Voices of Afghanistan: Siyar’s story
Siyar Sirat is an Afghan journalist based in Kabul at TOLO news. After an “unimaginable” five days of waiting, Siyar and his family had just made it through the gates and into Kabul airport when he spoke to 5 Live’s Tony Livesey. Siyar describes the pain of having to leave his extended family and colleagues behind, and the ordeal his family faced trying to get to the airport to escape. This interview was originally broadcast on 5 Live Drive and is part of the 'Voices of Afghanistan' mini-series.
3 Syys 202120min
LGBT+ later in life: Your experiences
They were born into a world where homosexuality was a criminal offence. They lived through the AIDs pandemic and saw friends and lovers die. So how does it feel to now grow old in the LGBT+ community?5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake talks to Chris, Bernard and Penny about their experiences of getting older within the LGBT+ community.
22 Kesä 202154min
Naga: ‘IUD fitting was a traumatic experience’
BBC presenter Naga Munchetty hears from women who have experienced pain during medical procedures.She also opens up about her own “traumatic experience” of having an IUD, known commonly as the ‘coil’, fitted. The programme also hears from Dawn Harper, from Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies, who has fitted many IUDs and says “most women don’t experience” pain like Naga’s. She explains how local anaesthetics can be used.
21 Kesä 202127min
Sophie: Duke's death left giant-sized hole in our lives
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, uses her profile to raise awareness of rape in warfare. She speaks to 5 Live’s Naga Munchetty about the work and how it affects her. She also talks openly about grieving for the Duke of Edinburgh and how she has survived lockdown life.
17 Kesä 20211h 1min
5 Live follows the stories of people talking about their struggle to read and write.
In a special programme, 5 Live hears from people across the UK as they tell their stories about struggling to read and write.To find out more about our project on adult literacy, go to http://bbc.co.uk/wordmatters
15 Kesä 202153min
An Israeli teen and a young Palestinian talk
An Israeli teen and a young Palestinian talk to each other. Tamar, 17 from Israel and Mohammed, 20, who lives in Gaza spoke to 5 Live’s Stephen Nolan and each other about their view of the conflict and their hopes for peace. Tamar, who had never spoken to someone from Palestine before said: "we’re all human at the end of the day", she went on to say "if the people talk to each other we can maybe find a solution we can maybe end this conflict”. Mohammed, who had also never spoken to an Israeli admitted, “She changes the image that I have about Israeli people… because from what I see Israeli soldiers are always bombing us”. This conversation first went out on BBC Radio 5 Live Stephen Nolan on 15 May, 2021.
18 Touko 202123min
RAF pilot: 'utterly horrific' drone warfare gave me PTSD
A former military drone pilot says he has been left with PTSD after being put at risk of "psychological harm" for years on end while viewing "utterly horrific" things on screen. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Adrian Chiles, ‘Rob’ (not his real name) also said he became suicidal due to the way the armed forces dealt with his request for mental help. Rob was a member of 13 Squadron until 2017, a specialist team within the Royal Air Force which operate unmanned drone aircraft from a military base in the UK. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, or Reaper, was first used by the UK in Afghanistan in 2008 for surveillance, and later fitted with weapons. By March 2015 the UK had carried out some 70 drone strikes against so-called Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq.The MOD issued this statement, ‘‘We do not recognise the allegations made with respect to the working environment on our Reaper Squadrons. The RAF actively manages Reaper Force crews to ensure that their workload is manageable, sustainable and balanced, alongside providing world-class military healthcare for those that need it. “All allegations of civilian casualties are subject to extensive investigations. We continue to do everything we can to minimise the risk of civilian casualties through the rigorous targeting processes and the professionalism of our crews.”
29 Huhti 202138min
How did you spend the last days before lockdown?
As we approach the anniversary of the first UK lockdown, 5 Live listeners share their stories about their final days of 'normal life. Nicky Campbell hears from people around the UK who lost relatives, found family and long to see their new-born grandchildren.
18 Maalis 202146min
