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BBC Sounds, music, radio,

1:30

podcasts. Today, why

1:32

thousands of Indian workers are queuing

1:35

up for jobs in Israel, despite

1:37

the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

1:40

In Sweden, gang violence is on

1:42

the rise, leading to calls

1:45

for the country to toughen up on crime.

1:48

In Australia, fancy learning to fly

1:50

a plane, pop down to one

1:52

Sydney convenience store, where you can

1:54

take control of an Airbus A320

1:57

simulator amongst the fizzy pop and

1:59

pop-up. frozen peas. And

2:02

with its Elvis hairdo and

2:04

eye-catching feathery necktie, we're in

2:06

the Amazon rainforest to meet

2:09

the rare long-wattled umbrella bird.

2:12

First, hunger is once

2:14

again stalking Ethiopia. The

2:17

twin evils of drought and conflict have

2:19

yet again left millions of people in

2:21

the country without enough food. It's

2:24

hard to know precisely how bad

2:26

the situation is. Media access is

2:29

limited, and parts of the

2:31

country are still riven with fighting,

2:33

despite the truce agreed back in

2:35

2022. But our

2:37

diplomatic correspondent James Landale recently

2:40

managed to get to Tigray

2:42

in northern Ethiopia, travelling

2:45

with the Africa minister Andrew Mitchell, who

2:47

is there to assess the extent of

2:49

the food crisis. And, as

2:52

James found, the picture is a

2:54

complicated one. I'm sitting

2:56

in the United Nations compound in Michaela

2:58

in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray,

3:01

and I'm feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself. Before

3:04

me lie slabs of juicy pizza. There

3:07

are cold, fizzy drinks on a tray. Coffee

3:10

is brewing on the side. A

3:12

cool breeze flows through the shaded

3:14

patio, and the seats are welcome

3:16

after a long morning on my feet. And

3:18

yet the contrast with my morning could not

3:21

be greater. For I've just come from

3:23

Aguli, a small town an hour's

3:25

drive to the north, where we

3:27

visited a clinic for the hungry and the

3:29

starving, victims of the

3:31

latest food crisis to grip Ethiopia.

3:34

There we saw mothers and babies being

3:36

tested for malnutrition. The nurses have a

3:39

multicolored strip of paper, which

3:41

they wrap around each child's

3:43

arm to measure its circumference.

3:45

Green is okay, yellow concerning,

3:47

and red means they've got

3:49

severe acute malnutrition. The

3:51

worry is creased on the mothers' faces

3:53

as they sit patiently in the sun.

3:56

And yet here I am, just a

3:58

few hours later, wretchedly devouring pizza.

4:02

As a journalist I'm used to

4:04

this contrast of life experience. We

4:06

reporters have a privileged access all

4:08

areas pass to meet the rich

4:10

and the poor, the elevated and

4:12

the lowly. But sometimes

4:14

the juxtaposition of fortune produces

4:16

a sense of shame that

4:18

cannot be suppressed. Later

4:21

that becomes something approaching guilt when

4:23

I meet Leti Birhan Haile Guresa

4:26

at a distribution center run by the

4:28

World Food Programme. The

4:30

56 year old grandmother sits before

4:32

me, poised and elegant in her

4:34

frayed print dress, the small

4:36

cross tied around her neck. She

4:39

told me how she and her family

4:41

had been forced to flee for their

4:43

lives when war broke out between Tigrayan

4:45

forces and Ethiopian and Eritrean armies in

4:47

2020. For

4:49

two weeks they walked from western

4:52

Tigray to Shira, a town which

4:54

became home for tens of thousands

4:56

of refugees. That was

4:58

no safer so they hid nearby,

5:01

breaking into abandoned homes to scavenge

5:03

for food. They ate crops

5:05

from the fields. They witnessed

5:07

she said atrocities by all sides, the

5:09

killing of young men, the raping of

5:12

young women. For more

5:14

than a year they survived hand to

5:16

mouth until moving on to Michaelae where

5:18

she lives today in a camp for

5:20

displaced people, just one of four million

5:22

or so across Ethiopia forced from their

5:24

homes by the fighting. Yet

5:27

Leti Birhan's dignified courage literally

5:30

puts me to shame. She

5:32

is here to pick up scoops of wheat and

5:34

lentils and a bottle of oil that

5:36

must see her and her family through until

5:38

next month. And all I can think

5:40

of is that wodge of

5:42

pizza sitting in my gut like a

5:45

millstone of remorse. Yet

5:47

later it struck me that maybe my

5:49

experience might be echoed by many in

5:51

Ethiopia. While pockets of

5:53

the country are suffering famine like

5:55

crises others are doing better. While

5:58

some areas are experiencing others

6:00

are fertile enough to reap a harvest.

