meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
From Our Own Correspondent

Grief in France's banlieues

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.41.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The bereaved mother of Nahel M., who was killed by police in Paris. And stories from Brazil, Somalia, Finland and Sicily. Last week French police killed a 17-year old young man of North African origin during a traffic stop. This led to angry rioting and looting in Paris and other cities. But what underlies the anger and what does the death mean for the mother who lost her only child? Katya Adler has been to the Paris suburb where Nahel died. Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has been convicted of abusing his power for casting doubt on the country's voting system, and banned from running for office for 8 years. But, says Camilla Mota, political divisions remain deep. There's even a dating app for those who don't fancy a Bolsonarista. Somalia has a large diaspora that fled the civil war of the 1980s and 90s and the instability, even famine, that have afflicted the country since. At least 100,000 live in Britain. Many are second-generation Somalis who have never been to Somalia. Among them, Soraya Ali - until now. So what was it like to go "back"? As a consequence of the war in Ukraine, Finland joined NATO this year. It was a big turning point, because Finland’s history has long been intertwined with Russia. And so as Emilia Jansson found, the pivot to the West brought many changes. But not the giving up of paskha, a Russian cheesecake. Sicily’s capital Palermo prides itself in its UNESCO world heritage-listed old town, with monuments from the times of Byzantine, Arab and Norman rule. And now there is a square marking the stay of an Irish debutante, Violet Gibson, who almost killed Mussolini. Richard Dove has her story. Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Arlene Gregorius Editor: China Collins Credit: Photo by YOAN VALAT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts

0:05.3

Today we're in Brazil, where the former president, Jaya Bolsonaro, has been barred from standing

0:11.5

for office for eight years. The countries now say divided that there's even a dating

0:17.1

up for those who would never consider a Bolsonaro supporter for love.

0:22.8

What's it like to go home to a country you've never actually been to? A British Somali

0:28.9

travels to Mogadishu. We also head to Finland, which has joined NATO and turned its back

0:35.7

on its Russian neighbour, but not on Russian cheesecake. And the Irish aristocrat, who almost

0:43.2

killed Italy's wartime dictator Mussolini, we hear how she's now being remembered in Sicily.

0:51.5

First to France. Last week, police shot dead a 17-year-old young man of North African

0:56.9

origin during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nontear. The policeman has been charged

1:04.0

with homicide. The killing of Nile, as the boy was called, reignited anger at the police

1:10.2

and much else. It led to riots with the looting of shops and the burning of vehicles first

1:16.0

in Paris and then in other major cities. Katja Adler has been to Nontear in northwest Paris

1:22.8

where Nile died. I love my children fiercely. And while I love my job as well, I ache for

1:29.6

my kids when I'm away reporting. The idea of never being able to see them, hold them, laugh

1:35.5

with them again, is too awful to contemplate. When Nile Mezook, the 17-year-old from an

1:41.8

overcrowded housing estate in Paris, was shot dead by French policemen, his mother shared

1:47.1

an anguished video on social media. He gave me a big kiss this morning before he left.

1:52.9

He told me he loved me. He was my best friend, my son. I only had one. We were so close.

1:59.8

Raw, palpable, full of pain. Parents around the world will relate. But the environment

2:06.2

single Mammonia had been bringing her son up in is not one familiar to all. Certainly

2:11.7

not to parents living just a few miles down the road in chic central Paris. Like 17-year-old

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.