All language subtitles for Global.Eye.S2025E08.1080p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS_track3_[eng]

Hello and welcome to Global Eye.

Each week, we come to you from
a different part of the world

to showcase the very best
of BBC World Service journalism.

I am Sammy Awami,
a reporter for BBC Africa.

For the past two weeks,

I've been on assignment
here in Madagascar,

which has been gripped
by political unrest

fuelled by Gen-Z anger
and frustrations.

I'll be your guide to what's been
happening here and why it matters.

And this isn't the only place
that's been gripped by protests.

Across the world, young people
have been demanding

a better deal
from their governments.

GUNFIRE

Many regimes have responded
with brutal force.

We'll bring you a BBC Eye
investigation

into one of the worst incidences
of police killing

in Bangladesh's history,

amidst demonstrations that led
to the fall of the government.

And we'll take you to Indonesia,

where locals are fighting back
as entire villages are sinking.

Madagascar is the world's
fourth-largest island

and home to almost
32 million people.

It's celebrated for its biodiversity
and untouched beauty,

but beneath the rich landscapes,
this country is facing a crisis

that threatens
its fragile stability.

It's the world's largest producer
of vanilla,

but also one of
the world's poorest nations.

More than a quarter
of its population

are living below the poverty line,

and only a quarter of people here
have access to electricity.

That's according to the
International Monetary Fund.

It's also one of
the youngest nations in the world.

It gained independence
from France just 65 years ago,

and more than half the population
is under the age of 25.

Since independence,

Madagascar has been caught
in a cycle of coups,

contested elections
and economic setbacks.

The recent protests were sparked
by widespread power cuts

and water shortages,

but quickly developed
into wider discontent

with the country's leadership

over unemployment
and the management of the economy.

Around 29th September,
the protest turned violent

when security officers
opened fire on demonstrators.

GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING

At least 14 people were killed
and dozens injured.

The government claimed the crackdown
was necessary

to prevent foreign sabotage,

but human rights groups
have condemned the response

as excessive and unlawful.

HE SPEAKS MALAGASY

The country's president
and former DJ Andry Rajoelina

has been ousted and impeached,

and the High Constitutional Court
has named a colonel

from an elite military unit, Capsat,
as the country's new leader.

On a pris le pouvoir.

Ca, c'est le palais presidentiel.

I spoke to Colonel Randrianirina

as events were still
very much in flux.

Since I sat down with him,

Colonel Randrianirina
has been sworn in as president

of the new military government.

He has committed to fresh elections
within two years.

It's the second time
in just over a month

that youth-led protests have brought
down a government,

marking a wave of Gen-Z unrest
across the globe.

In Nepal, anti-corruption protests
led to the storming of parliament

and the prime minister's
resignation.

70 people were killed.

That same spirit of defiance
is gaining momentum in Madagascar,

where young people
are drawing inspiration

from youth movements worldwide.

What binds these seemingly
scattered uprisings,

from calls to education reform
in Morocco

to demonstrations against
crime in Peru,

is a digital thread of solidarity.

Technology has given rise
to a shared visual language -

emojis of raised fists and flames,
manga characters,

comic book heroes
battling corrupt systems.

These symbols have become
rallying cries,

memes of resistance
that transcend borders.

One of Gen Z's revolutions
took place in Bangladesh,

and its impact has been seismic.

In July 2024,

young people's anger over
a controversial quota system

for public sector jobs
developed into nationwide unrest.

An estimated 1,400 people
were killed

and thousands injured
during weeks of unrest.

But what really happened,
and who was responsible?

The BBC Eye team pieced together
the events of one of

critical days of the revolution

using so-called open-source
techniques to analyse videos,

documents and eyewitness accounts.

Here's Riddhi Jha's report.

SHOUTING

GUNFIRE

August 5th, 2024.

Demonstrations have
been taking place across

the Bangladeshi capital,
Dhaka, for weeks.

Protesters flee
a barrage of bullets.

In this neighbourhood of Jatrabari,
police fire indiscriminately,

killing at least 52 people
and injuring countless others.

