S2016 E1 • Defying My Disability

Seven disabled Palestinians negotiate the challenges of life in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank.

Première diffusion : 20 janvier 2016

S2016 E2 • The Village That's Dying

Akincilar is a small village on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.It has lived through Cyprus' turbulent, modern history, including the island's civil war in the 1960s and its division in the 1970s when Turkish Cypriots moved north, and Greek Cypriots moved south.Akincilar, like many rural communities the world over, has experienced the outflow of young people seeking opportunities in big cities.But Akincilar's decline from a bustling town of 5,000 to a village of 350, almost frozen in time, has to do with its geographical location, the division of Cyprus, and the island's complex history.This film explores Akincilar's past and present through the eyes of three residents.

Première diffusion : 27 janvier 2016

S2016 E3 • Island of Death

Mayotte is a magnet for Comoros islanders who risk their lives crossing hazardous seas in search of a better life.

Première diffusion : 3 février 2016

S2016 E4 • After the Arab Spring

Five young Arabs from countries that went through the 2011 revolutions reflect on what has happened five years on.

Première diffusion : 17 février 2016

S2016 E5 • Behind the Wheel: Egypt's Women Drivers

In the heart of Egypt's bustling capital Cairo, only very few female taxi drivers brave the unforgiving traffic.Um Waleed is one of them. Driven by force of circumstance and the need to make a living, she went down a road that very few other women in the Arab world would contemplate.This Egyptian woman has been driving for over 30 years and first bought a taxi when her father encouraged her as he had no sons. This kind of work is dominated by men - but the discrimination she's encountered along the way has only her made her more determined.'When I went to the traffic department to take my test, men were making fun of me. 'Go peel onions and cook cabbage', they said. This just made me more determined. Their comments and the way they looked at me motivated me even more,' she says.Um Samah's husband used to drive a minibus but was diagnosed with glaucoma. Hiring someone else to work the bus was more trouble than it was worth, so she started driving without a licence. After a run-in with the police, she was later able to pass her driving test and now drives the bus legally.She wouldn't want any of her children to do what she has done because it is so tough, but she has no regrets: 'If I could go back in time, I'd do the same thing. This is the only work I can do... I like my job but sometimes I cry, tears run down my face while I drive, because I didn't stay at home like other women do,' she says.Dalia is 20 and decided to drive the family auto-rickshaw because her younger brother was being bothered by other drivers. She drives wearing an abaya to try and cut down on harassment - but that doesn't stop other drivers trying to run her off the road.'It's not the driving itself. The problem is the people. A day doesn't go by without fighting. I face about 20 fights a day,' she says. Away from work, Dalia likes to go to the beauty salon: 'I like Dalia when she is not driving the auto-rick because she gets to act like a lady. The Dalia that drives the auto-rick acts more like a man than a woman... I wish I could be a child again and make a fresh start, to become another Dalia. A different Dalia from the one drives an auto- rickshaw,' Dalia says.Um Khaled drives a 36-tonne truck. She was also motivated by the discrimination she felt as a woman taxi driver. Now she says people either love her or hate her. She is proud of what she does and feels more at home in the cab of her truck than she does in her apartment.She works obsessively, sometimes two months at a time, without taking a day off.'I'll never stop as long as I can work. I'll continue working until God wants me to stop.... Not just any woman can drive on these roads. The proof is that we don't have female heavy vehicle drivers,' she says.But she does like to dress nicely off duty: 'God made me a woman. I need to take care of the way I look and dress, of my appearance. Deep inside, I know I don't live my life like other women. But that doesn't mean I don't have feminine qualities or that I don't act, dress, walk and eat like a lady'.Behind the Wheel follows four remarkable women, battling against the discrimination they experience every day - and constantly trying to reconcile the tension between their work lives and their identities as women.

Première diffusion : 24 février 2016

S2016 E6 • Soft Power: The US and the Middle East

The American University of Beirut (AUB) was founded a century and a half ago and is the oldest university in Lebanon.It was established in December 1866 as the Syrian Protestant College. Since then, almost 65,000 students from around a hundred countries have graduated from AUB. This year, some 8,000 Arab men and women will study there.This film explores AUB, one of the leading academic institutions in the Middle East, and some of the ways its history has been interwoven with that of Lebanon itself. We explore the history of the American University of Beirut and whether it has played a role in US interests in Lebanon and the Middle East since its founding nearly 150 years ago.

Première diffusion : 2 mars 2016

S2016 E7 • Giving for Eternity

Waqf, an Islamic philanthropic tradition, was abolished in Tunisia in 1957. Now, there are calls to restore it.