6:03

Some regions are still occupied by

6:05

militias and Eritrean forces, others

6:08

are peaceful. My taxi driver

6:10

in the capital Addis Ababa may drive

6:12

a battered wreck held together by rust,

6:15

but he's wealthy compared to the beggars hustling

6:17

for change at the traffic lights. At

6:20

my hotel, well-heeled Ethiopians and their

6:22

families enjoy an afternoon sunning themselves

6:25

by the pool in

6:27

grim contrast to those living in

6:29

corrugated iron shacks just a few

6:31

yards away. This

6:33

disparity of experience is reflected in

6:35

the debate about the severity of

6:38

Ethiopia's food crisis. Tigrayan

6:40

leaders call it a famine because thousands,

6:42

they say, are dying of starvation. The

6:45

central government denies this, saying it

6:47

is drought fueled by climate change.

6:50

International aid agencies avoid what

6:52

they call the F-word because

6:54

of its political sensitivities. No

6:57

one really knows how grave the situation

6:59

is because there is little hard

7:01

data. Media access to

7:04

Tigray is limited, communications are

7:06

sometimes restricted, and fighting makes

7:09

some areas inaccessible to international

7:11

agencies. But there

7:13

is a gradual accumulation of anecdotal evidence

7:15

that points to the situation getting worse.

7:19

But for the mothers and babies in

7:21

Aguli and for Leti Birhane Makele, these

7:24

debates are otios. They

7:26

do not worry about what to call the food crisis

7:28

or the guilt of those who are better off. All

7:32

that matters for them is whether there is

7:34

food on their plates and medicine

7:36

for their children, and none of

7:39

that can be certain while a distracted

7:41

world looks away. James

7:44

Landale. Next to

7:46

Sweden, where rising gang violence has

7:48

wrecked the country's peaceful image. In

7:51

response, the government will soon be introducing

7:53

so-called police search zones, permitting officers to

7:55

search individuals even if they're not able

7:57

to find the right place to go.

8:00

formally suspected of a crime. Critics

8:03

fear the scheme could lead to

8:05

police discrimination and infringe civil liberties,

8:08

but in recent years Sweden

8:10

has struggled as rival gangs

8:12

fight over drug markets with

8:14

bombings and shootings recorded almost

8:17

weekly. Matilda Vilin

8:19

reports. Not

8:21

again, wrote my brother.

8:23

Yeah, it happened overnight, my

8:26

sister typed back. I want

8:28

to move to the countryside. It

8:31

was a few days before midsummer last year

8:34

and I was chatting with my siblings

8:36

over social media. I live

8:38

in the UK but my brother

8:40

and sister are in Stockholm, the

8:42

capital of my home country Sweden. Over

8:45

the last two years Stockholm

8:47

has been at the centre of

8:49

a dramatic up search in gang

8:51

violence, bombings, arson

8:55

and shootings. Mentions of

8:57

these events have increased since last summer

8:59

in our group. In

9:01

September my sister sent us a link about

9:03

a bombing in an apartment block near her.

9:07

Did you hear the bang? My brother typed

9:09

back. Yes, very

9:11

loudly, like it was outside our

9:14

flat. A few days later my

9:16

brother sent another message. A

9:19

25 year old girl died in another

9:21

bombing last night, he wrote, and

9:24

then there was a 17 year old who

9:26

was murdered on the soccer field near us and

9:29

one murdered further south. The

9:32

police helicopter flies here every night

9:34

now. It was like

9:36

a previously hidden underground world of

9:38

crime had suddenly burst to the surface.

