they are not who they think they are. They’re the children and grandchildren of the ‘disappeared’; people who were murdered by the military junta during Argentina’s ‘dirty war’. ‘Argentina’s Stolen Children’ looks at the years of searching by their natural grandmothers, and how the knowledge affects them and their adopted families.

3. Crisis Childhood

In the jungles of the Philippines, children are being kidnapped to become soldiers of ISIS-associated terrorist groups. In ‘Crisis Childhood’, ex-child soldiers talk about their traumatic pasts in training camps and battle.

4. Where Childhood Died

The kids robbed of their childhood by terrorist groups in Syria are the subject of the RTD kidnapping documentary ‘Where Childhood Died.’ Taken by extremist groups, these children dug tunnels and learned to use weapons, watch executions and carry out atrocities themselves.

5. Brides by Force

The age-old Kyrgyzstan tradition of kidnapping a bride is examined in ‘Brides by Force.’ Even though it is outlawed, the practice of men kidnapping the girl they want to marry still goes on. The penalties are minor, and equate the life of a girl to that of four sheep. It’s no wonder that some women resort to suicide rather than go through with their forced nuptials.