With unseen footage, accounts
from police and protesters,

we uncover what happened
and who was responsible.

For 15 years, Bangladesh was ruled
by Sheikh Hasina

and her Awami League party.

Bangladesh always maintained
the human rights.

To me, human rights means
their security,

their right to food,
right to vote, right to live.

Everything, we maintain.

But in July 2024,

protests ignited across the country

after the reinstatement
of Bangladesh's quota system...

..a law that limited access
to government jobs.

About 30% of jobs were set aside
for the families of veterans

who fought in the country's
war of independence.

CHANTING

Students like Russell Mahmud
coordinated the protests.

CHANTING

EXPLOSION

The protests are met
with a brutal police crackdown.

The country is plunged into
a communications blackout.

The government orders
internet services to be shut down.

Bijoy, a young student,
becomes a powerful voice

in the rising resistance.

Hasina issues an order.

Police and security forces
are to use lethal force.

This leaked recording,
which has been verified by BBC Eye,

shows her directing
the security response.

But the crackdown only inflames
the protests.

And on August 5th,

protesters begin marching into Dhaka
to demand her resignation.

Among those protesting are two
friends, Sawon and Miraz.

The two friends joined the march
at Jatrabari,

a key junction guarded by
a major police station.

What happens next leads to
one of the worst

incidents of police violence
in Bangladesh's history.

We've gathered
and analysed hundreds of videos,

photographs and eyewitness accounts

to build a detailed picture of
what happens.

At 1:55pm,
police charge out of the station...

GUNSHOTS

..forcing protesters
back down the highway.

PEOPLE CRY OUT

Protesters are pushed back.

The army arrives and stands guard
between them and the police.

The army tells Sheikh Hasina
that they can't

prevent protesters
from reaching her residence.

And at 2:25pm,

she escapes by helicopter
to a military airport.

Around the same time,

army vehicles start pulling out of
the area,

but troops

are still stationed
outside the police station.

Miraz and Sawon move
towards the station.

But Miraz stays and captures

army soldiers abandoning
the police station.

Seconds after, the army withdraws,

at 2:43pm,

police opened fire again.

Miraz continues filming,

his final moments
captured on his own camera.

But for those still out on
the streets, the horror continues.

At 3:27pm, police retreat
to a temporary army barracks.

Others escape in civilian clothes.

Some officers at the
police station are trapped inside

as protesters
break into the building,

setting it on fire
and killing at least six officers.

Videos show the army standing by
as the shooting continued.

UPROAR

As chaos subsided,

one question remained -
who was responsible?

The police we spoke to told us
that they were following orders.

..was there when the massacre
took place.

Hasan has been arrested

but we've been told he was

instructed by more senior officers
throughout the protests.

One of those was...

..seen instructing police officers

in July in Jatrabari.

The head of the police force
in Dhaka, Habibur Rahman,

gave orders
from a central command room.

..was in charge of the police.

And at the top of this
chain of command was...

Her leadership and orders

set the stage for the crackdown.

Sheikh Hasina is now in exile.

But in Bangladesh,

she's been put on trial
for crimes against humanity,

charges she strenuously denies.

Her Awami League party
denies she bears

responsibility
for killing of protesters.

The trial continues.

CALL TO PRAYER

OVERLAPPING PRAYERS

Young people harnessing technology
for mass movements is nothing new -

the Arab Spring and
Occupy Wall Street in the 2010s

relied heavily on Twitter
to share information -

but for this generation of digital
natives brought up with smartphones

and pandemic lockdowns,

online platforms from Instagram
to TikTok have become such

an integral part of everyday life

that they've become a
fundamental human right.

And when governments around
the world have sought to curtail

or control that access,
the impact has been explosive.

Here's some other great journalism
from the World Service

that you can catch this week.

BBC Monitoring's Russia editor
Vitaly Shevchenko's online article

tells the intriguing story of the
accidental discovery of the fate

of his childhood home in Ukraine.

Here's Vitaly with more.