9:41

The rise in violence in Sweden

9:44

has mainly been driven by a

9:46

drug network called Foxtrot. Police

9:49

believe that the problem started following

9:51

a challenge to the network's leader

9:53

Rava Majid. He's a

9:55

Swedish national whose family came to Sweden

9:58

from Iraqi Kurdistan and who is believed

10:00

to be hiding in Turkey. In September

10:02

of last year, the mother of

10:05

the man thought to have challenged

10:07

Majid was shot dead on her

10:09

balcony and soon relatives

10:11

of other gang members were also

10:13

threatened. At the same time, Foxtrot

10:16

was involved in a conflict with a

10:18

rival gang. Swedish media

10:20

became awash with stories

10:22

of cousins, brothers and

10:24

parents of people affiliated with

10:26

the gangs who were being attacked. There

10:30

were also cases of mistaken identity. In

10:33

September, police in the city of

10:35

Utsala, north of Stockholm, explained

10:37

that a 25-year-old man had

10:40

been killed apparently by mistake

10:42

for living in an apartment next to

10:45

an intended target. Young

10:47

teenagers from Stockholm's poorer

10:49

suburbs had increasingly been

10:51

recruited by the gangs, tempted

10:54

by money, status or

10:57

a sense of belonging. Others

10:59

are pressured into carrying out killings

11:01

in order to pay back debts.

11:03

From January to October

11:05

2023, the amount of

11:08

15-year-olds charged for murder in

11:10

Sweden tripled compared to the

11:12

entire previous year. In

11:14

December, an investigation about a

11:17

16-year-old gang member known

11:19

by the alias Tim, who

11:22

was tortured and almost stabbed to

11:24

death, was released by Public Service

11:26

TV. Sweden is still

11:28

a safe country and homicide

11:31

rates don't even come close to those

11:33

of Mexico or El Salvador, but

11:36

violence raises questions for us Swedes

11:38

about our very identity. Manuel

11:41

Jarell, a researcher and lecturer

11:43

in criminology at Malmö University,

11:46

has studied recent developments closely

11:49

and tells me that the Swedes may not

11:51

have been quick enough to react to

11:53

the escalation of violence. We're

11:55

a little slow moving, he says, a little

11:59

consensus-oriented. We need a

12:01

few years to think about an issue before

12:03

we do something. On

12:05

the other hand, he goes on, the

12:07

pendulum has now swung really far the

12:09

other way, and there is

12:11

now a really strong focus on harsher

12:14

punishments. While some

12:16

of that is necessary, there should

12:18

be more preventative work too, he says. The

12:21

media has also put a lot of focus

12:23

on immigration as one of the factors in

12:26

the rise in violence. I'll put

12:28

this to Jarel. He says that

12:30

although many of those who have been

12:32

caught up in the violence are first

12:34

or second generation immigrants, Germany

12:37

has had almost as much immigration,

12:40

but it hasn't seen this sort of criminal

12:42

violence. For my

12:44

sister, the main concern is her son,

12:46

my nephew, who is

12:48

10. She worries that he

12:50

could fall into bad company when he gets

12:52

older. They live in

12:54

a fairly deprived area, and

12:56

he is half Argentinian, a

12:59

second generation immigrant. He

13:01

has been equipped with the resources to build

13:03

a stable life. Others,

13:05

though, have not. As

13:07

we gather at my dad's, our

13:09

discussion continues. So does

13:12

the public debate, and so

13:14

does the violence. Matilda

13:16

Velene. Next

13:19

to India, where thousands of men

13:21

desperate for secure jobs are queuing

13:24

up at recruitment centres in hope

13:26

of finding work in Israel. Last

13:29

year, India signed a deal with Israel to

13:32

send more than 40,000 workers to help plug

13:35

a labour shortage. A

13:38

shortage which has got worse since the

13:40

Hamas attacks of last October, after

13:42

which the Israeli government suspended the

13:45

work permits of tens of thousands

13:47

of Palestinians. Some

13:49

of India's biggest trade unions now

13:51

fear Indian workers could be sent

13:53

to high-risk areas. Here's

13:55

Shotic Biswas. On

13:57

A bitterly cold and smoggy winter morning,

14:00

Hundreds of men cued up inside

14:02

a sprawling university campus in India's

14:04

Not Institute Of. Oh yes, Wrapped

14:07

up in women's and blankets and

14:09

carrying backpacks, their traveled hundreds of

14:11

miles by bus and train to

14:13

get this. This. Sat squatting

14:15

down along the main road leading to

14:18

the campus. Dividend. Crawled into

14:20

a loop seasons to help manage

14:22

the sheer numbers. An icy

14:24

wind blew through the breeze. Each

14:27

between around eighteen and forty years,

14:29

the men looked anxious. One.

