Our World (2007)
Season 2015
Current affairs documentary reporting on issues around the world.
Where to Watch Season 2015
41 Episodes
- Calais: The Final Frontier
E1Calais: The Final FrontierThe northern French port of Calais is facing an international refugee crisis. Thousands of illegal migrants have descended on the town with the intention of making it across the English Channel to the UK, any way they can. Many are fleeing deadly wars at home and are prepared to take extreme risks. Some sneak into the back of UK bound trucks while others hide themselves in the undercarriage. Calais says it can no longer cope with the squatter camps and rising crime which accompany the gangs of desperate young men determined to make it across one of Europe's most heavily guarded borders. Darius Bazargan has been to Calais to meet the migrants, and the locals, caught up in a growing humanitarian crisis. - The Billion Dollar Gamble
E2The Billion Dollar GambleIt's the first planned Palestinian city, a billion dollar project to build homes for 25,000 people with a soccer stadium and even an amphitheatre, complete with Roman columns. Rawabi is the vision of an American-Palestinian multi-millionaire, Bashar Masri, who has staked his fortune on a better future for his people. Though the main building work is largely finished the project, like the peace process, has ground to a halt over disagreements between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Lyse Doucet charts Masri's progress over a year. She meets a family eager to move in, as well as critics, both Israeli and Palestinian. Can Masri finish the city? Or will events beyond his control get the better of his dream? - Bringing Business Back
E3Bringing Business BackFrom Walmart to Apple, from Colorado to California, many companies across the United States say they are bringing jobs back from overseas. As wages rise in countries such as China and India, Natalia Antelava travels across the U.S, and to India, to investigate whether the tide is turning on one of the biggest trends in globalisation - the outsourcing of work from the rich to the developing world. - The Power of Le PenE5
The Power of Le PenThe Front National was once regarded as a marginal, extremist political party, but economic turmoil in Europe has thrust it into the mainstream of French Politics. Charismatic leader, Marine le Pen, helped secure a historic victory for the party in the European Elections, and now has her sights set on the Elysee Palace. In a series of interviews for Our World, conducted before and after the terrorist attacks in Paris, Robert Peston tries to understand what's behind her extraordinary rise, and asks if she could really be president? - A Royal Wedding: Indian Style
E6A Royal Wedding: Indian StyleWith exclusive behind the scenes access, Rupa Jha reports for Our World on the most lavish Indian wedding since independence. Thanks to two decades of dramatic economic growth in India some royal families are enjoying a boom of their own. Harking back to the glory days of the Maharajas, the marriage of the Prince of Rajkot to the Princess of Dungarpore has been described as the most extravagant wedding in India for almost 70 years. The groom's family procession alone featured 2 elephants, 5,000 walking men, led by 30 royally attired princes and ex rulers, camels, horses, 7 gilded horse-drawn carriages and 50 vintage cars. The host, Prince Mandhatasinh Jadeja, entertained thousands during a week of celebrations, including feeding around 15,000 local and needy people. So how does he reconcile such apparent extravagance with the fact that India is home to more poor people than any other country in the world. - Inside Eritrea
E7Inside EritreaEritrea has been described as one of the most secretive states in the world. Every year, thousands of people flee indefinite military service and arbitrary imprisonment. But now, for the first time in around ten years, BBC News has been allowed to film inside the country. The authorities want to show off some positive news - they say child mortality is falling, maternal health is improving, and malaria has almost been wiped out. But alongside the gleaming hospitals on show, will Our World's Yalda Hakim gets a glimpse of why so many young Eritreans will risk everything to leave the country. - Saving Gaza's Grand Piano
E8Saving Gaza's Grand PianoFor years it has been hidden in the dusty corner of an abandoned theatre - a magnificent instrument allowed to moulder away in an Islamist-ruled territory where many consider music 'haram' - religiously prohibited. It miraculously survived last year's war between Israel and Hamas, when the theatre itself was half-destroyed around it. Now, the only concert grand piano in Gaza has been rediscovered. Badly out of tune, it's been brought lovingly back to life by an expert flown in from Paris - to be the centrepiece of a project that's bringing music back to the children of Gaza. Our World was given exclusive access to film the restoration of the piano and its first celebratory playing by some of Gaza's budding young musicians. - Rhino Wars
E10Rhino WarsOur World sets out to discover whether hunting the poachers can save the rhino. Last year a record number of rhinos were illegally slaughtered for their horns in South Africa's Kruger Park. They were killed by poachers, most of them from poor communities in neighbouring Mozambique. The horn is trafficked to Asia, where it can command a higher price than gold or diamonds. Now South Africa is cracking down - up to 50 poachers were shot last year. Our World sets out to discover whether hunting the poachers can save the rhino. - Ukraine's Fragile Ceasefire
