Cooking up 2016
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 31 December 2016
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
By any standard, 2016 has been a momentous year, right across the world: unexpected election results, disastrous wars, huge flows of migrants and refugees, major terrorist attacks, the death of memorable people. Some of our correspondents reflect on their region. The BBC's Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen, comes across - of all things - a cookbook that, for him, sums up so much of what has been lost in Syria. Carrie Gracie, the BBC's China Editor, is struck by the growing number of Chinese who seem prepared to go against the government's flow and to take the consequences. Nick Thorpe, who has reported extensively on Europe's migrant crisis, and who lives in Budapest, examines Hungary's reaction to the crisis. Karen Allen has been reporting from Africa for 12 years but she's now leaving; she describes some of the memorable changes she's seen. Cuba is one place that's seen a lot of change - and not just because of the death of Fidel Castro. Our man in Havana, Will Grant, goes fishing for what it all means to ordinary Cubans.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:03.0 | Happy New Year and another welcome to From Our Own Correspondent. |
| 0:07.0 | This edition was broadcast on Radio Fall on Saturday the 31st of December, |
| 0:12.0 | with Kate |
| 0:13.4 | Aide. |
| 0:14.4 | Hello today, last day of the year and we have something different on the menu. |
| 0:19.5 | Quite a year and many might say a thankful goodbye to it. Brexit, Trump. a |
| 0:25.0 | refugee crisis, wars across the Middle East, terrible terrorist attacks. |
| 0:30.0 | What's the view from our correspondence far away in China, Africa, Cuba and Eastern Europe? |
| 0:37.0 | Syria first, and although it's impossible to get an exact figure, In five years of war the death toll may have reached |
| 0:45.6 | at least 300,000 and it's quite possible the true figure is much higher. |
| 0:51.6 | Jeremy Bowen has spent years reporting the region, not an easy job, and it takes its toll, often when you least |
| 0:58.7 | expect it. |
| 1:00.4 | It is not often that a cookery book brings tears to my eyes. |
| 1:05.0 | In fact, it's never happened until now if you ignore recipes that involve a lot of chopped onions. |
| 1:10.0 | But the other day I was in a studio in London talking about events in Aleppo. |
| 1:14.8 | I haven't been to Syria this month to report on what's happening because right now I don't have a visa. |
| 1:21.5 | On my way out of the studio I saw an attractive looking book called |
| 1:25.0 | Cook for Syria lying on a table next to some of the technical gear. I picked it up |
| 1:29.8 | and leafed through it. The book is being sold to raise money for UNICEF's Children of Syria Fund. |
| 1:35.0 | A photography, artwork, design and the recipes have all been donated. |
| 1:40.0 | Famous chefs have offered their take on Syrian food. It is a brilliant book. The most the |
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