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Factual: Life Stories

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

Outlook: 26/02/2010

26/02/2010

BBC World Service - Outlook, 26/02/2010

Fighting tradition in India; Disappearing in the data age; Kabul's slums; Internet love.

Fighting for her marriage
In a culture where arranged marriages are the norm, tales of clandestine weddings by couples determined to choose who they'll marry aren't unusual in India. That wasn't the case for Kavita and her husband Satish, from India's Haryana state. They married quite openly three years ago, and they have a child. But recently, a powerful council of village elders decided their marriage should be annulled. The council told the couple to start living as brother and sister because they belonged to clans which shared the same ancestry some generations ago. Kavita has refused to accept this decision and is fighting back, much to the anger of some of the community. 

Erasing David  
When British film maker David Bond received a letter informing him that his daughter Ivy was among 25 million children whose personal details including names, addresses and dates of birth had been lost by the government's Benefit Office, he was worried. Amid growing fears about how such personal data can be used against you, he decided to find out how much private companies and the government know about him. He attempted to disappear - but asked a team of private detectives to try and track him down using centrally held data. Leaving his pregnant wife and young child behind, he set out on a month long journey hoping to evade the detectives.

Afghan slums
Afghanistan's capital Kabul all too frequently makes the headlines with accounts of violence and suicide attacks. Despite this, Afghans continue to flock to the city in search of jobs. The urban population has increased so much that the valley in which the city is built has become full. The new arrivals have begun to make their homes in the slums which are springing up on the surrounding mountains.

Love in the time of the internet
Daniel Meadows found love on the internet. After making videos and putting them on YouTube, Australian Daniel connected with Shannon from the US. Over several months the pair posted hundreds of videos for each other and were in touch via email and skype. They were getting on so well that they decided it was time to jump off the information superhighway and head for a face to face encounter. Daniel sold virtually everything he owned and followed his heart across the globe.  But could the virtual romance survive the rigours of the real world?

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