Witness History: Archive 2014

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The Death of Frida Kahlo Jul 14, 2014

Show notes

On July 13 1954, the celebrated Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, died at the age of 47. The art critic, Raquel Tibol, lived in Frida's house during the last year of the artist's life - she speaks to Witness about the pain and torment of her final days.

(Photo: Frida Kahlo with her husband, the painter Diego Rivera, at their home in Mexico city, April 1939. Credit: AP)

Pablo Neruda Jul 11, 2014

Show notes

In July 1904, the great Latin American poet Pablo Neruda was born in a remote town in the south of Chile. Witness presents an interview which Neruda gave to the BBC in 1965. Listen to the memories of fellow Chilean author, Ariel Dorfman.

Picture: Pablo Neruda receives the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Srebrenica Massacre Jul 10, 2014

Show notes

In July 1995 Bosnian Serb troops murdered thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys in the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two. The men had taken refuge in the UN 'safe area' of Srebrenica, but peacekeepers there were unable to protect them. One man whose brother, father and mother were among those killed describes what happened the day that Srebrenica fell.

(Photo: Forensic experts unearth a mass grave containing the bodies of some of those killed at Srebrenica. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior Jul 09, 2014

Show notes

On 9 July 1985 the Greenpeace campaign ship was bombed by French secret agents in Auckland, New Zealand. One environmental campaigner was killed and the Rainbow Warrior was sunk. Hear from the ship's captain Pete Willcox who was on board when the attack took place.

(Photo: Captain Pete Willcox, courtesy of Greenpeace)

The Death of Kim Il Sung Jul 08, 2014

Show notes

It is 20 years since the death of North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung. Peace campaigner Dr Antonio Betancourt from the Summit Council for World Peace was in Pyongyang during the outpouring of national grief.

(Photo: Dr Antonio Betancourt meeting Kim Il Sung just months before the leader's death)

The Storming of the Red Mosque Jul 07, 2014

Show notes

When armed militants took over a mosque in central Islamabad, they were protected by thousands of religious students who supported them and refused to leave the site. Government troops were sent in to end the siege. Three female students describe what it was like to be on the inside of the Red Mosque.

(Photo: Students of the Jamia Hafsa Madrassa Islamabad. Credit: Associated Press)

Iraq's Awakening Movement Jul 04, 2014

Show notes

In 2006 Sunni tribal militia turned against Al Qaeda in Iraq and began working with US forces. It was a turning point in the insurgency in Iraq.

We hear from a former US Marine, David Goldich, who served in Anbar province and witnessed the emergence of the Awakening movement.

Photo: Members of the Sunni Anbar Awakening with Iraqi police commandos and US troops, September 2007. (Ahmed Al Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images)

Artek - the Soviet Holiday Camp Jul 03, 2014

Show notes

Artek was the Soviet Union's most popular holiday camp, on the shores of the Black Sea in Crimea. Thousands of children visited every year - Maria Kim Espeland went there in the 1980s.

(Photo: Group of children attending Artek. Credit: Irina Vlasova)

Oklahoma: The Musical Jul 02, 2014

Show notes

In the middle of World War Two an optimistic musical about American rural life in the early 1900s, became a hit on Broadway. Created by Rodgers and Hammerstein its songs were soon being sung around the world. Gemze DeLappe was in the original production.

(Photo: Female chorus line from Oklahoma. Credit: Courtesy of Rodgers and Hammerstein Organisation)

Abuse at Abu Ghraib: the Iraqi view Jun 30, 2014

Show notes

Within months of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, concerns were raised about abuse at the American-run prison of Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad. Witness hears from two former detainees, Salah Hassan and Ali Shallal Abbas, about their experiences. Listeners may find parts of this report distressing.

(Photo: The words 'God Help Me' are scrawled in Arabic on a prison door inside the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, 16 September 2003 in Baghdad. Credit: Robert Sullivan/AFP/Getty Images)

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