Syrie : portraits d'une guerre

Syrien: Menschen im Krieg

ARTE Reportage

ARTE Reportaje

Three Syrians, originally from different places but all now living in Idleb province, tell us their stories of war and their dreams of a better future.

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<p>Three Syrians, originally from different places but all now living in Idleb province, tell us their stories of war and their dreams of a better future.</p>

Syria: Portraits of War

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After two months of fighting, the Russian troops had their advance towards the West blocked by fierce Ukrainian resistance. Forced to leave the suburbs of Kyiv, the occupying army left behind mass graves and horrific accounts of rape and abuse in their wake. Russia is now turning its efforts to the Dobas and the coastline along the Sea of ​​Azov. In Kyiv, the return of spring is also the return of many residents who had fled.

 In Kyiv, the return of spring is also the return of many residents who had fled

Ukraine: Kyiv in Spring

"They called us: 'Tutsi! Tutsi!' They took you out of the tent and did what they wanted with you." 

Prisca, Marie-Jeanne and Concessa say they survived the Rwandan genocide and sought safety in refugee camps, only to be repeatedly raped and abused by the French soldiers sent there to protect them. All describe similar horrors: abduction from their tent, the gang rapes, and the photos of the assaults taken by the soldiers. “We naively thought that the white man was a saviour, that he would bring peace,” sighs one of the women. While French army denies all accusations of rape, the three women filed a complaint with the French courts in 2004 and 2012. The investigation is now at a standstill.

Rwanda: The Silence of Words

Three survivors of the Rwandan genocide level terrible accusations at the French army

In 10 years, Jean-Patrice Keka and his team have succeeded in getting five rockets off the ground with varying degrees of success. This 'Made in Africa' space programme is one-of-a-kind and proof of what can be achieved by one engineer with a bold dream: to become the first African in space.

DR Congo's Space Man

DR Congo's 'Made in Africa' space programme is proof of what can be achieved by one engineer with a bold dream

Since 2016, more than 450,000 Venezuelan children have left the country for neighbouring Colombia. Four teenagers Keider, Jordan, Miguel and Ander, decided to travel to Bogotá on foot by illegally crossing the Colombian border through smuggling routes known as "trochas".

Colombia: Disappearing Children

Since 2016, more than 450,000 Venezuelan children have left the country for neighbouring Colombia, a journey that can be dangerous.

Since 2020, Cuba has deployed 3,000 medical professionals to 42 countries including Mexico, Andorra, South Africa, Italy, Kuwait and France. This policy of cooperation has been one of the strengths of Cuban diplomacy for over 50 years. The fees charged for this support is a massive money-maker for Havana: some $10 billion in 2019, according to the World Trade Organisation.

Cuba: Humanitarian Diplomacy

Cuba has managed to control Covid and provide the rest of the world with medical assistance

The students of The Stars of the Desert programme are to become the new Bedouin elite. The alumni of this course go on to have amazing careers, thanks to the help of Jewish teachers who until then were only used to meeting Bedouins on the fringes of society. But the programme has also suffered a backlash from other Bedouins, who suspect Israel of only wanting to use this project to extend its influence.

Israel: The Stars of the Desert

The students of The Stars of the Desert programme are to become the new Bedouin elite

At Lviv station, a convoy prepares to make its way to Kyiv. The driver in his cabin, is at the front of the train. In the other cars are volunteers and men going into battle. Without even picking up a gun, Evgeni, a train driver, is now on the de facto front line.

Ukraine: Keeping the Trains Running

Without even picking up a gun, Evgeni, a train driver, is now on the de facto front line

The 11 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas in May 2021 left more than 200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. The physical and psychological damage in Gaza is significant. As Gazan’s rebuild their homes they also try and rebuild their mental health.

Rebuilding Gaza: Body and Soul

As Gazan’s rebuild their homes after the Hamas-Iraeli conflict, they also try and rebuild their mental health.

Israel set up a legal immigration channel intended to bring thousands of Ukrainian Jews to the country. They are not refugees, they are brand new Israeli citizens entitled to a passport and social housing from the moment they set foot on Israeli soil. The same cannot be said for their non-Jewish countrymen...

