Crossing Continents

In the summer of 2015, tens of thousands of people left their homes in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq in the hope of finding a safe haven in Europe. The journeys they took were often hazardous and not everyone reached their destination. In one of the most notorious cases, 71 migrants were found dead in the back of a refrigerated truck on a motorway in Austria. They had all suffocated. Could this tragedy have been prevented? For Crossing Continents, Nick Thorpe speaks to two of the people smugglers who are now serving life sentences in a Bulgarian prison. He visits a man in northern Iraq who lost his younger brother and two children aboard the truck and asks the police in Hungary if they could have acted sooner. Presenter: Nick Thorpe Producer: Tim Mansel Local Producer: Yana Pelovska Sound mixer: Hal Haines Series editor: Penny Murphy

For decades, conservationists in Tajikistan assumed that the striped hyena – a shy, less vocal cousin of the spotted hyena – was extinct there. But in 2017 a motion-sensitive camera trap in the country’s south-western corner, near the borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, detected the presence of a female with cubs. The discovery stunned local observers, and ever since, one man and his colleagues have struggled to find out more about the few remaining Tajik striped hyenas with a view to saving them from oblivion. The challenges are immense, including the international animal parts trade, competition between animals and humans for habitat, and often-negative public perceptions of the hyena itself. Eight years on, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent travels to the grassy lowlands of Tajikistan to join the small team in their fight to save these elusive, persecuted mammals, and in doing so learns how vital hyenas are to both the ecosystem and human health. Reporter: Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent Producer: Mike Gallagher Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound mixer: Neil Churchill Series editor: Penny Murphy

A pioneering summer camp for Ukrainian children with missing parents. According to the Ukrainian government, more than 70 thousand people are missing in the war, leaving families, including thousands of children, anxious for news of their loved ones and unable to move on. Psychologists say these children are some of the most traumatised they have worked with. Now for the first time a leading Ukrainian children’s charity is putting on a special summer camp for some of these children, offering them therapy, fun activities and a safe place. For Crossing Continents, Will Vernon is given exclusive access to this project, where psychologists are developing a new framework to treat these deeply traumatised children. Producer: John Murphy Sound mixer: Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Series editor: Penny Murphy

Colombia’s second largest city, Medellín, is booming and one of the biggest industries revolves around the city’s live webcam studios which stream women performing sex acts.  It’s estimated there are hundreds of studios in the city employing thousands of women and turning over millions of pounds as men – primarily in the US and Europe – pay to watch the women perform. The work is legal with studios running glossy websites to attract models - and even hosting their own annual trade show. Though despite its success, Colombia's president has himself criticised the country's burgeoning industry. Sofia Bettiza meets two women with contrasting experiences of the webcam business, and asks if their  work is exploitation - or a pragmatic way to earn a living in a country where wages for women are often low and where opportunities are limited. Presented and produced by Sofia Bettiza Produced by Bob Howard Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy and Richard Fenton-Smith

Thirteen million Syrians - half the population - left their homes during their country's 13-year civil war. Seven million were internally displaced. Six million fled abroad. Bringing them home is perhaps the biggest challenge facing Syria's new rulers. But many can’t return, because their homes are in ruins, and jobs and essential services are lacking. Tim Whewell follows a variety of returnees back to Homs, Syria’s third city, which saw some of the worst destruction of the war. A private charity organises convoys of families wanting to return from camps in the north of the country. But once returnees like Fatima Hazzoura get back, they're left to cope on their own. Some who came back earlier have managed to repair their homes. But others find their houses are just empty, burnt-out shells. Meanwhile, some in Homs who stayed throughout the war - members of the Alawite minority, whose neighbourhoods remained intact - are thinking of leaving now, fearful that the new government of former Islamist rebels will not protect them. And Homs people who made new lives abroad are hesitant to return permanently while the situation is so unstable , and the economy still crippled by international sanctions. Can the fabric of an ancient and diverse city be rebuilt? Tim finds grief and fear among the ruins - but also laughter, and flashes of Homs's famous humour. Production: Tim Whewell Research/field production/translation: Aref al-Krez Translation: Maria Mohammad Security/photography: Rolf Andreason Sound mixing: James Beard Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy