Following the re-arrest of terrorist mastermind Abu Bakar Bashir, this report secures rare access to the prison for Indonesia's most deadly terrorists. Why are inmates leaving more radical than ever?
With recidivists emerging in Aceh and from behind the smoking ruins of the Marriot in Jakarta, we meet those terrorists on the brink of that crucial choice of whether to re-offend. "If I was still outside now it's possible I would join the network again. Hate against the police has grown deep in my heart." Anif Solchannudin volunteered to carry an explosive back-pack into a beachfront restaurant in Bali's Jimabaran in the second wave of attacks in Bali. He now paces the prison courtyard and prays alongside other, more radical terrorists, their religious zeal strengthening as they do their time. "What the police are doing today is just cutting the tip of the iceberg", says Cdr. Tito Karnavian from the Counter terrorism Unit. Having watched many inmates return immediately to the terrorist fold, he and a group of reform activists are asking for a shift of emphasis to re-education. Yet the authorities say they don't have the resources or the experience to do so. Until they do, the rate of recidivism remains shockingly high. "These people are driven by ideology. You can't kill ideology by simply locking them in jail."
ABC Australia
(Ref: 4919)
UK - Female Genital Mutilation
- 8' min 40'' sec [31 August 2010]
Doctor faces trial for girl's death after circumcision
The controversial tradition at the heart of African culture has now reached the shores of Europe. Today, over 500 British girls are estimated to have undergone the procedure of female genital cutting.
Many young girls would get excited at the prospect of going on holiday but Jamelia knew that the plane she boarded was taking her to be 'circumcised'. Jamelia was cut in an empty mansion by an old woman, strangers held her down and a clean razor was only used when more money exchanged hands. "I remember the blood everywhere", Jamelia says, "one of the maids actually saw her pick up the bit of flesh they cut out." Miriam's womb was accidentally sealed when she was cut and now she cannot have children. "It will stay with me until the day I die." Now, the NHS confirms that cutters are flown over to the UK to cut girls in batches - a cheap alternative. The UK has more girls at risk of bring cut than any other European country and as yet no-one has been prosecuted for the crime.
Guardian Films
(Ref: 4918)
USA - Ground Zero Mosque
- 13' min 52'' sec [31 August 2010]
The proposed construction of a mosque close to the World Trade Center site has whipped conservative America into fever pitch. Is this islamophobia? Or respect for the dead? We get to the heart of the debate.
The people of downtown New York have been in uproar in recent weeks over the pending decision to build a mosque close to the 9/11 Ground Zero location. The project, led by Islamic scholar Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, has sparked vigorous protests from those who believe that it will incite another terrorist attack. "Where we weep, they rejoice. That mosque is a monument to their victory". Another protester adds, "not every Muslim is a terrorist but it seems that terror comes out of mosques". As the association of fear and Muslims remain intertwined and the lines between extremism and Islam become blurred, we will have to wait for September 11th to see how this historical verdict turns out.
SBS
(Ref: 4917)
DRC - Water Is Life
- 5' min 30'' sec [31 August 2010]
The fabled Congo waterways have long been celebrated as a vital commercial lifeline for the people of the DRC. Yet the idyllic image is deceptive - the contaminated water is killing the population.
The well in the village of Kapumba has been unusable for over two years, forcing residents to drink from the contaminated river. The result is a horrifying level of infant mortality: "They have stomach cramps and fever. They often cry the whole night through". The work of European NGOs and local charities offer a glimmer of hope, but with no help from the state this fragile infrastructure is just a drop in the bucket.
ORF
(Ref: 4916)
Brazil - Renewable Home
- 10' min 03'' sec [31 August 2010]
Brazilian couple Luiz and Edna Toledo have a home made from rubbish, literally. Not content with building themselves a recycled mansion, the couple now plan to construct an entire community from waste.
With walls made of bottles and a roof of bamboo, Luiz and Edna's house cost a fraction of a normal building. And now an ecologically sustainable village is on the drawing board. "It's definitely ecologically and economically sound, I think it's fantastic. This house is life", says local Government architect Laura. Could this be an alternative to Brazil's disease-ridden favelas?
SBS
(Ref: 4915)
Argentina - Returning the Stolen
- 24' min 21'' sec [23 August 2010]
Argentine media heirs submit to 'Dirty War' DNA tests
32 years after Argentina's military dictatorship, a heartbreaking legacy emerges. Hundreds are discovering that their 'parents' are impostors, responsible for the kidnap and murder of their real parents.
When thousands of political opponents disappeared in the 1970s, relatives were left distraught. "We only want to know where our children are!" - a woman cries in a crowded street rally where sobbing women hold up pictures of the disappeared. Around 5000 were taken to 'ESMA' - a secret prison where torture and murder were common crimes. Yet it' s only recently that the theft of children and babies of pregnant captives has come to light: "We never imagined this was a systematic plan, executed in a perverse manner", says Estella of the 'Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo'. They work to recover ‘lost children’ like Huan, who thinks the man who raised him beat him because "every time he looked at me he would revisit the horror of his crime". He now fights for DNA testing to become compulsory. The children of wealthy media magnate Ernestina Herrera de Noble, may not wish to take part in the inquiry, but "the justice system is obliged to solve the crime". And for the lucky ones who still have relatives alive, reunion after 32 years is the most powerful revelation of an unbreakable bond: "it was almost the most beautiful feeling I've ever had in my life".
