Original version

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Migrated podcast image for: Outlook

Outlook

Factual: Life Stories

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

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service East Asia

Outlook: The star student with an agonising secret

Magazines & Reviews

Dan-el reading CROPPED.jpg

10/02/2020 GMT

The star student with an agonising secret

BBC World Service - Outlook, The star student with an agonising secret

Dan-el Padilla Peralta went from an undocumented US immigrant to a Princeton professor.

Dan-el Padilla Peralta went from living in a homeless shelter to an elite university. But no-one knew that he was an undocumented immigrant who risked deportation every day.

As an undocumented immigrant to the US from the Dominican Republic, Dan-el Padilla Peralta found himself living in a homeless shelter with his mother and brother. One day he found a book on Roman and Greek history which sparked his interest and imagination. It set him on course for a life of scholarship and academic success, and Dan-el is now a Professor of Classics at the prestigious Princeton University. He spoke to Jo Fidgen.

During the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, Amira Medunjanin would sing traditional Bosnian Sevdalinke songs for her neighbours while they hid from the shelling. She’s now one of the country’s biggest stars and credited with keeping the traditional music alive for a modern audience. Meanwhile Camil Metiljevic does his own bit – he is the last man in the city to make the Saz, a traditional instrument at the heart of the musical tradition. Outlook’s Mariana Des Forges went to Sarajevo to meet them both. 

Photo: Dan-el Padilla Peralta reading as a child in a homeless shelter. 
Credit: Jeff Cowen

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Outlook

The star student with an agonising secret

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service