14:31

Of them was Angie. I'm an. Insult

14:34

that, Liza. Crisp. White

14:36

Shirt and Beach houses sort out

14:38

in a rather bedraggled crowd. Is

14:41

red draft sec was filled with itunes of

14:43

boots. A full accounting is certificates

14:45

and a bottle of what? Com.

14:48

I told me he was university educated.

14:51

And a qualified teacher. Who. Had

14:53

only ever managed to find was casually.

14:56

As a painter, still

14:58

success liberal. Even as

15:00

a soviet for a nonprofit organization.

15:03

Eight Thirty One, he has never managed

15:06

to earn more than seven hundred rupees

15:08

for do around seven pounds. Despite having

15:10

to do these. Now.

15:13

He said he was trying to get falcon

15:15

is that. Isn't it announced

15:17

plans? It is looking to bring

15:19

and seventy thousand workers from India,

15:21

China, and other countries to boost

15:23

its construction sector. Which. Has

15:25

founded since The Seventh October or My

15:28

Sister. A labor

15:30

shortages reason after his as by

15:32

some eighty thousand Palestinian workers falling

15:34

the. Practical test

15:37

for being conducted by Israeli contractors

15:39

at the University. in her young.

15:42

Come Out said he hoped to

15:44

be among the ten thousand workers

15:46

from India who would behind each

15:48

succeeding a monthly salary of around

15:50

one hundred and thirty thousand rupees.

15:52

That's one thousand, three hundred pounds,

15:54

a suits beer nice for him,

15:56

along with accommodations and medical benefits.

16:00

The new secure jobs in India

16:02

prices are going up. I'm not

16:04

financially stable, even after graduating nine

16:06

years ago. he don't. Men

16:08

like Come On and others in the

16:11

crowd that morning a part of into

16:13

a sprawling informal economy. Many

16:15

of them hold college degrees, but struggled

16:17

to land secure jobs and find themselves

16:20

in multiple cars will jobs. Like.

16:22

Construction and driving police cars

16:24

and ambulances. Some

16:27

said the situation adverse and after India's

16:29

twenty sixteen currency then and the government's

16:31

suddenly scab the use of large bank

16:33

notes in an attempt to boost stashed

16:35

as payments and to coach of the

16:38

shadow economy. Then

16:40

came the abrupt covered nineteen Lock down

16:42

and twenty two. Other

16:44

men in the queue told me that

16:47

tried to pay agents to have them

16:49

illegally enter the Us and Canada but

16:51

found it difficult to raise the money.

16:53

This the said had prompted them to

16:55

look for other ways to secure a

16:57

more lucrative overseas. So. This

17:00

is the story of Alive Such of Armor.

17:02

another job seeker on the campus dorms. He.

17:05

Said he had graduated in Twenty four

17:07

team with a diploma technically to pieces.

17:10

And. Spent six years sticking exams

17:12

for positions in the police Adam

17:14

is T and the do these.

17:17

Surveys. You jobs and the demand

17:19

is twenty times the number. Mr. Lermontov.

17:22

I asked him whether his family would wasn't about to

17:24

see see if he got the job in his if.

17:27

I want to secure better paying job. I

17:29

don't mind the risk of working in a

17:32

war zone. He doing. The

17:34

job seen in India presence of

17:36

a mixed picture better schools. Unemployment

17:38

is falling but still remains high.

17:41

But. Something many find alarming is the

17:43

fact that a massive forty two

17:45

percent of graduates east under twenty

17:47

five still had no jobs in

17:49

the country after the pandemic. I.