E11Ukraine's Fragile CeasefireMore than 6,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since fighting erupted between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels last Spring. A million people have fled their homes. A ceasefire signed earlier this year was hailed as a breakthrough - but is it holding? Natalia Antelava reports from both sides of the ceasefire line on whether the fighting has stopped, and what hope there is for a lasting peace. - The Uighurs, Silk Road Survivors
E12The Uighurs, Silk Road SurvivorsCentral Asian governments are facing pressure from China to clamp down on Uighur demands for their own state. For the eleven million Uighur people who live in China freedom of speech, religion and movement is strictly controlled. But just along the Silk Road, across the border in Kazakhstan, a quarter of a million Uighurs enjoy relative freedom. For Our World Rustam Qobil meets Kazakh Uighurs concerned about China's growing influence in the region. - Remembering the Armenian Massacres
E13Remembering the Armenian MassacresIt has been 100 years since the massacres and mass deportation of Armenians who lived in the Ottoman Empire, now Turkey. Armenians say one and a half million people died, while the Turkish government says it was many fewer. The killings remain extremely controversial, with the Turkish government resisting Armenian calls to recognise them as genocide. They're rarely spoken of or taught in Turkish schools. BBC reporter Lara Petrossian's Armenian great-grandfather was one of the few who escaped and started a new life abroad. A century on, Lara visits her Armenian family's destroyed neighbourhood in Turkey. She is joined by BBC Turkish reporter Rengin Arslan, and together they discover how little remains of Armenian culture and community. As they discover their families' very different versions of the past, they try to understand why the story of the massacres continues to be so difficult to tell. - Kidnapped for a Decade
E14Kidnapped for a DecadeFor years they were imprisoned, beaten, and raped. Now Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, two of the girls who were kidnapped by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio, speak about their harrowing ordeal. They, along with Castro's third victim Michelle Knight, managed to escape in 2013. Berry and DeJesus talk to Kirsty Wark about their kidnap, incarceration, and how they survived. - Nepal: Survivors' Stories with Yalda Hakim
E16Nepal: Survivors' Stories with Yalda HakimMore than 7 thousand people were killed by the earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, and hundreds of thousands more were made homeless. For Nepalis living in poor and remote mountain villages, the challenge of rebuilding their homes and livelihoods is immense. Yalda Hasim reports from Nepal for Our World on the survivors struggling to salvage what they can in the devastating aftermath of the disaster. - Saving Gaza's Grand PianoE17
Saving Gaza's Grand PianoFor years it has been hidden in the dusty corner of an abandoned theatre, a magnificent instrument allowed to moulder away in an Islamist-ruled territory where many consider music 'haram' - religiously prohibited. It miraculously survived the war between Israel and Hamas, when the theatre itself was half-destroyed around it. Now, the only concert grand piano in Gaza has been rediscovered. Badly out of tune, it has been brought lovingly back to life by an expert flown in from Paris, to be the centrepiece of a project that's bringing music back to the children of Gaza. Our World was given exclusive access to film the restoration of the piano and its first celebratory playing by some of Gaza's budding young musicians. - Who Killed Alberto Nisman?
E18Who Killed Alberto Nisman?In January a high-profile prosecutor was found in a pool of blood in his bathroom, days before he was due to release a report condemning the Argentine government. Wyre Davies examines claims that he was murdered and that the investigation into his death was bungled. Buenos Aires may be fading at the edges but it is still one of the world's great capitals - witness to some of the most tragic and momentous events in Argentine history. It is a city where military generals have justified coups d'etats, where grandmothers have marched in defiance against tyranny and where populist icons have vainly tried to unite a divided nation. Even today, intrigue and political scandal are never too far below the surface. - The Lusitania's 100 Year Secret
E19The Lusitania's 100 Year SecretWhen the RMS Lusitania set sail from New York for England in May 1915 the German government took out adverts in the American newspapers warning that travellers sailed at their own risk. The Lusitania's captain was confident the ship was too fast to be attacked, but it was hit by a torpedo from a German U- boat and sank in less than 20 minutes. More than thirteen hundred people were drowned, and the disaster was a key factor in rallying Americans to the Allied cause. Duncan Kennedy finds out why mystery still surrounds the sinking, and pieces together what happened on the Lusitania's last journey. - Pardon Me, Mr. President
E21Pardon Me, Mr. PresidentThe War on Drugs in the United States led to a huge increase in America's prison population. For decades, hundreds of thousands of people convicted of even minor drug crimes received long jail terms. President Obama says this has been counter-productive, consigning generations of young people to jail. Under a new presidential clemency initiative thousands of drug offenders can apply for early release. Our World speaks to some who have been freed and looks at the changing approach to tackling drug offences in the United States. - Bosnia: The Cradle of Modern Jihadism?