Première diffusion : 9 mars 2016

S2016 E8 • I am a Syrian Child

In March 2011, protests broke out in Syria which have led to arguably the worst refugee crisis since World War Two. While millions of the Syrians affected by the uprising remain internally displaced, the majority have fled the country, seeking refuge in neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon.According to official figures from UNICEF, children currently account for just over half of the total number of refugees. These children are now at the real risk of becoming a 'lost generation'.'If we don't provide them with education, they're lost. This is the generation that's going to re-build their country in a few years. They are the future. The children feel that they can't dream, that they can't hope. They are the future generation who are supposed to re-build. The children feel their horizons and hopes are limited,' says Soha Bsat El Boustany, UNICEF, Lebanon.In this film, children from across Syria who are now in Lebanon and Jordan reflect on what little they remember of the lives they left behind and the difficulties of receiving an education in their current situation

Première diffusion : 30 mars 2016

S2016 E9 • Egypt: Medicine for Sale

Medical students in an Egyptian university are packed into a small lecture room. A grainy presentation is projected on to the wall. The lesson, taught in English, is entirely theoretical - much like most of the medical-related courses - and demonstration equipment is also faulty. Dr Rami Said is a product of Egypt's tertiary education system.'That's what happens in medical school. We finish our studies and are supposed to be doctors. That's our dream,' he says. 'Six years of study plus a year of residency and we still don't know anything.' Said's view is shared by many others. Dr Nadia al-Ansari works in the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Cairo.She says that 'today, professors don't have the time to teach the way they used to. University teachers are not dedicated or keen to teach any more. Medical students take private lessons, as in the humanities, engineering or business faculties. No one is dedicated the way they used to be.' A lack of government funding is not only undermining health provision and affecting the quality of doctor training, it's also spawned a black market in the sales of human organs - and a bizarre trade in 'patients for hire'.In the Qasr al-Aini Hospital, a familiar face walks the corridors, seen most frequently during exam season. Ahmad al-Saed Ahmad is a professional patient, more commonly known as a 'consultation subject'.In return for treating his chronic chest complaint, Ahmad - who is on the books of an agent organising similar cases for this kind of work - is paid by students at the hospital, to allow them to examine him in preparation for their final medical exams.He uses his cut of the money to pay his own medical bills. The rest is pocketed by the agent and universities taking part in the back-door process.But Ahmad's role - and that of other consultation subjects like himself - doesn't end there. 'I started memorising the medical terms until I knew the cases by heart,' he says, 'We learned them so we could teach them [the medical students]. 'Sometimes the student doesn't know anything at all, so we explain everything, like how to measure blood pressure, take a pulse. The things they should have learned in medical school, we teach them.'Some trainee doctors choose to leave Egypt, to take advantage of greater opportunities and better education abroad, in Germany, for example, but most have to make do with the situation at home.'The number of medication companies has grown recently. They distribute medicines but need doctors to prescribe them to be sold, so doctors get money from these companies to prescribe a medication for their patients,' says GP Reda Harbi.Dr Nihal Majdi works in general medicine and is calling on the Egyptian government for more rights and better support, claiming that doctors' conditions verge on the inhumane. She says this is the heart of the problem and is threatening patient care. 'They [doctors] are asked to work extra shifts without getting paid or working in a humane place and without the proper resources. Without a lot of things. A big part of our job is humanitarian. How can you expect a doctor who's been dehumanised to be humane with patients' asks Majdi.

Première diffusion : 6 avril 2016

S2016 E10 • Life In The Shadows: Palestinians In Lebanon

In 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave their country during the ‘Nakba’, the ‘catastrophe’, the founding of the state of Israel. The majority of Palestinians in Lebanon retain the hope of one day returning home - known internationally as ‘the right of return’ - but almost seven decades later, refugee camps have become part of the urban landscape of Lebanon. Over a quarter-of-a-million Palestinians still live in the 12 UN-registered camps and 42 other so-called ‘gatherings’ across Lebanon. Lebanon is their home but any chance of becoming a genuine part of the communities they live in is constantly undermined by strict laws ‘protecting’ Lebanese citizens’ rights, general safety and well-being.

Première diffusion : 13 avril 2016

S2016 E11 • Yemen: Pulling the Strings

How did Yemen's Houthis take Sanaa so easily? Was former President Saleh part of an unlikely alliance with the group?

Première diffusion : 20 avril 2016

S2016 E12 • The Battle Of Misrata

The Libyan revolution started in February 2011. Misrata in north western Libya was one of the main strongholds against the then President Muammar Gaddafi, along with the city of Benghazi. In this film, we meet some of the people who not only witnessed the 13 week battle for the city but took part in some of the fiercest fighting of the civil war, with the minimum of training and experience.