17:52

spoke to leave or economists rules abraham

17:54

about job seekers wanting to go to

17:56

israel she said the indian blue collar

17:59

workers and more aspirational now. They'd

18:01

rather wait for a job which gives

18:04

them security and prestige. Just

18:06

like Hars Jhat, who was also in the

18:08

queue, hoping to secure a job in Israel

18:10

after years of working a range of jobs,

18:13

automobile technician, a bouncer

18:15

in a pub, and even driving a police

18:17

vehicle. Now jobless,

18:19

he had returned to his family's eight-acre

18:22

farm in Haryana. But nobody

18:24

wants to farm now, he said. Mr.

18:26

Jhat said he tried for a number of

18:28

government jobs without success. He said

18:30

men in his village have paid agents

18:33

billions of rupees each to illegally enter

18:35

the US. They were

18:37

now sending remittances home where their families

18:39

are buying fancy cars. I

18:42

want to go abroad and get a

18:44

good, secure job because when I have

18:46

a kid, he'll ask me, why does

18:48

my neighbour have a swanky SUV? And

18:50

we don't. Shautik

18:53

Biswas. Convenience stores

18:55

the world over are known for

18:57

the huge variety of things they

18:59

sell, from cigarettes to candles, tinned

19:01

tomatoes to toiletries. But

19:04

one store in Sydney has a

19:06

rather surprising offering, an

19:08

Airbus A320 flight simulator.

19:11

It's been painstakingly assembled by

19:14

Ahmed Abdul Wahad, an aviation

19:16

electronics engineer who used to

19:18

repair planes for Egypt Air.

19:21

Now he's settled in Australia and

19:23

dreams of working for their national

19:25

carrier Qantas. Ellen

19:27

Smallwood has been to meet him. In

19:30

an easy mart in downtown Sydney,

19:32

tucked away between some fridges and

19:35

souvenirs, I've braced myself at

19:37

the controls of an Airbus A320.

19:40

The shopkeeper, dressed as a uniformed captain,

19:42

has left me unattended while he serves

19:44

a woman who has come into the

19:46

store to buy a soft drink. He

19:49

proudly tells me that he'll close up the

19:51

shop entirely when we're ready to take off.

19:54

Tucked behind a curtain between the shelves,

19:56

it's a labour of love for 39-year-old

19:59

Ahmed Abdul Wahad. Abdul Wahad, a

20:01

softly spoken, diffident man whose career

20:04

in aviation is a tale of grit

20:06

and resilience. As the

20:08

economy founded after the 2011 revolution

20:10

in his native Egypt, he decided

20:12

to seek a life of greater opportunity

20:15

in Australia. But

20:17

it came at quite a cost, professionally

20:19

and financially. Once

20:21

an aviation electronics engineer for Egypt

20:24

Air, his qualifications weren't

20:26

recognised in his adopted country, so

20:29

he sought a way to keep his dream of

20:31

flying alive. Using his own funds, he

20:33

invested in the lease of a shop in the centre

20:35

of Sydney, an enterprise to

20:38

cover the cost of the second-hand simulator,

20:40

which had to be shipped over from

20:42

the UK, unbuilt. He

20:45

then spent several months painstakingly assembling

20:47

the device's 2,000 pieces

20:49

in his garage, before moving

20:51

it into its current home. Today

20:54

the simulator stands in the shop as

20:56

a monument to his achievements, and

20:59

a beacon for his ambition to return to

21:01

the skies with Australia's national airline

21:03

Qantas. With

21:05

the shop closed, we edged onto the

21:07

runway for our virtual round-the-world trip. The

21:11

airport starts to disappear behind us. He's

21:13

keen to show me Sydney from the

21:15

sky, using the incredibly realistic view from

21:18

the cockpit. We start

21:20

with the iconic Harbour Bridge. Don't

21:23

worry, I'm a professional, he jokes, as

21:25

he steers the plane under the bridge deck, a

21:28

hair's breadth from the water. Any

21:30

turbulence on real flights is going to

21:32

seem unremarkable after this, I think. The

21:36

surrounding CGI scenery changes as we

21:38

switch from London to Sydney to

21:40

Everest. Ahmed tells me

21:42

that during Covid he used the

21:44

simulator to make his hometown Cairo

21:46

seem less far away. He would

21:48

enjoy the sights he loved from the air, including

21:51

his home and the country's northern

21:54

coastline. If only it was

21:56

this easy to get around in real life,

21:58

he says poignantly. we breeze

22:00

past Lookler in Nepal, often

22:02

described as the world's most dangerous runway.

