Original version

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Radio

World Service Radio

Migrated podcast image for: Outlook

Outlook

Factual: Life Stories

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

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

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

Outlook: Collecting Bodies from Ukraine Battlesites

Yaroslav Zhilkin

12/08/2015

Collecting Bodies from Ukraine Battlesites

BBC World Service - Outlook, Collecting Bodies from Ukraine Battlesites

Yaroslav Zhilkin leads a team of volunteers to retrieve the bodies of  fallen soldiers.

Former businessman Yaroslav Zhilkin leads a team of volunteers to retrieve the bodies of  fallen soldiers.

An estimated 6,000 soldiers have died in the conflict in Ukraine. It's difficult for representatives of the Ukrainian government to go into rebel-held territory like Donetsk to retrieve the bodies of their fallen soldiers. So the two sides have agreed that volunteers can do it for them. The group is made up of mechanics, doctors, labourers, economists - and it's led by former businessman Yaroslav Zhilkin. He tells Jo Fidgen about the difficult and distressing task of retrieving the dead. 

Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, female singers have been banned from putting on solo performances for the general public. They're allowed to sing for other women - but there can't be any men in the audience. That irritated Sara Najafi, a composer, so she decided to test the ban. Her efforts to put on a concert were documented by her film-maker brother, Ayat - and the result is the award-winning 'No Land's Song'. 

Retired engineer Gangadhara Tilak Katnam from Hyderabad, India has an unusual obsession - he fills potholes. More than 1100 of them in just five years. He explains what started this personal campaign to improve India's roads. 
 
Pooneh Ghoddoosi meets Romanian author Petru Popescu whose book "Amazon Beaming" has been turned into a play called "The Encounter" which is attracting a lot of attention at the Edinburgh Festivals.    

(Photo: Yaroslav Zhilkin)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Outlook

Collecting Bodies from Ukraine Battlesites

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service

About BBC World Service