Première diffusion : 27 avril 2016

S2016 E13 • Egypt On The Breadline

Bread is a matter of life and death in Egypt, once the provider of grain to the whole Roman Empire but now the biggest importer of wheat in the world

Première diffusion : 10 mai 2016

S2016 E14 • Sykes-Picot: Lines In The Sand

This is the story of the secret deal between the British and French, concluded in May 1916, which aimed to carve up the Middle East in ways that most benefited the two European powers.Modern world history has been heavily influenced by events in the Middle East, whose strategic importance has been magnified by both a global dependence on oil and the Israel-Palestine conflict.A hundred years ago, World War I saw Britain, France and Russia locked in combat with Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottomans. As the war in Europe fought itself almost to a standstill, Britain cast a strategic eye towards key areas of the Ottoman Empire. Should the allies be victorious, it would be important to claim the most strategically valuable territory - Greater Syria and Mesopotamia - particularly in relation to the French.The prime minister, Herbert Asquith, turned to a young British politician, Sir Mark Sykes, who'd become chief government adviser on the 'Near East'. In late 1915 and early 1916, he and the French lawyer-turned-diplomat, Francois Georges-Picot, would negotiate the terms of a secret agreement with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Première diffusion : 18 mai 2016

S2016 E15 • Sykes-Picot: Lines in the sand (Episode two)

The story of the secret century-old deal which aimed to carve up the Middle East in ways that still reverberate today.

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2016

S2016 E16 • Comoros: The Grand Marriage

Yehia Mohamed Elias, a former Comoran minister for education, married his wife Zakiya 20 years ago. He married his 'new' wife Zuleikha just two years ago.But now Elias and his wives have decided to take part in the great Comoran tradition of the 'grand marriage'. The 'grand marriage' is an age-old institution which has been passed from generation to generation on the islands of Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan.It's a symbol of social status on the islands and a must for any self-respecting Comoran, a commitment not even the President of the Republic can avoid embracing.A Comoran man can only wear certain elemens of the national dress or stand in the first line at the mosque if he's had a grand marriage.There are two types of legal unions in the Comoros - the small marriage and the grand one.The ordinary wedding is an intimate gathering and one which has to satisfy the appetite for celebration until the married couple decide it’s time for - or they can afford - the grand marriage.This is normally at least a year after the smaller ceremony and involves a major series of parties, processions and gatherings that can last up to two weeks and take over the whole village. The grand marriage is as important for the bride as it is for the groom, with some beauty preparations starting as long as six months before the event. Other women might only take a week of pre-nuptial make-up preparations, depending on the couple's social and financial status.The grand marriage certainly doesn't come cheap and Elias claims to have spent all his money, over €20,000, on the wedding - not much by modern international standards but a small fortune on the Comoros. These festivities are a huge extravagance, particularly on these islands which are among the 20 poorest nations in the world.But while half the population continues to live beneath the poverty line, the grand marriage remains an important beacon of Comoran social standing.

Première diffusion : 7 juin 2016

S2016 E17 • Ramadan North And South

Once a year, for a whole month, Muslims around the world observe the holy month of Ramadan. Family, community work, prayer, reflection and, most importantly, fasting from sunrise to sunset, are the main elements of the month.However, observing Ramadan is not always straightforward in countries where Muslims are in the clear minority.So, how do Muslims in the western world put their faith into practice when lifestyles can often be so differentRamadan has recently fallen in July and August, summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south.Fasting during daylight hours in Iceland where there can be 24-hours sunshine in summer, contrasts sharply with the short days of the New Zealand winter - but each posts different challenges for the minority Muslim communities of the two countries at opposite ends of the globe. There are almost 50,000 Muslims in New Zealand now, one percent of the population.The numbers of indigenous Maori converts are also on the rise, some claiming it helps them connect with the true nature of their heritage.Carlos Brokeen, now known as Abdulaziz, his extended Maori family and friends in Hastings on the South Island, are relatively recent converts.'People look at me like I'm not a Maori because of my clothing,' says Carlos, indicating his salwar kameez. 'But then they've got to turn around and look at what they wearing.'With a troubled past including gang violence and drug abuse, Islam has brought him and his family a fresh start and a new inner peace, especially evident during Ramadan.'Once I became a Muslim it became obligatory upon me to seek knowledge. So now I know more about my history than I did before I was a Muslim. I feel strong and more intact with my Maoridom,' he continues. For the family, Ramadan can be both the best and hardest time of year. It's sometimes difficult to cram everything into a shortened winter day.But over in Iceland, the day sometimes never ends for its estimated 1,200 Muslims.Sverrir Ibrahim Agnarsson came to Iceland as a Muslim in 1973 and is Chair of the Association of Muslims in Iceland. If he and his fellow Muslims adhered strictly to Quran timings - sunrise to sunset - they might not be able to pray Isha (the night prayer) until December.'In middle of June and July we have 24-hour sunshine,' says Agnarsson. 'In Reykjavik the sun goes down but it never gets dark.' One year when Ramadan fell in July, he approached the religious authorities in Cairo for guidance and was told he should start fasting at dawn - but only for the same duration as fasting hours in Mecca, a much more manageable 15 hours.Although the Muslim communities of the New Zealand town of Hastings and the Icelandic capital Reykyavik are literally a world apart, it's clear that Ramadan is the same deeply spiritual time for both of them.