It all started a few weeks ago

when I was sitting at work at
the end of a pretty busy day,

and I was sort of feeling nostalgic

about my home village in Ukraine's
eastern Zaporizhzhia region

called Verkhnya Krynytsya,
which is a poetic name -

it means "Upper Well" in Ukrainian.

And I had a look at
some satellite images

and what I saw was very familiar.

There was the lush greenery
of Verkhnya Krynytsya

in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.

There was the Kakhovka reservoir,

the one that we called
the sea cos it was so big.

All those memories
from my childhood,

they started flooding back.

I remembered how I heard local women
singing Ukrainian folk songs

at the Kakhovka sea, as we
called it, and now it's gone

after the Kakhovka dam
was destroyed during the war.

I saw the railway tracks and
I remembered the trains,

they used to pass
through our village.

Now they're gone, after the tracks
were also destroyed during the war.

And then I saw a new road
that appeared in the village,

even though it's a
pretty dangerous place -

it's occupied by Russia.

And yet somebody's made a new
road leading right into my house.

And looking at satellite images,

we've found something
really interesting.

That dirt track got more use when
the weather got colder and wetter.

So who has made that track

and who's now occupying
my childhood home

in this Russian-controlled
part of war-torn Ukraine?

You can find out more
on the BBC News website

or by listening to Ukrainecast
wherever you get your podcasts.

And now, we are taking you to
Indonesia and Java's north coast,

where entire villages
are quietly vanishing

as land sinks and tidal
flood creeps inland.

This is a climate crisis
that experts warn could engulf

the region by 2050.

Ayomi Amindoni reports on how
local people are fighting back

as their livelihoods are disrupted
and their homes under threat.

Along the northern coast of Java,
the sea is swallowing land

village by village.

Java is Indonesia's
most populous island,

home to more than half of
Indonesia's 284 million population

and a hub for over 55%
of the national economy.

Ningsih has lived in Eretan Wetan
for her whole life.

What once was a quiet
fishing village, now a ghost town

as entire neighbourhoods are
disappearing beneath the tide.

The village
is among many others grappling

with severe land subsidence caused

by decades of excessive
groundwater extraction.

It also has been affected by
rising sea levels for years.

Ningsih watched the
floods destroy roads,

swallow homes,
and many families left.

Hers chose to stay,

but this is what they
have to face every day.

Across Java's north coast,

more than 30 million people live
in areas at risk of being submerged.

Factories and industrial zones have
replaced mangroves and fish ponds,

speeding up a slow disaster already
worsened by climate change.

Experts warn, by 2050, much of
the coast could be underwater.

The government is now building
a massive defence,

a 500km sea wall and giant
pumps to hold back the ocean.

But critics say it
may not be enough,

especially as more coastal land
is reclaimed by development.

Nearly 300km away
from Ningsih's village,

in the coastal city of Kendal,

one man is fighting to keep
his home from disappearing

as a result of erosion.

Mangrove roots protect coasts
from erosion and storms,

while providing breeding
grounds for fish and shrimp.

Factories and ports built for
an industrial zone in Kendal

have long been accused of
clearing coastal mangroves,

a claim officials deny.

They argue that land subsidence
has been an issue

long before the factories appeared.

But with the natural barriers gone,
the sea began to eat the land.

The government has rejected
the claim that industrial zones

are the root of the problem.

They say the sinking
of Java's coastal areas

are mostly natural process,

but Wasito saw the damage
first-hand and decided to act.

Since 2006, Wasito and his
neighbours have planted

thousands of mangroves,

building a living wall
to hold back the sea.

The forest now stretches
along the shoreline,

protecting homes and livelihoods.

But as more land is developed,

the remaining mangrove zones
are disappearing fast.

As the tide keeps rising

and the effect of climate
change more severe,

communities along Java's sinking
shores are doing what they can do

to protect the land they call home.

Thank you for joining
me in Madagascar.

We want your feedback on Global Eye.

Let us know what you
think, on social media,

Next week, we'll be
reporting from Peru.

Goodbye.