tv Our World BBC News February 21, 2021 9:30pm-10:01pm GMT
9:30 pm
hello, this is bbc news with celia hatton. the headlines: a pledge that every adult in the uk will be offered their first dose of coronavirus vaccine by the end ofjuly — a month ahead of schedule. it's because of the success of the vaccine rollout that we are able to do that and that will have an impact on how quickly we will all be able to return to normal, which is obviously what everyone wants to see. borisjohnson meets ministers and scientific advisers to put the final touches to plans to bring england out of lockdown. a pioneering breakthough for children needing a heart transplant — a machine that keeps hearts beating outside the body for up to 12 hours.
9:31 pm
now on bbc news, our world. over the last few years, moroccan migrants who are trying to reach the eu have become youtube celebrities by blogging about the journey online. our world travels to meet them. welcome to europe. it has been a bad year for travel lovers. but the pandemic has not stopped everyone. we are here to meet some people who have been blogging about their journey to europe. they are not your typical travel bloggers. �*harraga', in arabic, means someone who burns through borders. they are undocumented migrants passing into europe illegally. over the last few years, this group of unorthodox travellers have made a corner of youtube their home.
9:32 pm
a place where they can document their wild journeys for fans back in morocco. but are these stories of adventure encouraging other people to take a difficultjourney? or are theyjust providing a service, showing the hardships of migration so that others will not make a fatal mistake? it is may 2020. five years after the migrant crisis that led the eu to secure its borders. but that has not stopped anwar al hafidi. he is in greece without a visa, hiking through the forest so that the police will not
9:33 pm
find him. anwar wants to go to italy. he trained as a barber in morocco but he left because he was not making enough money to get by. anwar is following a route taken by tens of thousands of north africans before him. he flew to turkey, where moroccans do not need a visa. and then he set off for europe by land. in sharing his journey on youtube he has become part of a phenomenon that started two years ago. the migrant influencer.
9:34 pm
in morocco, they belong to a forgotten generation. nearly one in four young people do not have a job. but through youtube they found a new identity. this is said. better known in the world of youtube as boya vlog. he has a university degree but last year he left his home in morocco and moved to turkey. and from there he decided to reach europe on foot. with 1.5 million views on his channel, he has built up a cult following with his special
9:35 pm
9:36 pm
9:37 pm
difficult part of the journey? in some of your videos towards the beginning the journey seemed kind of fun, like an adventure. do you think that may encourage more people to try to take it? one person who has been influenced by videos like said's is anwar. he is still making his way across greece, following a route that he spent years researching on youtube. he is constantly on the move so we're following his journey online and chatting on whatsapp.
9:38 pm
he has bought a bike and is hoping to cycle all the way to italy. like said he does not make it very far before he is arrested. unlike said though, anwar takes his youtube followers with him. even when things go wrong. as soon as he is released, six days later, he tells his followers how to avoid the police.
9:39 pm
9:40 pm
of thousands of views. but two months in, he is nowhere near his destination. he has travelled through five different countries but the border with croatia and the eu seems impenetrable. he has been pushed back by croatian police four times. so he retreats to the bosnian capital sarajevo. anwar spent six months working as a barber in turkey to save for his journey. but there are other influences who have figured out how to make money through their vlogs. meet zizu. with over 12 million views on his channel, he became one of the most popular migrant youtubers in morocco. in 2018, he followed his heart to brazil to meet a girl he fell in love with online. but when that ended he decided to head north to the us.
9:41 pm
the jungle is not easy. is danger or not? very dangerous. he told the bbc that he funds is journey through ads on his channel, social media partnerships and crowdfunding his fans. but there are other people finding ways to make money from the migrant youtube phenomenon. lurking in the comments section of those videos, we found people smugglers using the platform to find clients who are willing to pay to get into the eu illegally. looking at some of the comments underneath anwar�*s posts, there is a post here that has a phone number that says a moroccan guy in turkey who can help you travel by truck to the czech republic or slovakia.
9:42 pm
we asked an undercover reporter in morocco to contact the number posted on youtube. she pretends to be a single mother, hoping to reach austria with her young daughter. a people smuggler on the other end says he can arrange her travel. he sends our reporter an example of the fake medical documents that he can produce which will help her circumvent morocco�*s strict covid travel ban. he says an associate will collect her from the airport.
9:43 pm
youtube says videos and comments offering contact information that facilitate the sale of smuggling services violate its policy and that on review they have removed a number of these comments. the posts we found are no longer on the platform. but we know that they were there for at least two months. it is coming to the end of a hot summer in eastern europe. anwar spent a month at a migrant camp in bosnia, just beyond the eu border. but he is ready to try to cross croatia again. he is travelling with a group.