Première diffusion : 29 juin 2016

S2016 E18 • Israel's Great Divide

Israel is a nation of immigrants, and first-generation Israelis comprise only 32 percent of the population.Integration into Israeli society has been one of its main political goals and, under the leadership of founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion, Israel was going to be 'the great Jewish melting pot', but it has come under severe strain almost since its inception in 1948.'There's a gap in Israeli society,' says Karen Amit, an Israeli of Moroccan origin.'They support the arrival of immigrants in theory and love them but, in practice, the ordinary Israeli doesn't open his arms to welcome them. Research about Israeli attitude towards immigrants from Ethiopia has shown surprising results. On the one hand, they love them and have no problem with them. But when asked if they'd accept an Ethiopian neighbour or their children being at school with Ethiopians, their reply was negative.'Jewish people living in Israel today are largely divided into three main groups: Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi.The Ashkenazim are from Germany, France and Eastern Europe. The term 'Ashkenazi' comes from the Hebrew word for Germany. Most American Jews today are Ashkenazim, descended from those who arrived from Europe in the mid-1800s and early 1900s.The Sephardim are from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East. The term 'Sephardi' comes from the Hebrew word for Spain. Many Jews fled Spain after the end of Muslim rule there in 1492.Sephardic Jews are often subdivided into Sephardim and Mizrahim, from North Africa and the Middle East. The term 'Mizrahi' comes from the Hebrew word for eastern.There are claims of discrimination against the Mizrahi community in Israel.'Discrimination and inequality were always a common practice. Western [Ashkenazi] Jews look down on others. They don't want to grant the Mizrahis power ... They want to fill their prisons with them rather than offering them education, culture and guidance,' says Pinhas Aloshi, an Israeli of Tunisian origin.David Hetsroni, an Israeli of Polish origin, came to Israel in 1930. 'My father arrived the following year. He didn't get any help from the state but paid for everything out of his own pocket. But as soon as the Mizrahi Jews arrived, they started complaining they were being oppressed. They used to say, 'You send us to live in Dimona, in the south while you live in Tel Aviv and in the centre. You offer us poor jobs while you get all the decent ones.' We didn't make these allegations. That's what I find hard to accept. natural justice, in my view, says [the allegations] are not fair,' Hetsroni says.Yehouda Shenhav, an Israeli of Iraqi origin, believes that the situation of the third-generation Mizrahi Jews compared with Ashkenazis, is worse today than it was 30 years ago.'In the Seventies, there was one Mizrahi with a baccalaureate diploma to three Ashkenazis. Four percent of Mizrahi got the baccalaureate compared with 16 percent of Ashkenazim. Today, the gap has widened to about 12 percent against 50 percent.I re-invented myself as Israeli rather than Arab. The more you distance yourself from Arabness, the more chance you have of integrating into Israeli society. It's sad,' says Shenhav.Rabbi Haim Amsalam says personal progress often depends on whether your family name is Mizrahi or not.'I know many people who've reached high-ranking positions. They had no choice but to adopt Ashkenazi speech and physical appearance and gradually adopt Ashkenazi culture .... The melting pot that Ben-Gurion wanted to create has failed, because he wanted to melt everyone into one culture, the Western, Ashkenazi one. Why should I abandon my culture and heritage' says Amsalam. Israel's Great Divide explores the deep-rooted tension between Israel's Ashkenazi Jews and the Sephardi and Mizrahi communities.

Première diffusion : 13 juillet 2016

S2016 E19 • Gaza: The Last Picture

On July 8, 2014, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, aimed at stopping alleged rocket fire from Gaza into the occupied territories.One of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip, Shujayea, was claimed by Israel to be the site of Hamas 'terror tunnels'. The attack started late on July 19, initiating 24 hours of sustained air bombardment and artillery fire.An American military officer talking to Al Jazeera said 11 Israeli artillery battalions fired around 7,000 shells into Shujayea over that 24-hour period, in which at least 65 Palestinians were killed and 288 wounded.One paramedic reported over 200 calls for help at the peak of demand, one from virtually every house on targeted streets.The emergency services responded to every callout with scant regard for their own safety.In this film, cameraman Khaled Hamad joins local paramedics in Shujayea as they attend to the dead and wounded at the height of the raid. Risking his life, he documents the atrocities committed against civilians in the neighbourhood during Operation Protective Edge.A number of journalists were killed. News photographer Rami Rayan was killed whilst shooting stills of a busy market where locals were shopping during a brief humanitarian truce.Knowing the risks, Hamad continues to film until his camera dramatically captures the raid in which he and paramedic Fouad Jaber come under direct attack.Paramedics, Hamad's fellow journalists and family all maintain that Israel targeted journalists in order to try and minimise coverage of what the Palestinians described as a 'massacre'.Most of the footage in the film is Hamad's, his camera never stops shooting even after he is struck, and continues rolling long after he has taken his final breath.