Israel: Jewish Ukrainians Get Star Treatment

They are not refugees, they are brand new Israeli citizens

In the Idlib region, the last enclave still held by the opposition to Bashar Al Assad, many Syrians are following the situation in Ukraine with concern: they know that the future of their country also depends on the outcome of this war in Europe. After 11 years of war in Syria, which has cost the lives of at least 500,000 people, they still dream of freedom and democracy.

Syria and Ukraine: The Same Struggle?

After 11 years of war, the people of Idlib still dream of freedom and democracy

Some Russians feel unfairly condemned by international sanctions and deplore their government. Others believe in Putin and in state television; and agree with the Russian Orthodox Church, which says the West is decadent. But despite all the propaganda, thanks to the Internet, Russians who want to know the truth can find the truth.

Russia: Journey to a Divided Country

Some Russians feel unfairly condemned by international sanctions and deplore their government

Their days and nights are filled by the sound of bombardment. They would have liked to flee, but they are too old, too sick or destitute to leave their homes. But some brave volunteers are helping them escape the danger.

Ukraine: The Ones Who Stayed

Their days and nights are filled by the sound of bombardment. They would have liked to flee, but they are too old, too sick or too poor to leave their homes. 

Covid is spreading mainly in overcrowded disadvantaged neighborhoods. The measures, very strict, are saturating the hospital system of the territory. The new Fanchang Hospital, built with Chinese assistance, currently has more than 50,000 patients. Health authorities, too, have different opinions. Some advocate the abolition of mass testing and say a complete lockdown of the city is impossible, while others say Hong Kong should take inspiration from the mainland.

Hong Kong: The Victims of China's Covid Policy

Is Hong Kong's covid policy causing as many problems as it claims to solve?

Almost 60% of the Brazilian population is now food insecure and around 20 million Brazilians suffer from hunger... This is Twice as many as in 2018. A situation further aggravated by the COVID-19 epidemic that has caused more than 600 000 deaths and ruined the economy.

Hunger in Brazil

Almost 60% of the Brazilian population is now food insecure and around 20 million Brazilians suffer from hunger.

In Rakovets, a village in western Ukraine, local people’s lives have been turned upside down since the war began. Myron Miroslavovitch's wife has left the village and his two sons are fighting at the front.

Ukraine: A Village in Wartime

In Rakovets, a village in western Ukraine, local people’s lives have been turned upside down since the war began.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church decided three years ago to no longer place itself under the authority of the religious authorities in Moscow. Our reporters accompanied a Ukrainian bishop, who supports his faithful and openly supports the army, on his journey to the frontline in Ukraine.

Ukraine: The Church on the Front Line

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is fighting to protect its people in any way it can

A breakaway region of Moldova that is not recognised internationally, Transnistria is largely pro-Russian. The war in Ukraine has awakened fears that Russia will try to annex the region.

Moldova: Transnistria and Russia

For days now Ukrainian refugees have been crossing the border into Moldova. The former Soviet republic fears they will be next to be on the receiving end of Russian aggression.

Moldova: Ukrainians Seek Refuge

Parallel to the very real war in Ukraine, an information war is raging. Some Ukrainian newspapers are translating their articles into Russian to combat what they see as Moscow’s distorted media picture of the conflict.  

Ukraine: The Information War

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought the people of Kyiv together like nothing else. Calling on the spirit of the Maidan Revolution of 2014, they are ready to resist.

Ukraine: Maïdan Spirit

Ordinary Ukrainian citizens are preparing to resist the Russian invader by joining the army and helping the resistance in any way they can.

Ukraine: Resisting the Agressor

What do Russians think about the invasion of Ukraine? Independent media in Russia is criticising the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russian people are protesting against their country’s actions.

Moscow: Russians Who Say No to War

Independent media in Russia is criticising the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russian people are protesting against their country’s actions.

The self-proclaimed Republic of the Donbas, a Ukrainian region bordering Russia, is governed by warlords. ARTE visited this separatist region in 2015 to film this reportage.

Donbas: Land of the Separatists

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In Ethiopia the civil war rages on. It's a conflict that has been taking place behind closed doors for more than a year and with almost no news or footage. In the north-east of the country, the separatists attacked the neighbouring Afar region to break through a blockade imposed by the federal government. ARTE journalists were on the ground when Tigrayan forces took the city of Abala; under attack, Afar fighters and civilians took refuge in the mountains.