22:06

We won't be trying that one today,

22:08

Ahmed explains. The A320 is too big

22:10

to land there. Unsurprisingly

22:12

the simulator attracts pilots from

22:14

across the region, as well

22:16

as curious punters like me.

22:18

Ahmed conscientiously tailors each flight to

22:20

match the interests and skills of the

22:23

would-be pilot, and has even

22:25

installed a hologram of himself in the

22:27

storefront, to explain the concept. For

22:30

children, he sometimes ropes in his

22:32

own 13-year-old son to lead the

22:34

expedition. For industry professionals,

22:37

he runs through emergency landings, including

22:40

one which emulates the notorious descent

22:42

into New York's Hudson River after

22:44

a bird strike in

22:46

2009, later made into a movie.

22:48

Silly. After some shaky

22:50

practice with the steering, I have a crack

22:52

at landing in Sydney airport. Having

22:55

spent years arrogantly claiming to friends that

22:57

I'd nail it as a pilot, I'm

22:59

quickly humbled. I narrowly miss

23:01

colliding with some houses before I end up

23:03

hurtling off the side of the runway onto

23:05

the grass. I wince, but

23:08

my mentor doesn't seem displeased. You

23:10

did well, he says. Lots of people end up in

23:12

the sea. Ahmed says that

23:14

in the flying world, there are two types

23:16

of landings. Those who survive,

23:19

and those who don't. You

23:21

can't give up on your goal, even if

23:23

it takes a few tries, he says of

23:26

his efforts to stay in Australia. It took

23:28

me multiple attempts to get my Australia residency,

23:31

and I made it happen in the end. He

23:33

speaks with the same determination about flying

23:36

for Qantas, having recently got

23:38

through to the final stage of the interview

23:40

process, but just missing out on the job.

23:43

He's trying again. And in

23:45

the same way that the cockpit in the shop

23:47

has been a training ground for me, something

23:50

tells me that he will take off in the

23:52

end. the

24:00

long-wattled umbrella bird is a

24:03

much rarer species. Native

24:05

to the Amazon rainforests of western

24:07

Colombia and Ecuador, this

24:10

endangered bird lives in the canopies of

24:12

tall trees where the

24:14

male can fan out its top feathers covering

24:16

its head like a brawly. Stephen

24:19

Moss travelled to Ecuador with a

24:22

group of birdwatchers to see how

24:24

efforts are being made to preserve

24:26

their habitat from deforestation. Cuidase,

24:29

cuidase, take care, take care.

24:31

I could hear the

24:34

urgency in our guide Jorge's voice and

24:36

was beginning to wish my pride hadn't stopped

24:39

me from accepting the stout walking stick he'd

24:41

offered me at the start of our climb.

24:44

The trouble was I'd been lulled into a false

24:46

sense of security by my

24:48

experience so far in Ecuador. Most

24:51

birding here is absurdly easy. You

24:53

just turn up, sit down and watch

24:55

dozens of hummingbirds hovering by feeders filled

24:58

with sugar water or

25:00

hordes of colourful tanagers and

25:02

toucans gorging themselves on ripe

25:04

plantains ready peeled for their

25:06

convenience. But on my last day

25:08

I found myself in a damp,

25:11

misty cloud forest tramping uphill

25:13

along muddy trails and leaping

25:15

across fast-flowing streams while

25:17

trying not to fall flat on my face. My

25:20

aim was to see one of the most sought after

25:23

and bizarre birds on the

25:25

planet the long-wattled umbrella bird.

25:28

Sure enough, at the top of the slope there

25:30

was a sign optimistically proclaiming,

25:33

welcome, umbrella bird. My

25:36

heart was beating faster than usual and

25:38

not just because of the exertion of the high

25:40

altitude hike. It dawned on

25:43

me that I might finally catch sight

25:45

of this extraordinary creature. At

25:47

that point though the heavens opened making

25:49

it impossible to look up into the

25:52

forest canopy without my binocular lenses getting

25:54

soaked with rain. Then,

25:57

just seconds after I had arrived, a

25:59

dark silhouette melted. The interview just a

26:01

few meters away. Perched. Unobtrusively

26:03

on a six branch. A

26:06

slender all black bird looking rather

26:08

like an elongated pigeon, sporting a

26:10

forward facing crest like a picky

26:13

blind as cap and that ridiculously

26:15

long local a feathered protrusion hanging

26:17

down from it's threat but the

26:19

past the tide scarf which gives

26:22

the species it's English nine. The

26:25

bottle is not just the show.