Première diffusion : 20 juillet 2016

S2016 E20 • Farah: Scarred By Gaza's War

Farah is a young girl from Beit Lahia, a city located in the Gaza Strip, close to the Israeli border and in the midst of much of the turmoil that occurs in the area. Farah's mother, grandfather, aunt and three uncles were all killed in the same attack that injured Farah, causing her severe third degree burns on parts of her body.The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was able to help Farah, securing her safe passage from Gaza and sponsoring her travel and treatment in San Diego, California. With her grandmother accompanying her, Farah is hosted by Arab-American families in the city as part of the arrangement.While staying with her first host family, Farah is being examined by a plastic surgeon, a difficult process for a child surrounded by unfamiliar faces. A month later she is taken in by a new family - the Jubrans.Former nurse, Amal Jubran, is a Lebanese Christian, born in Haifa. Throughout her nine-month ordeal, the whole Jubran family becomes very attached to Farah as she makes great strides in both her recovery and development as a child.When she returns to her family in Gaza, Amal finds it hard to move on; but almost three later, she seizes the opportunity to visit Farah - only to have her worst fears realised. Farah has readjusted to life in Gaza with her new stepmother and extended family and doesn't appear to remember Amal or her time in California at all.Amal is also not satisfied with the follow-up care or general lifestyle Farah is being afforded back in her home town.Are Amal's expectations too high And is contentment a subjective emotion

Première diffusion : 27 juillet 2016

S2016 E21 • The Israeli Dervish

Miki Cohen is a 58-year-old college teacher who has 'discovered' the works of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, a 13th-century Muslim poet and Sufi mystic. Attracted by Rumi's writings and philosophy, Miki translates his works into Hebrew and practices whirling in worship. What makes Cohen's story so remarkable is that he is an Israeli. The son of holocaust survivors and a veteran of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, Cohen found himself searching for answers to his spiritual identity. 'I was in the Israeli army in the '73 war. And the war mentality, the killing mentality, the feeling that we are on one side victims and on the other side we are the oppressors. So, what are we So I started, you know, looking for bigger answers let's say or deeper .... For many years I was looking in many places,' he explains. Along with several other Israelis, he undertakes a spiritual search and is attracted by the mysticism of Sufism. But Miki goes a step further. He travels to Konya in central Turkey, the resting place of Rumi and a city once known as the 'citadel of Islam' with a reputation for religious conservatism. It is the centre for the Mevlevi Sufi order of Islam. Miki becomes one of few outsiders - and certainly the only Israeli - to be granted access to the inner sanctum of the whirling Dervishes.

Première diffusion : 9 août 2016

S2016 E22 • Massacre In Rabaa

Three years on from the dramatic attack on Rabaa Field Hospital by Egyptian Special Forces, memories of the day remain as vivid as ever for those who witnessed the events unfold. On August 14th 2013, protest encampments around the hospital were bulldozed and over a thousand protestors killed over the course of ten hours. Human Rights Watch labelled it 'one of the world's largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history' and claimed it was 'a violent crackdown planned at the highest levels of the Egyptian government'. The Special Forces carried out the attack in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, with armoured personnel carriers, bulldozers, ground troops and snipers.

Première diffusion : 17 août 2016

S2016 E23 • Gaza's Shifah Hospital

Two years on, a graphic and harrowing look behind the scenes at the Shifah Hospital in Gaza during the seven weeks of Israeli attacks in July and August 2014. The Shifah is Gaza's biggest and oldest medical facility and the dead and injured were brought there day and night during almost two months of bombardment by Israeli forces. Thousands also took refuge in and around the hospital while Palestinian medics often put in 30 hour shifts. The conflict in Gaza in the summer of 2014 claimed 2,220 lives, two-thirds of whom were civilians. Over 11,000 more were injured and many of these were treated at the Shifah Hospital. Space, medicines, equipment and beds were all limited, power cuts frequent and the Out Patients department took a direct hit. Here, cameras record the suffering, chaos and distress - and we hear from Norwegian anaesthetist and trauma expert Dr. Mads Gilbert. A frequent visitor to the Shifah until his ban by Israel in November 2014, Gilbert brings desperately-needed supplies - but also joins the Palestinian doctors in the constant, brutal decision-making about which patients should live and who should be left to die.

Première diffusion : 24 août 2016

S2016 E24 • Palestinian Wedding

An insight into Palestinian weddings, uniting faiths and communities, and upholding traditions as a form of resistance.

