please join me in welcoming journalists and author, lindsey hilsum. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> okay. now we can chat. lindsay, let's start with you talking about your reporting trips to the region last year. tell us about how you were able to navigate the country, how sources cooperated with the organ, and about the general mood of the people that you observed and interacted with them. i would just like to add, in addition to providing a compelling narrative on the history of libya, which he has done is we've and profiles of libyans, both who had been in the country all along, and some who have returned to libya , to help us better understand how the revolution had an impact on ordinary people. >> thank you very much for coming. chicago is an amazing place, and it does feel like a very long way from tripoli. lester, the arab spring, i guess that was the year i went into journalism for. it was the most extraordinary time. it was a time when history was happening all around us. we still don't know how that history is going to end up. this is a

earlier this week, lindsey hilsum of "independent television news" reported on islamic militants who now control two-thirds of the country. violence and harsh punishments carried out byhe militants have driven thousands to flee to neighboring mauritania. tonight, hilsum has the stories of families crossing the border. >> reporter: it's been a long journey-- three days trek through desert. another seven families whov'e loaded everything they have onto their carts and crossed the border into mauritania. fear and hunger drove them out of northern mali. they tell their story to the police chief in the border town of fassalla. >> ( translated ): they say that fear of having a hand amputated, or being whipped or stoned to death made them come. they will not accept these things. they're muslims but they can't endure this kind of religion being imposed upon them. about 400 malians arrive every day with similar tales of fighting between armed groups, and terror being administered by al qaeda and its allies in and around timbuktu. >> reporter: the people coming across the border paint the pictu

lindsey hilsum of independent television news reports. al qaeda has a new refuge. the deserts of northern mali. they drove out the national army and seized their weapons. now they fly the al qaeda flag. they control an area twice the size of britain, including cities and airports, and they're threatening europe. >> when we've conquered france we'll come to the usa. we'll come to london and conquer the whole world. the banner of mohammed, peace be upon his head, will be raised from where the sun rises to where it sets >> reporter: the military commander of al qaeda's local ally, defenders of the faith. 400 miles south in the maliian capital, a make-shift populous militia trains every evening. their mission: to take the north of their country back from the islamists. self-defense units like this are springing up across the country now. the people have got no faith in the army to defend them because they saw how the soldiers fled the moment the rebellion started in the north. but militias, some of them braced on tribe, can be very dangerous. there's no rule of law in

. >> brown: and from the west african nation of mali, lindsey hilsum has a story of music, architecture and art, all threatened by the country's new islamic rulers. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: "it was just another regular day in damascus." the words of a resident of the syrian capital where on this day, shelling and clashes were intense. government forces backed by tanks and helicopters attacked an area just outside the city and the last of the united nations military observers left, unable t

earlier this week, lindsey hilsum of "independent television news" reported on the rise of islamic militants the exodus of refugees. tonight, she explores the impact of the conflict on the country's cultural heritage. >> reporter: mali-- one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. a land of music, mud mosques, ancient islamic manuscripts, animists-- all now under threat. about 50 miles from the capital, bamako, i meet the hunters. they brandish their 19th century flintlock rifles, and their talismans. the islamistwho now control northern mali hate all this, but the hunters culture goes back a thousand years and they like to show it off. these men see themselves as muslims, but they mix their islam with animism, traditional culture, and they know that if the islamists came down from the north to here then they'd be the first target. but they're an essential part of malian culture. they show me how they aim their rifles-- no shooting, though, because it's ramadan and they say, they can always send magic to destroy the islamists. >> ( translated ): we're scared of the new islamic wav