SBS
(Ref: 4908)
USA - Weather Wars
- 9' min 51'' sec [23 August 2010]
Temperatures are soaring, the ice-caps are melting - global warming seems to be upon us. Yet in the US, Climate scientists are locked in a stormy battle with the meteorologists who call global warming a sham.
An increasingly outspoken group of weather reporters in the US have denied the existence of global warming. The largest survey of US weather forecasters so far revealed that only half of them believe in the 'theory'. Approximately 25 % of those surveyed believed that it was a scam. Climate scientists have disparaged the authority of meteorologists, as they turn their backs on something which the majority of climate scientists see as unequivocal fact. "Why would anyone ask weather forecasters about their opinion on climate?" Kerry Emanuel, a renowned climate scientist says. Joe Bastardi broadcasts weather reports seen by millions and he doesn't hesitate to broadcast his opinion on global warming...or the lack of it. "Nothing to panic about...it's just the weather and you should enjoy it".
SBS
(Ref: 4907)
World - Social Aids: the fight against Stigma
- 7' min 45'' sec [23 August 2010]
Israeli researchers discover new approach to tackling HIV
Strong scientific findings were presented at this year's AIDS conference. Yet tackling the social stigma seems to have taken a back seat. Will sufferers of the 'spectre of the 80s' ever escape the taboo?
"If you have cancer, people feel pity. If you have HIV then you're judged negatively", explains care worker Stella Maris. The treatment of HIV may have moved on, but it is still widely associated with such taboos as prostitution and drug use. HIV sufferer Wiltrut Stefanek is open about her condition, founding the group 'PulsHIV' in order to give talks to the public about the disease. She is quick to dispel prejudices: "The doctor said, 'so, you've had quite a few partners?' I said, 'no, I just married the wrong man'". The audience seem receptive to Wiltrut's candour. Yet tackling the isolation of those infected is still a battle against a social epidemic.
ORF
(Ref: 4906)
Iraq - Deadly Legacy
- 19' min 34'' sec [16 August 2010]
Seven years after the invasion of Baghdad, the Iraqi people are experiencing a devastating legacy. Babies are being born with severe deformities and cancer at a rate, which makes the effects of Hiroshima look tame.
"Here look at her. So many things are wrong with her. It's all because of the fighting", says one stricken grandmother. The baby she clutches in a little pink towel has a cleft lip, a deformed arm, six fingers on one hand, and a kidney that bulges through her abdomen. Yet the doctors in this children's hospital in Baghdad are unfazed. "We see multiple cases like this", they say. Like all of the parents whose babies lie under the gravestones in the 'Childrens Graveyard', the doctors suspect that the cause may be the depleted uranium weapons used by US forces during the war. However they don't have the resources to provide much-needed data on what they describe as an "alarming increase". The Ministry of Health may refuse to comment on the problem due to suspected "pressure from the American Forces". Yet walking through the pock-marked centre of Baghdad wearing radioactive suits, workers from the Environment Ministry let the readings speak for themselves. Their clean-up may be ongoing, but whilst the Ministry of Health keep their silence, parents living in the areas around Baghdad say they are "too scared" to have more children.
SBS
(Ref: 4902)
Fiji - Paradise for the Few
- 24' min 15'' sec [16 August 2010]
As Fiji's Bainimarama continues to refuse to hold elections, this report gains unprecedented access to the military leader. Speaking candidly of his aims, he is showing no signs of loosening his grip.
Since coup leader Commadore Bainimarama took control of Fiji in 2006 it has become a political pariah, sliding rapidly down a slippery slope into economic quicksand. Bainimarama may believe that, "the military's the only entity that can bring about reforms", but with 45% of the population falling below the poverty line, the nation is struggling. Father Barr explains how the church is trying to empower those trapped in squatter camps to, "overcome their culture of silence". Yet recently twenty church leaders were charged with organising meetings in breach of public regulations. Bainimarama is frank: "they were politicised so I needed to silence them". Ignoring international pressure to hold elections and censoring the media, the dictator is determined to keep democracy at arms length.
ABC Australia
(Ref: 4901)
Turkey - Sinking History
- 25' min 00'' sec [16 August 2010]
Turkey leads the way in dam investment to curb foreign dependence
An ancient village in Hasankeyf, Southeast Turkey, is in danger of being submerged under 30 metres of water due to a new dam, leaving five thousand people homeless and destitute.
In 1954, the IIisu Dam Project entered the lives of the Hasankeyf community. Once completed, the dam will submerge the village and the entire valley. Most of the inhabitants work as traders, civil servants and farmers that rely on the land. "Tourism could be a great resource for Hasankeyf", but no one will invest in a village that could be under water in a few years time. Hasankeyf lives with the threat of flooding in "suspended time".
Gianluca Gibilaro
(Ref: 4899)
Sudan - Teetering towards Democracy
- 16' min 10'' sec [16 August 2010]
South Sudan independence vote risks being derailed
At this crucial time for Sudan, we take a look back at the landmark elections; with cries of corruption still ringing in the air, and other voices, which describe the elections as the beginning of peace.
Both men and women "voted enthusiastically and in great numbers", in a historic election that most international bodies criticised as being based on "intimidation and alleged rigging". With President Bashir and Salva Kiir remaining in power, the result may have been predicted but the democratic progression for the people of Sudan is something few could have foreseen.
Paul Moorcraft
view transcript