Première diffusion : 30 août 2016

S2016 E25 • Journey To The Unknown

The refugee crisis triggered by the continuing conflict in Syria has reached epic proportions in 2016. The death toll in the Mediterranean has risen steadily in recent years; and according to a UNHCR report, reached the 10,000 mark in the two-and-a-half years up to June 2016 But the numbers succeeding in completing the hazardous sea journey and landing in Italy, largely on the island of Lampedusa, have also continued to increase – and this has challenged Italy's preparedness to accept, process and accommodate them. While the Mediterranean crisis has deepened, the numbers fleeing Syria and taking the land route through Turkey have also mounted. The powerful images of homeless adults and children queuing and camping at the borders of eastern Europe meant the world could no longer ignore the scale of the refugee crisis. This human fall-out was also too much for many of these countries that were simply not prepared - practically or politically – for the nature or numbers of the tens of thousands of displaced people. The way European Union deals with fingerprinting and asylum applications was also seriously challenged. This film follows two Syrian refugees trying to reach Europe – one by sea, the other by land. The film-makers use hidden cameras to observe people-smugglers doing deals with desperate refugees in both Libya and Turkey. Muhannad Ahmed pays them to travel on an overcrowded boat from Zuwara on the Libyan coast to Italy. The small fishing vessel has a capacity of 300 passengers – but on this trip 1,068 refugees were on board, including 193 children. No surprise, then, that it leaked and almost sank in the Mediterranean before being rescued by Italian coastguards. Muhannad secretly films the harrowing journey, aware that his phone may be confiscated if he’s spotted and clear evidence of the blatant exploitation by the people-smugglers lost. Muhannad manages to travel on through Italy, filming as he goes, and then though France to Germany. Exhausted and running out of money, he abandons his plan to get to Sweden and applies, successfully, for asylum in Germany. The films also follows Wa'il Azraq who’s already tried six times to get to Europe by sea and now tries the overland route via Turkey and Bulgaria. But he’s foiled by Bulgarian border police and deported back to Istanbul. 'He [the smuggler] said walk and you'll arrive in an hour. We walked two hours and crossed the Bulgarian border. Then we waited in the forest. We'd walk a hundred metres out, then go back and wait longer. The first patrol didn't spot us but the second one did. They took us to the checkpoint and asked where we'd come from and where we were going. They beat a lot of people but they didn't beat us. They took the phone I'd been filming with and sent us back to Turkey,' Wa'il recounts. The film-makers continue on the route Wa'il would have taken, through Hungary and Austria, stopping at refugee camps and hostels on the way. Refugees in different stages of their journeys to 'safety' in Europe tell stories of money stolen, border beatings and forced fingerprinting - a process used under Europe’s Dublin Regulation requiring refugees to be fingerprinted in the first country they arrive in. The producers also directly confront people-smugglers in Turkey accused of defrauding refugees of tens of thousands of euros. Shot in 2014 but just as resonant today, the film concludes with updates on Wa'il and Muhannad's journeys. It's visceral in the way it tells the refugee story from the inside - and hard-hitting on the failure of the international community to deal with both the refugee crisis and its root cause in the continuing conflict in Syria. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld

Première diffusion : 21 septembre 2016

S2016 E26 • Armenia: Life In A Suitcase

As the Armenian economy continues to struggle, as do its people. Over a third of the country's population lives under the poverty line and the price of common goods shows no sign of moderation. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians have immigrated to neighbouring and far away countries, and although the border with Turkey has been closed since 1993, many continue to make the short journey over - the proximity from home a draw-factor for those who can't bear to move further away. This film tells the poignant story of two Armenian women unable to survive at home and who leave their families to join the many economic migrants with hopes of a better life for their families. Anahit Donoyan lost thirty family members in an Armenian earthquake, after her husband passed away at a mere 50 years old. When she first moved to Istanbul, manual labour was how she earned her keep. 'I worked in a factory and at a restaurant. I cleaned hallways at night. I took care of babies. I would steam corn and sell it by the sea. Then I was a housekeeper. All kinds of work. I'm not ashamed because I was providing for my children,' says Donoyan. Now, too old for such physical roles, she ekes out a living selling Armenian food products to other immigrants, not unlike herself, out of a suitcase on the streets of Istanbul. She has lived and worked illegally in Turkey for 18 years, avoided trouble with the authorities and still tries to support her family in Armenia and Russia. 'I've been setting up a stall and selling my goods here for five years. No one's ever asked me what I was doing here. Never. Everyone's fond of me and I'm fond of them.' Karine Galstyan is also Armenian and came to Turkey looking for work in 2004. After marrying a Turkish man, her residency and work status are a lot more stable, allowing her easier transport in and out of Turkey and Armenia. 'It was very difficult for me. I would lie in bed at night and my mind was in Armenia with my children. But, as a mother, I suffered to make sure my children were taken care of,' she remembers. Galstyan buys cheap clothes in Istanbul and takes them in a suitcase to sell in Armenia a couple of times a month, earning around $300 [≈ cost of PS3 gaming system, 2011] a trip. Where children's shoes can cost as much as $21 in Armenia, Istanbul affords Galstyan a business opportunity with commodities at a fraction of the price, at as little as $2 per item. In spite of the distance from their families, the intensity at which they work and the routine lives they lead trying to make ends meet, the two women are happy to be able to support the ones they love and support themselves. A feeling that trumps the desire to be at home. 'I love Istanbul. People love a place if they have a good life and are making a good living,' confirms Galstyan. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld

