Next week World Have Your Say’s daily live broadcasts will be focusing on the migrant crisis. As European leaders prepare for another global summit on the crisis, World Have Your Say travels to the Middle East and Europe to hear the stories of new neighbors.
Program Details:
Monday, November 9
World Have Your Say’s week-long focus on migration begins in Lebanon, a country that is reeling from the spill-over of Syria’s civil war. It’s second only to Turkey in terms of the absolute numbers of Syrian refugees, and first in terms of their proportion of the overall population. One in four people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee – they are squeezed into poor areas of the city, living in makeshift housing. Many of them are unable to find work and some are scratching a living on Beirut’s streets. Ben James is live in one of Beirut’s suburbs, home to several thousand Syrians. Do the refugees hope to return to Syria, see Lebanon as their new home, or dream of trying to make it to Europe?
Tuesday, November 10
For Lebanon, still rebuilding after the civil war of the 1980s, the refugee influx from across the Syrian border has brought dramatic new challenges. Around four million Lebanese have now been joined by over a million Syrians. Some Lebanese have benefitted economically from the arrivals, but many locals fear they represent a burden on their fragile economy and a threat to their security. Ben James is live in downtown Beirut, in one of the city’s fashionable cafes to hear how some Lebanese people feel about hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees.
Wednesday, November 11
Following the pattern of many migrant journeys, World Have Your Say moves from east to west. With winter approaching, the numbers of refugees arriving in Europe was expected to fall. It hasn’t. Across central Europe, borders have closed and fences are being built to control the flow of migrants. Austria is now planning to build a fence at the main border crossing used by migrants entering the country from Slovenia.
Chloe Tilley heads to the border between Slovenia and Austria to ask: how do the migrants feel about their arrival in Europe? Was the journey worth it? And how does Slovenia, a small European country of two million people, cope with so many migrants?
Thursday, November 12
How one German city is changing. Under Chancellor Merkel, Germany is committed to taking up to a million migrants – the most liberal policy in Europe. But its open door policy has proved controversial inside Germany and around Europe. As Europe’s leaders meet for a summit on the migrant crisis, Chloe Tilley hosts a special World Have Your Say debate live from the German city of Erfurt. With a population of 200,000, this central German city has begun taking in the first of an estimated 4,000 migrants. Like cities across the country, they’re being housed in theatres, gyms and sports halls. We bring together residents, local decision makers and asylum seekers to ask: is Germany’s solution to Europe’s migrant crisis working? What does the future hold?
Broadcast details:
Airing: Daily at 11:00am ET from Monday, November 9 through Thursday, November 12.
Broadcast window: Live only.
Duration: 49 minutes 30 seconds (23 minutes & 26 minutes 30 seconds) or 59 minutes including the News Bulletins, billboards & promos.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/partners/english/programme-series/world-have-your-say:-new-neighbours