9:44 pm
9:45 pm
9:46 pm
he has given up on italy to aim north, for germany. he says he got as far as austria, in the undercarriage of a lorry. but then he was spotted. the austrian police drove him back to hungary. the hungarian police drove him back to serbia. and the serbian police drove him all the way to the south. he has been pushed back almost 1000 kilometres in a matter of days. and it is here, in serbia, that we eventually meet. he is staying in a camp for migrants, but we are not allowed in, so we arrange to meet in nearby town.
9:47 pm
9:48 pm
so was that a busy one? did you get many questions? but are you worried that people will then try and do the same route, take the same risks that you did? he says no matter what he does, people are going to travel anyway. a few weeks ago, anwar posted a 15—minute video which explains why shipping containers are a dangerous mode of transport.
9:49 pm
he felt compelled to make video after the deaths of seven people. they'd snuck inside the wrong shipping container at a station in serbia. their bodies were found four months later when the container was finally opened up in paraguay. one of the victims, ahmed belmiloudi, was a friend of anwar�*s. your whole experience so far, do you feel like it has been worth it?
9:50 pm
9:51 pm
he's scared, but he leaves with the men that have been swearing at him, heading for the hungarian border that night. we were in touch with him for another week, and then he went quiet. throughout his journey, anwar has been getting help from said. they belong to a network of migrant influencers who have been supporting each other on social media. for anwar, said is a success story. his new life in europe is something to aspire to. he's working, but is only getting by on odd jobs until, he hopes,
9:52 pm
9:53 pm
9:54 pm
hello, after the short, sharp shock of wintry weather it's been a mild week and if anything this week, it is looking milder. look at the colours and temperatures well above average for the time of year although easing a little bit late in the week, but all of the mild weather is not coming with sunshine for everyone and as we look at the rainfall, while some across eastern parts of england will stay dry, further west and north it will become wet through northern ireland and particularly into scotland on the bright colours indicate that some spots might amass over 100
9:55 pm
millimetres of rain with a renewed risk of flooding as this area of low pressure brings a wriggling weather front that will sit around northern and western areas, tuesday into wednesday, where as the further east you go you get to see some sunshine and temperatures will be most above average, may be nudging 17 celsius in a few spots. that is to come in this weather system for monday moves out of wales and pushes east across england and has been hanging around for the weekend but finally getting out of the way and behind it, brighter skies throughout scotland and northern ireland seeing sunny spells and the chance of a shower in north—west scotland and we are starting the week mild. as we going to tuesday, this is when the next weather system comes in from the atlantic and the rain might be preceded by snow in the of scotland but it is the rain, the amounts we are concerned about that there will be further snowmelt and rain in scotland and northern ireland at times into west and wales with the
9:56 pm
rain coming in, and strong gale force winds of gust of 60 miles an hourin force winds of gust of 60 miles an hour in some spots and it will be windy across all areas. mild across all areas with higher temperatures through central and eastern parts of england but staying dry and the weather front is still around on wednesday and there will be a pulse of energy moving along it so there might be a lull in the rain for a time but it comes back in two parts of northern ireland, western parts of northern ireland, western parts of england and wales with the risk of england and wales with the risk of seeing rain but particularly into scotland and again through central and eastern parts of england here, there might be some sunshine and this is where we could see 17, not just in south—east england but even into parts of yorkshire. and then the weather system will weaken considerably as it pushes away going into thursday. a little shift in wind direction behind it, so slightly less mild air for thursday on a breeze and a scattering of showers, a bit of of cloud building into east anglia in south—east england and maybe a few spots of
9:57 pm
rain and into friday in the far south—east in particular and then a high pressure building on as the week comes to a close with the system trying to move in from the atlantic and i think a lot of the energy from that will be diverted northwards but as we end friday we could see rain heading into northern ireland and eventually overnight into parts of western scotland. temperatures have come down a bit but it is still very mild and it looks like the high pressure will remain dominant for many parts as we go through next weekend but around the weather systems, still some weather fronts getting close at times, particularly in parts of northern ireland and scotland. the night might cool off a bit, but by day it is still mild, and as we've established this week it will be very mild for a time and while not all of us will see the rain, it will be heavy and there is a risk of flooding in scotland and where it is wet it will be drier later and the winds will pick up around midweek. then by the time we get to the end of next weekend, that will be the end of meteorological winter.
10:00 pm
tonight at10:00: borisjohnson finalises plans for the gradual easing of the coronavirus lockdown in england. but the government warns that, while infections are falling, the numbers in hospital are still a major burden on the nhs. clearly, the levels are still far too high. that's why the prime minister will be setting out a road map. we can't lift the measures right now, but we can see that direction of travel. the prime minister's announcement tomorrow comes as the vaccination rollout is speeded up. also tonight... chanting thousands pay their respects in myanmar to a young woman shot during protests against the military coup.
57 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC NewsUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1525334957)