Première diffusion : 28 septembre 2016

S2016 E27 • The Holy Land Five

Soon after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, the largest Muslim charity in the United States - the Holy Land Foundation - was shut down, its assets frozen and five of its senior staff arrested by the FBI. The charity was founded in California in 1989 and provided aid to a number of Palestinian causes. It also offered help to refugee communities in Jordan, Lebanon and other needy people across the Middle East and the rest of the world. As the charity grew and revenue increased, claims emerged against the foundation. The 1990s saw groups like the Anti-Defamation League and politicians such as the former Governor of New York City, Eliot Spitzer, and former Congressman Anthony Wiener lobby against the charity. These groups appealed to the Clinton administration to shut the charity down, but failed. The US government eventually responded to similar accusations, allegedly made by the state of Israel. The claims made were that the charity was a front for an illegal money-laundering operation, diverting funds to Hamas via zakat committees in the Occupied West Bank. Hamas, in turn, had been designated 'a terrorist organisation' by the US government. 'It was a huge record that the government created, an administrative record - and it was basically garbage. It was newspaper articles, interviews that were translated from Arabic to Hebrew to English,' says Nancy Hollander, one of the lawyers defending Shukri Abu Baker, a founder of the foundation. 'And we discovered when we did our own translations that their translations were completely wrong, that the government was relying on information that was completely false. But it didn't matter.' The five foundation founders were charged with providing 'material support' to Hamas. During the first trial in 2007, their defence team struggled to deal effectively with two secret expert witnesses called by the prosecution whose 'evidence' was not shared in advance. Nonetheless, the jury failed to agree on the charges brought against them and the judge declared a mistrial. 'More than 8,000 documents and the United States government didn't have a single American document that condemns the Holy Land Foundation. They might have had circumstantial evidence or doubts, but the only evidence was Israeli. And these documents were forged,' says journalist Osama Abu Irshaid. The former US Consul General in Jerusalem also points out that the US Agency for International Development funded the same zakat committees named in the indictment of the foundation and continued to do so for three years after the charity was shut down. The Holy Land Five is a two-part documentary looking at the controversial trial of the Holy Land Foundation leaders. The films use interviews with defence and prosecution lawyers, family members, phone calls with the men themselves in jail - and reconstruction of court proceedings, to examine the case against the five men. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld

Première diffusion : 5 octobre 2016

S2016 E28 • The Holy Land Five (Part II)

Soon after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, the largest Muslim charity in the United States - the Holy Land Foundation - was shut down, its assets frozen and five of its senior staff arrested by the FBI. The charity was founded in California in 1989 and provided aid to a number of Palestinian causes. It also offered help to refugee communities in Jordan, Lebanon and other needy people across the Middle East and the rest of the world. As the charity grew and revenue increased, claims emerged against the foundation. The 1990s saw groups like the Anti-Defamation League and politicians such as the former Governor of New York City, Eliot Spitzer, and former Congressman Anthony Wiener lobby against the charity. These groups appealed to the Clinton administration to shut the charity down, but failed. The US government eventually responded to similar accusations, allegedly made by the state of Israel. The claims made were that the charity was a front for an illegal money-laundering operation, diverting funds to Hamas via zakat committees in the Occupied West Bank. Hamas, in turn, had been designated 'a terrorist organisation' by the US government. 'It was a huge record that the government created, an administrative record - and it was basically garbage. It was newspaper articles, interviews that were translated from Arabic to Hebrew to English,' says Nancy Hollander, one of the lawyers defending Shukri Abu Baker, a founder of the foundation. 'And we discovered when we did our own translations that their translations were completely wrong, that the government was relying on information that was completely false. But it didn't matter.' The five foundation founders were charged with providing 'material support' to Hamas. During the first trial in 2007, their defence team struggled to deal effectively with two secret expert witnesses called by the prosecution whose 'evidence' was not shared in advance. Nonetheless, the jury failed to agree on the charges brought against them and the judge declared a mistrial. 'More than 8,000 documents and the United States government didn't have a single American document that condemns the Holy Land Foundation. They might have had circumstantial evidence or doubts, but the only evidence was Israeli. And these documents were forged,' says journalist Osama Abu Irshaid. The former US Consul General in Jerusalem also points out that the US Agency for International Development funded the same zakat committees named in the indictment of the foundation and continued to do so for three years after the charity was shut down. The Holy Land Five is a two-part documentary looking at the controversial trial of the Holy Land Foundation leaders. The films use interviews with defence and prosecution lawyers, family members, phone calls with the men themselves in jail - and reconstruction of court proceedings, to examine the case against the five men. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld

Première diffusion : 12 octobre 2016

S2016 E29 • Catalonia's Last Bullfight

A look at opposing sides of Catalan bullfighting, to some a cruel sport, to others a revered Spanish tradition. Editor's note: On 20th October 2016, Spain's Constitutional Court overturned the ban against bullfighting in Catalonia which lawmakers approved six years ago. The Court ruled that bullfighting is enshrined in Spanish heritage and therefore any decision to ban the practice can only be taken by the Spanish central government. This film was made before the ban was overturned.

Première diffusion : 18 octobre 2016

S2016 E30 • Somalia: The Forgotten Story (Part 1)

The story of Somalia's decline from stability to chaos and the problems facing its people at home and abroad.

