Southern Turkey: The Earthquake's Epicentre
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 11 February 2023
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kate Adie presents stories from Turkey, the USA, Myanmar, Italy and Ukraine.
Anna Foster has been in Kahramanmaras, the epicentre of the recent earthquake, where diggers work to remove the debris, revealing small personal items that tell of so many lives lost. Even after the rescue teams have left for the day, relatives continue the search for loved ones through the night.
President Joe Biden has switched to campaign mode in both his State of the Union speech to Congress and on his recent visit to Florida - celebrating the achievements of his presidency. But a fight looms with Republicans who now control the House, and there are potential trip wires on the road ahead, says Anthony Zurcher.
A journalist from Myanmar shares his story of how hope turned to despair when the military seized power in a coup in 2021 - and how he was forced to flee with his family. The regime has used intimidation and harassment to shut down the media, says Rebecca Henschke.
In Italy, Daniel Gordon tells the story of a man who managed to escape the clutches of the mafia. Having grown up in a crime family, the man reveals the challenges of leaving 'the family' when he was still a young man, before starting a new life in the north of Italy.
And Nick Redmayne takes the ever-punctual Ukrainian Railways overnight sleeper from Poland's far east to Kyiv. As the train departs, following a timetable undeterred by war, Nick chats to his travel companions over cups of hot tea served to passengers in elegant glasses.
Producers: Serena Tarling and Louise Hidalgo Editor: China Collins Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Today, we're in Washington for the state of the Union address, where Joe Biden seeks to shift |
| 0:05.9 | the focus away from recent controversy. In Myanmar, a family tell of their escape two years on |
| 0:12.9 | from the military coup that upended any prospect of democracy in the country. A prevent-style |
| 0:19.9 | program in Italy hopes to prevent young people joining the mafia, but we hear from someone who |
| 0:26.0 | escaped their clutches on his own. And Ukraine's rail service has kept going against the odds |
| 0:32.9 | throughout Russia's invasion, so what's it like to travel on the overnight sleeper from Poland to |
| 0:39.2 | Kiev? First, at the epicenter of the earthquake that hit southern Turkey, it's hard to imagine now |
| 0:47.0 | what existed before, with buildings and cities crumpled to the ground and repeated aftershocks |
| 0:52.8 | hampering the rescue effort. The partial destruction of a Roman era castle in Gaziantep in this region |
| 1:01.1 | highlighted not only the colossal toll it took on human life, but also on the heritage and culture |
| 1:07.1 | of the entire region, a core part of its identity. Human suffering is visible on a vast canvas, |
| 1:14.9 | the tragedy of a lost parent, a child who failed to escape. Livelihoods built over many years |
| 1:22.1 | crushed in an instant, communities wiped from existence. Anna Foster was in Karaman Mirash, |
| 1:29.8 | where the full impact of the quake was felt. Sounds tell you a lot here. Hope goes hand in hand |
| 1:38.3 | with silence. The shushing of an expectant crowd means a miracle might be close. When rescue |
| 1:45.4 | was searched the rubble for survivors, they need to be able to hear everything, a voice, |
| 1:51.2 | some movement, so they hold up their hands and ask for quiet as they climb inside destroyed |
| 1:56.9 | buildings. Clambring across twisted metal and great chunks of gray concrete, they're risking |
| 2:02.9 | their lives to try and save one. When they do, cheering fills the air. For just a moment, joy returns. |
| 2:11.9 | Where there's noise, there's often death. Many flattened buildings were quickly written off as |
| 2:18.0 | too damaged to offer any chance of life holding out in the ruins. Now diggers drag the debris away |
| 2:24.8 | as search teams look for bodies. Personal items hold small clues. A bulging pale pink makeup bag |
... |
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 2026.