26:27

The mail umbrella bird can inflate

26:29

the so quick looking appendage to

26:31

magnify the volume of his deep

26:33

com stay sound rather like the

26:35

moving of kettle and seats Evening.

26:38

Federal Tunnel meaning oh

26:40

bird. Moments later,

26:43

He. Shook the raindrops of his body

26:45

like a wet dog before launching into

26:47

flight and vanishing back into the surrounding

26:49

forest. He. Left me with just

26:51

one. Rather, Blurred photograph and

26:53

a memory that will last a

26:56

lifetime. Ecologists refer to

26:58

the i'm from the Bird as a

27:00

cornerstone species. Shanks

27:02

habitat has been preserved not

27:05

just of this particular bad

27:07

but also the many others

27:09

specialized cloud forest creatures. I

27:12

say preserved. But what I really mean

27:14

is restored. The. Owner of

27:17

this land Louis Sevilla. Has

27:19

left and found here for nearly half a

27:21

century, with most of his thirty five

27:23

hectares given out to pasture for his small

27:26

herd of cattle. Just twelve

27:28

years ago he decided to free world

27:30

he said. A. Numbing forest

27:32

regrow. And regenerate and planting

27:34

more than twelve hundred trees to help

27:37

get things moving. It

27:39

worked from just a handful of

27:41

the globally threatened umbrella birds previously

27:43

breeding in the area. This tiny

27:46

site now boasts a healthy population

27:48

of at least eighteen males. The

27:51

project is a family affair.

27:53

Luis along with his wife

27:55

Maria some Luis Junior, a

27:57

daughter Alexandra now make their

27:59

living. welcoming hundreds of visitors

28:01

a year, people who, like

28:03

me, are happy to trudge up those

28:05

steep and slippery slopes and

28:07

pay a fee for the chance of encountering such

28:10

a memorable bird. Wildlife

28:12

tourism has proved to be easier and

28:14

more profitable than dairy farming. Yet,

28:17

as Louis Junior points out, theirs

28:19

was not purely an economic decision,

28:21

but also a moral one. We

28:24

wanted to save not just the umbrella bird,

28:26

but all the special creatures here, he tells

28:28

me. And safeguard them for

28:30

the future. Before we

28:33

left, the family served us

28:35

a traditional breakfast of cheese-filled

28:37

empanadas, fresh fruit and strong,

28:39

dark, locally grown coffee. Then,

28:41

with a final glance back towards the

28:43

umbrella bird's forest home, I headed

28:46

down the track to the bottom of the valley – making

28:48

sure, of course, to avoid

28:51

falling flat on my face along the

28:53

way. Stephen

28:55

Moss. And that's all for today.

28:58

We'll be back again on Saturday

29:00

morning. Do join us. I

29:03

think the power of the sun was crazy didn't it?

29:07

The X Factor promised to turn ordinary

29:09

people into pop stars who stood

29:11

there behind the dogs when 60

29:13

million people were about to watch you go on

29:15

stage. And Simon just said actually like, good luck

29:18

girls, good luck. I'm

29:20

Cheetie Zendoo. For years, I was

29:22

a BBC showbiz journalist who covered

29:24

every twist and turn. I

29:27

want to go behind the scenes

29:29

to find out from staff and

29:31

contestants what it was like. You

29:34

don't just want average people. You want to, you

29:36

know, it was so bad. They were comical. I

29:39

feel like I was humiliated just for the entertainment. If

29:41

the show never comes back and they said to me,

29:43

Sam, will you come and do it again, I'd be

29:45

like, what harm do you want me? For

29:47

the next episode, I'm looking back at

29:50

the good and the bad of

29:52

one of Britain's biggest TV shows. For

29:55

BBC Radio 4, this is off

29:57

stage inside the X Factor. Listen

30:00

on BBC Seasons. Find

30:31

us wherever you get your podcasts.