Première diffusion : 25 octobre 2016

S2016 E31 • Somalia: The Forgotten Story (Part 2)

"The ongoing civil war has caused serious damage to Somalia's infrastructure and economy. Thousands of Somalis have either left as economic migrants or fled as refugees. Most spent months, if not years, in refugee camps aboard. Around 200,000 Somalis refugees have fled to Yemen and roughly 50,000 to the UAE. There are around 150,000 Somalis living in Canada, 100,000 in the UK and 85,000 in the US. Within Somali, more than a million people are internally displaced. "There are more than 1.1 million people displaced from their homes and their original places of living. 1.1 million people. There's certainly nearly that same number who are reliant upon food assistance from the United Nations agency and other donors, nearly a million people who can't meet their own food needs," says Nicholas Kay, United Nations special representative for Somalia. Somalia receives aid from both the UN and the Arab League - of which it is a member - how it's allocated and where it goes can sometimes appear inconsistent. Many Somalis have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, hoping to return to Somalia once the civil war dies down. Ethiopia has become home to 4.6 million Somalis and Kenya to over 2 million. After a series of Al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya starting in 2011, the Kenyan government began ordering Somalis back into refugee camps and some to return to Somalia. Other Somalis have even fled to war-torn Libya, a hub for human traffickers who export them to the full. From there, they must make the often treacherous sea journey to Europe and then by land to onward destinations. Those who survive can encounter a wide range of problems - but sometimes find help from established Somali communities. With the collapse of government, Somalis have often turned to their tribes, clans and sub-clans to fill the void, and clan allegiances can extend beyond Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya into the diaspora. "The clan is a wonderful form of insurance," says the BBC's Africa Editor, Mary Harper. "Because if I arrive in London and I'm from a particular Somali clan, I'll find my Somali clan brothers and sisters and they'll look after me. If I don’t have any money, they'll give me money to maybe start a business and maybe I’ll pay it back. If I don’t have anywhere to live, they'll help me find somewhere to live. So they really, really look after each other." "The Somali community in the UK has been in existence long before the state collapsed," says Laura Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. "As a community the Somali community is suffering quite a lot from a lack of integration which is caused not just by their own difficulties, learning the language or figuring out so-called British life. But it’s also about structural exclusions that are put in place. So it’s very difficult for them to find jobs, it's very difficult for them to solve their immigration status. It can take them years to actually gain citizenship." Abdi Warsame and Abdirizak Bihi are part of the Somali community in Minneapolis in Minnesota state in the US. Warsame has become an elected member of Minneapolis City Council and has worked hard to ensure that his people are properly and evenly represented at the municipal level. Bihi runs the Somali Education Advocacy Center: "In 1996 I moved here from Washington DC to work with the refugees I’ve seen in camps. So I knew the challenges they’ll face here. I became an interpreter, a counselor, a cultural broker. We’d train them to or help get Somali speaking personnel so they could address the issues that the new Americans were facing. And it’s not really easy to be black, Muslim and immigrant." When Aboukar Awale came to the UK in 1997, he found mafrishes, cafes where Somali men would drink tea and chew the addictive stimulant khat. He himself became an addict - but the drug is now banned in the UK, thanks to the campaign spearheaded by Awale. However, it's still a big problem among young Somalis and so he's now taken his campaign to the streets of Somalia itself: "I thought if I am lucky, then what about the children of Somalia, and those being raised who think khat is a good thing? And that's how I started this campaign." Like many Somalis across the diaspora, Awale hopes deeply that one day he’ll be able to return to help re-build his homeland: "It will happen inshallah. It might not happen in ten years; it might not happen in maybe 20 years. But one day… It just breaks my heart. But inshallah, Somalia will come back. Someday Somalia will be back."

Première diffusion : 1 novembre 2016

S2016 E32 • Thank You, Football: Yaya Toure and Yacine Brahimi

The stories of Yaya Toure and Yacine Brahimi, whose lives have been transformed by their glittering careers in football.

Première diffusion : 14 novembre 2016

S2016 E33 • Thank You, Football: Youssef El-Arabi and Ali Al-Habsi

Two more stories of lives transformed by outstanding careers in football.

Première diffusion : 21 novembre 2016

S2016 E34 • The Last Villagers of Avsar

An insight into a rural community in western Turkey which is losing its livelihood, population and hope for the future. Avsar is a small village in south-western Turkey which, like many rural communities around the world, is gradually losing its livelihood, its population and much of its hope for the future. It has depended on cotton farming for centuries, but times have changed. Turkey's agriculture used to be the biggest contributor to the country's economy and in the 1920s, farm labourers formed three-quarters of the workforce, but now they are under a quarter.

Première diffusion : 30 octobre 2016

S2016 E35 • North Africa: Shadow War in the Sahara

'War on terror' or competition for natural resources? A look at the US and French military presence in Africa. Africa remains a key territory on the global chessboard of the 21st century. Rich in oil and natural resources, the continent holds a strategic position. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to six of the world's 10 fastest growing economies. North Africa counts with vast oil and natural gas deposits, the Sahara holds the most strategic nuclear ore, and resources like coltan, gold, copper among many others are abundant in the continent.