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From Our Own Correspondent

Uruguay's Water Crisis

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.41.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kate Adie introduces stories from Uruguay, India, Haiti, New Zealand and Botswana. A long and severe drought in Uruguay has caused the country's worst ever water crisis. As fresh water reservoirs run dry, water from the River Plate estuary has been added to the mix, leaving locals in the capital with a salty taste in their mouths - and an increasing reliance on bottled water. Dr Grace Livingstone discovers how it's affecting daily life. The northeast Indian state of Manipur has been caught in a spiral of ethnic violence for two months, pitting the dominant Meitei community against the tribal Kuki people. Almost 150 have died in the violence, as the two communities become increasingly segregated, as Raghvendra Rao has found. Haiti has qualified for the football World Cup finals for the first time ever, and will take on England in their first game. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas, and plagued by earthquakes, political murders and gang violence. But the footballers are keen to project a more positive image to the world, as Joe Rindl heard when he spoke to Haiti goalkeeper, Kerly Theus. A special holiday or the experience of expat life can lead to certain countries finding a special place in our hearts. That's what happened to Ash Bhardwaj in New Zealand, where he found that a polished blue aotea stone connects his baby daughter, his late mother - and Maori culture. Botswana is now home to a third of Africa's elephants, and its Okawango delta has become something of an elephant sanctuary. But there are difficulties when the territories of animals and people overlap, reports John Murphy. Producer: Arlene Gregorius Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts

0:05.1

Today we're heading to North East India, where clashes between tribal peoples have left

0:10.3

many dead or displaced.

0:12.4

What are they fighting over?

0:14.7

We meet the golly for Haiti's National Women's Football Team who are taking on England

0:19.5

this weekend to reveal what it really takes to get to the World Cup.

0:25.0

In New Zealand, our correspondent discovers how a shining blue stone connects his daughter,

0:31.3

his mother and mari culture.

0:34.2

And in Botswana, we go elephant spotting, where tin cans and chilly infused cloths help

0:40.3

to ensure there's enough space for both people and these massive mammals.

0:45.5

First to South America, where Uruguay has been suffering its worst water shortage on record.

0:52.2

The country's unusual in having enshrined access to water as a human right in its constitution,

0:59.1

and it has typically had a plentiful, clean and safe supply.

1:03.7

But then came a long severe drought.

1:06.2

First it was felt by farmers, but now it's affecting many more people in the capital,

1:11.2

Montevideo, where half the country's population live.

1:14.9

And this crisis goes way beyond host pipe bans, with many residents now struggling to access

1:20.9

clean drinking water, says Grace Livingston.

1:24.8

I use bottled water for all my cooking, to boil pasta or rice, even to clean vegetables.

1:31.3

His costing me a fortune, size Anna Maria, as she offers me a boiled sweet from a little

1:36.5

plastic bag, as we settle down for a long bus ride.

1:40.8

It makes your hair so dry and hard, this salty water, and brushing your teeth with it.

...

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