E23Bosnia: The Cradle of Modern Jihadism?During the civil war in Bosnia, hundreds of Arab jihadists came to join Bosnian Muslims fighting against their neighbours the Serbs and Croats. Grouped into secret fighting units in Central Bosnia, this was the first time in centuries Jihad had been fought against a Western, Christian enemy. Two decades later Bosnia is still reaping the consequences. In the past month ISIS declared the Balkans the next front of Jihad - and in remote mountain villages extremists are flying the ISIS flag. Mark Urban returns to Bosnia for 'Our World' and discovers how secular Bosnian society has been infiltrated by a militant Islamism which operates to this day. - Made in China: Club Drugs
E24Made in China: Club DrugsA new drug of choice, ketamine, is flooding China's night clubs, and the Chinese authorities are losing the battle to stop its spread. Criminal gangs have discovered ways to make it easily and plentifully, and high profile raids and executions are not affecting soaring production. Ketamine has long been used as an anaesthetic, but now many take it recreationally for its hallucinatory highs. Celia Hatton reports for Our World on the growing addiction to ketamine. She travels to The Fortress, a village in southern China thought to be at the heart of China's ketamine production. - Deported to Afghanistan
E25Deported to AfghanistanOver the past ten years, thousands of unaccompanied children have fled to the UK from war-torn Afghanistan, but when they turn 18 they have to return or face deportation. Chris Rogers follows some of the young men, who claim their deportation to Afghanistan would be inhumane and that the UK is now their home. - A Very Political Assassination
E27A Very Political AssassinationAlexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, was poisoned in a London hotel in November 2006. He drank tea laced with radioactive polonium, and died three weeks later. It was designed to be the perfect murder, and the cause of death almost went undiscovered. So who killed him and why? Richard Watson investigates the polonium trail and reveals how it leads to President Putin's door. - After the JungleE33
After the JungleDuring Sierra Leone's ten-year civil war seven thousand children were forced to join the fighting, abducted from their families, drugged and made to kill. As the war came to an end, thousands of brutalised boys and young men were disarmed and tried to return to their communities - but they were not always welcomed back. Jewoh Nathaniel Sesay, also known as MashP, was one of them. Like many former child soldiers, MashP suffers from mental health problems. He's now approaching thirty and still trying to come to terms with his past. Our World meets MashP as he tries to rebuild his life, his relationships and make sense of his past. - Russia's Modern MysticsE34
Russia's Modern MysticsGrowing numbers of Russians are consulting mystics and psychics. It's been a longstanding flirtation - most famously, a century ago, the country's last Royal family became reliant on a mystical faith healer called Rasputin. But now, 21st century Russians, faced with growing uncertainty and insecurity, are flocking to mystics for help. For Our World the BBC Russian Service's Olga Smirnova investigates the phenomenon. - South Sudan: Shattered DreamE35
South Sudan: Shattered DreamJust four years after South Sudan was granted independence, becoming the world's newest country, it has descended into chaos and conflict. The fighting, mostly along ethnic lines, has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. Thousands have been killed, more than two million people displaced, and the country is on the brink of famine. Our World's Yalda Hakim travels deep into rural South Sudan - where no Western journalist has been. She meets traumatised people, some on the verge of starvation. - The Lost Daughter of HalabjaE37
The Lost Daughter of HalabjaIn 1988, in the final months of the Iran-Iraq War, the Kurdish city of Halabja was devastated in a chemical weapons attack by Saddam Hussein. An estimated 5000 people were killed. Many injured and orphaned children were taken across the border to Iran for treatment - most never saw their families again. Now, almost 30 years later, one of those children makes an emotional return to Halabja to try and find the family she lost. - Welcome to Germany with Catrin NyeE40
Welcome to Germany with Catrin NyeIn the midst of the refugee crisis Catrin Nye spends three months in Gera, in the east of Germany, as new residents arrive from war-torn Syria. She follows two families in the small city, one German and one Syrian. She sees how they adapt to life alongside one another and how the Paris attacks affect the reception the Syrian arrivals receive.