Ethiopia: The War With Tigray

Meet the Sarkissians family, who fled their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh during the war in 2020. This Armenian family of refugees now live near Stepanakert, the capital of the territory. Three generations live together, with over ten children. They explain how the war changed their lives forever, and how they are still dealing with the psychological aftermath of losing their home.

Armenia: Recovering From War

Meet the Sarkissians family, who fled their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh during the war in 2020

American workers are asking for better conditions and higher wages. In Aspen, the famous ski resort and billionaire’s playground, the cost of living and inequality of earning is reaching crisis levels.

Colorado, USA: The Return of Class Struggle

In Aspen, the famous ski resort and billionaire’s playground, the cost of living and inequality of earning is reaching crisis levels.

Since the beginning of April, in the small town of Brookwood, nearly a thousand coal miners have been on strike to demand better pay and working conditions. When the mine was struggling workers accepted a pay cut, but now that the mine is profitable, management is refusing to return wages to their pre-cut levels.

USA: Striking Coal Miners

Workers accepted a pay cut when times were bad, but now that the mine is profitable, wages are still down.

Life is anything but normal in Iraq with Islamic State still making sporadic attacks and Shiite militias causing unrest. US troops are moving to an advice and assist role which many fear will threaten Iraqi security.  Three Iraqi citizens, Hassan, Safaa and Bahaa share their experiences of daily life in a country that has still not recovered from years of war.

Iraq: When American Troops Withdraw

Life is anything but normal in Iraq with Islamic State still making sporadic attacks and Shiite militias causing unrest.

In the early 1980s around 25,000 women were behind bars in the USA. This number now stands at around 230,000 with the state of Oklahoma having one of the highest rates of female incarceration in the country.

USA: Female Mass Incarceration

Female incarceration rates have risen sharply in America in recent years.

The killing of President Jovnel Moïse in July 2021 sparked off massive insecurity in Haiti. Port-au-Prince is overrun with dozens of armed groups and hospitals are struggling to keep up with the many victims caught up in the crossfire.

Port-au-Prince is overrun with dozens of armed groups and hospitals are struggling to keep up

Haiti: Doctors at the Heart of Chaos

ARTE first met Fereshta Azimi in 2020 on Lesbos, before the fire that devastated the overpopulated Moria refugee camp where she had been living for a year and a half. Now transferred to western Greece, what has happened to her hopes of asylum in Europe?

Greece: Waiting for Asylum

ARTE first met Fereshta Azimi in 2020 on Lesbos, now transferred to the Greek mainland, what has happened to her hopes of asylum in Europe?

The district of Manshiet Nasser is the largest ragpicker area in Cairo. It accepts nearly half of the city's waste, and its patchwork of cottage industries and 'mom-and-pop' shops are suprisingly effective.

Egypt: Rags and Riches

One neighbourhood in Cairo sorts through and recycles half of all the city's waste

Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed is an exception in the Muslim world: The French-Algerian imam is openly gay. For the past ten year he has led a progressive and inclusive movement promoting an Islam that respects the LGBT+ community, women’s right, and interfaith dialogue.

A Gay Imam

Ludovic-Mohamed-Zahed is an exception in the Muslim world: The French-Algerian imam is openly gay.

Over the past 20 years, coal mining has been driving Mongolia's economy. Although it has brought much needed development to the nation, as well as heating for Mongolians, it also has brought serious environmental harm.

Coal in Mongolia: Blessing or Curse?

Over the past 20 years, coal mining has been driving Mongolia's economy forward, but it has brought serious environmental harm.

The opposition politician Nizar Banat had repeatedly sharply criticised the corruption in the Palestinian Authority - and that's why the security forces beat him to death. His killing sparked off protests against the regime.

Protests in Palestine

Opposition figure Nizar Banat was beaten to death by security forces because of his criticism of the Palestinian regime

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Anne suffered a stroke shortly after giving birth to her second child and has since been unable to move or speak, although she is fully aware of her surroundings. Doctors are hoping to harness the power of technology and AI to help her communicate with her family once more. Oskar Zlamala  is also hoping that AI will help him with his degenerative eye disease that threatens to blind him. 

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Every summer thousands of Thai people travel to Sweden for temporary jobs picking berries in the country’s northern forests. But are these jobs a good deal for the workers?

