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From Our Own Correspondent: The moments which made us think

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25/12/2021 GMT

The moments which made us think

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, The moments which made us think

Some of the most thought-provoking dispatches heard from around the world in 2021

Thought-provoking dispatches from 2021: from Europe's borders, a minister's office in Chad, a journey out of Afghanistan, and a southern Indian village under Covid lockdown

Pascale Harter presents a selection of the dispatches broadcast during 2021 - reflecting the personal stories behind the headline news.

Fergal Keane has reported from scenes of war, natural disaster and revolution around the world. Time after time he's seen the journeys of refugees and migrants across the world's borders - and so often the official responses to their neeeds have been similar. This year, as Greece reported a rise in the number of people arriving on its island via the Mediterranean Sea, he analysed how the European Union really polices its borders - and how international policy on migration so rarely takes in the full story of people's lives.

Chad lost its long-time leader, Idriss Deby, this year - reportedly killed in a desert battle with rebel forces. His son soon took the reins. Mayeni Jones went to the Chadian capital N'Djamena to hear the official line on the transfer of power. After a conversation with a minister with an apparently extravagant lifestyle, she came away wondering about the apparent disconnect between the country's masses and its leaders.

Karim Haidari was just one of hundreds of Afghans who'd worked with the BBC who left the country as part of the huge evacuation from Kabul Airport in August. He and his children are now safe in the UK. As he explained in a personal dispatch, "survival is a blessing ... but just the beginning" of a whole new sea of challenges.

And the Indian poet and writer Tishani Doshi was among those trying to adjust to a whole new rhythm of life under lockdown. In a small fishing village in Tamil Nadu, so remote that the post never arrives and online shopping is a distant dream, how would her neighbours - many of them depending on farming and fishing for a livelihood - manage the restrictions? From finding food, to helping with medicines, it turned out that even at a distance, personal contacts still made all the difference. 

Producer: Polly Hope

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