Crossing Continents

Ranches, rodeos…and public land. This is the story of a surprising battle raging in the American West, and the unlikely coalition it’s forged. Nearly half of all land in the West of the United States is owned by the federal government. Some people are trying to change that; they argue that part of it should be used for housing, amid a nationwide shortage. But this debate about land and development has touched a nerve in the Western psyche - tapping into bigger fears that the old way of life is under threat. It’s about identity, trust, and the growing popularity of cowboy culture - driven in part by the TV series ‘Yellowstone’. In an increasingly polarised United States, this debate about public land is uniting cowboys, environmental activists, conservatives, and progressives. Ellie House reports from Montana - a state where the prospect of a public land selloff is deeply unpopular, and where people feel like their cultures and traditions are at stake. Presenter: Ellie House Producer: Josephine Casserly Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Gemma Ashman Mix: Rod Farquhar Series editor: Penny Murphy

How Haitians in the Dominican Republic are being targeted for expulsion. The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean’s number one tourist destination. Last year 11 million visitors came here, many enjoying the five star resorts that skirt the island’s coast. Much of the construction work building those tourist facilities is in fact done by Haitians, and many of the staff who work in them are from Haiti, which occupies the western half of this island of Hispaniola. Over recent years the tourism industry has helped make the Dominican economy the fastest growing in Latin America.However, the Dominican government is now implementing one of the most systematic deportation policies anywhere in the world. Last year the president, Luis Abinader, announced that his country would expel illegal migrants at the rate of ten thousand a week. The chief target is Haitians and people of Haitian descent. President Abinader says he is keeping his country secure and implementing the constitution. Meanwhile Haitians in the Dominican Republic are living in fear of raids by the immigration authorities and of being sent back across the border, to a country riven by violence as well as political and economic instability. John Murphy is in the Dominican Republic to talk to Haitians stuck between a rock and a hard place. Producer: Bob Howard Mix: Rod Farquhar Programme Coordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy

Denmark is eyeing up the military threat from Russia – and dramatically increasing the numbers in its national service. Now, 18-year-old girls are facing a call up. The BBC has been granted rare access to a military base on the outskirts of Copenhagen to see the newest recruits learn how to operate on the battlefield. Anna Holligan attends a “Defences Day” where teenagers find out whether they’re fit to serve, and draw a conscription lottery ticket that could shape their future.Presenter: Anna Holligan Producer: Ellie House Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison Sound Mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Penny Murphy

Over the past year, Kenya has been rocked by anti-government protests. What started as a demonstration over proposed tax increases soon turned into a nationwide, youth-led protest over the state of the economy, alleged political corruption and police brutality. But it's come at a cost. Dozens of protestors have been killed in clashes with the police, and human rights groups say many activists have been abducted and tortured by agents of the states. Michael Kaloki meets the young Kenyans who are caught in a battle for change.Presented by Michael Kaloki Produced by Alex Last Studio mix by Neil Churchill Editor Penny Murphy

The history of Gaza dates back more than 5000 years. In antiquity, it was a key port on the Mediterranean coast. Assyrians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and the Ottomans have all left their mark on this small territory. This rich history is seen by Palestinians as central to their identity. Amid the death and destruction of the war, the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent Yolande Knell meets the Palestinians who’ve desperately tried to save what remains of Gaza’s past.Reporter: Yolande Knell Producer: Alex Last Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy

Europe’s largest herd of wild horses, in north-west Spain, is under threat. Numbers have halved in the last fifty years. Now around ten thousand wild horses roam freely in the hills and mountains of Galicia. But they are facing a number of challenges, not least the loss of their habitat and the threat from their main predator, wolves. There are also legal demands imposed by the regional government which have placed added financial burdens on the local people who, in effect, “own” these horses. And yet Galicia’s wild horses have been an integral part of the local culture for centuries, particularly during annual festivals known as “rapas das bestas,” the shearing of the beasts. The horses are also known as engineers of the landscape, credited with boosting the local flora and fauna and with helping to control forest fires. John Murphy travels to Galicia to hear what is happening to these extraordinary animals and why they are so important. Producer and presenter: John Murphy Co-producer and translator: Esperanza Escribano Programme co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Programme Mix: Eloise Whitmore Crossing Continents editor: Penny Murphy

President Trump has called illegal immigration an “invasion” and what's followed is a huge rise in the arrest and detention of migrants. Some have ended up in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ - an immigration detention centre that was speedily constructed in June, deep in the Florida swampland. It has become a focal point for debates around immigration. Outside its gates, some take proud selfies with the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ sign; others protest, following reports of poor conditions inside. ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is now subject to a number of lawsuits. Immigration attorneys say they haven’t been granted proper access to clients inside; environmentalists claim the detention centre is harming the protected wetlands that surround it. Within the last few days, a judge has that ruled that much of the detention centre must be dismantled and no new migrants taken there. It’s a preliminary ruling - and the case will continue to be litigated. The government immediately filed an appeal. Josephine Casserly follows immigration lawyer Mich Gonzalez as he attempts to meet his client inside the detention centre. She reports from Florida - America’s new frontline on immigration.Produced by Ellie House

In the summer of 2015, tens of thousands of people left their homes in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq in the hope of finding a safe haven in Europe. The journeys they took were often hazardous and not everyone reached their destination. In one of the most notorious cases, 71 migrants were found dead in the back of a refrigerated truck on a motorway in Austria. They had all suffocated. Could this tragedy have been prevented? For Crossing Continents, Nick Thorpe speaks to two of the people smugglers who are now serving life sentences in a Bulgarian prison. He visits a man in northern Iraq who lost his younger brother and two children aboard the truck and asks the police in Hungary if they could have acted sooner.Presenter: Nick Thorpe Producer: Tim Mansel Local Producer: Yana Pelovska Sound mixer: Hal Haines Series editor: Penny Murphy

For decades, conservationists in Tajikistan assumed that the striped hyena – a shy, less vocal cousin of the spotted hyena – was extinct there. But in 2017 a motion-sensitive camera trap in the country’s south-western corner, near the borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, detected the presence of a female with cubs. The discovery stunned local observers, and ever since, one man and his colleagues have struggled to find out more about the few remaining Tajik striped hyenas with a view to saving them from oblivion. The challenges are immense, including the international animal parts trade, competition between animals and humans for habitat, and often-negative public perceptions of the hyena itself. Eight years on, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent travels to the grassy lowlands of Tajikistan to join the small team in their fight to save these elusive, persecuted mammals, and in doing so learns how vital hyenas are to both the ecosystem and human health.Reporter: Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent Producer: Mike Gallagher Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound mixer: Neil Churchill Series editor: Penny Murphy

A pioneering summer camp for Ukrainian children with missing parents. According to the Ukrainian government, more than 70 thousand people are missing in the war, leaving families, including thousands of children, anxious for news of their loved ones and unable to move on.Psychologists say these children are some of the most traumatised they have worked with.Now for the first time a leading Ukrainian children’s charity is putting on a special summer camp for some of these children, offering them therapy, fun activities and a safe place.For Crossing Continents, Will Vernon is given exclusive access to this project, where psychologists are developing a new framework to treat these deeply traumatised children. Producer: John Murphy Sound mixer: Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Series editor: Penny Murphy