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The Maginot Line is a giant: Thousands of underground bunkers and concrete defences lining the French border, from Belgium to the Mediterranean. In its time it was celebrated as a technical masterpiece and thought to be impregnable, today it also stands for the trauma of the French defeat in 1940. The documentary looks at a military construction that is as fascinating as it is controversial.

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Thought to be impregnable, the French defensive barrier did not halt the German invasion in 1940.

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Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

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Far away from the South Korean capital of Seoul is the Buddhist Gameunsa Temple. Three nuns live, pray and cook together here as they preserve the knowledge of centuries-old temple cuisine. The abbess of this small monastery is the charismatic Wookwan Sunim, revered in Asia as one of the best cooks in the world.

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Far away from the South Korean metropolis of Seoul is the Buddhist Gameunsa Temple where three nuns live, pray and cook together 

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The literary source for Richard Strauss’s opera immortalizing the degeneracy of Herodes Antipas, King of Judea, and his step-daughter Salome, was supplied by Oscar Wilde. It tells of Herodes, who is keeping the prophet Jochanaan captive inside a cistern. Salome tries to seduce him and on being rebuffed, forces her stepfather to serve her the prophet’s head on a silver platter.

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Rejected by the prophet Jochanaan, Salome forces her abusive stepfather to exact revenge.

Richard Strauss: Salome

Three Japanese men have fallen under the charms of high school student Rinko, a character from the video game Love Plus. The game finally leads them to the seaside resort of Atami, where the virtual world and real life collides.

Three Japanese men have fallen under the charms of high school student Rinko, a character from the video game Love Plus

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The Supreme Court is now made of a majority of ultra-conservative judges since President Trump's term in office. The court now looks set to overturn the Roe v Wade case which gave women the constitutional right to have an abortion if they so wish or need. This worrying step backwards for women's rights doesn't mean women won't have abortions. It means they'll die trying.

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This worrying step backwards doesn't mean women won't have abortions. It means they'll die trying

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Lockdowns, crop failures due to climate change and the war in Ukraine are all to blame for soaring prices around the world.

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ARTE Concert Festival welcomes a legend, Damon Albarn. He performs his new album live: The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows.

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In 2020, for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, Philippe Jordan and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra recreated the mythical evening of December 22 1808, when  the composer presented his Sixth Symphony, also known as his Pastoral.

Philippe Jordan recreates the evening of December 22, 1808, when Beethoven presented his Pastoral symphony

Philippe Jordan Conducts Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony

On May 9, Russia celebrated its victory day without a victory in Ukraine. Instead, President Putin further pushed the narrative of Russian victimhood, despite the fact that Moscow, not Kyiv, is the agressor. As the battle continues to rage, we take a look at Ukraine before and after the conflict.

Ukraine, Before and After the War

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Live from the Teatro Real in Madrid, an adaptation of Prokofiev’s flamboyant masterpiece by the ever-radical Calixto Bieito.

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Since its invention in the 19th century, the bicycle has allowed Western women to move around independently. Today, it is the turn of women in Arab countries to discover its power. Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist.

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Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist

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Thirty years after the end of apartheid, South Africa has still not overcome its many problems: Endemic violence, economic and racial inequalities, state corruption. However, the rainbow nation has a lot to offer: tourism, natural resources and a leadership role on the African continent.

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The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh are losing their colours. The paints he used were vibrant, but cheap, and degraded within months of painting. It's now impossible to appreciate the true beauty of his works, as his flamboyant flare for colours has slowly turned drab. If nothing is done, the Sunflowers which are still a beautiful gold today could well turn brown. Should we just accept they can't be saved?

Van Gogh's Disappearing Colours

The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh are losing their colours because the pigments used were vibrant but cheap

It is impossible for them to stay in Russia. For these Russian citizens opposed to the Kremlin, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the new laws restricting freedom of expression have forced them to leave everything behind. Their destination: Istanbul, as Turkey did not require a visa. It is a difficult exile with a host country that does not consider them as refugees and a homeland that views them as pariahs.

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Why do the works of the Italian painter Caravaggio exude such violence? The answer is to be found in the eventful life of the artist, who just couldn't stay out of trouble and met a sticky end.

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