Vietnamese migration to the UK is the second highest after Albania and each year the numbers are rising. Not even the tragedy of the Essex lorry disaster in 2019 has been enough to put people off. Then 39 Vietnamese migrants suffocated in a container lorry as they came over the English channel. BBC journalist Nga Pham talks to people in Vietnam about their desperation to leave their country. Coming from some of the most economically deprived provinces, families pay between $30-45,000 to people smugglers to send hundreds of their children out each year in the hope of a better future. She meets people who are now working in the shadow economy in the UK, in nail bars, cannabis farms and restaurants, hiding in plain sight. She also talks to those who were caught up in trafficking networks, discovered by the police and deported back to Vietnam with nothing to show for their years of slave labour.  Reporter: Nga Pham
Producer: Anna Horsbrugh-Porter
A Just Radio production for the BBC World Service (Image: A group of women harvest rice, Vietnam. Credit: BBC)

A long way from Vietnam

Original BBC documentary storytelling, bringing award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and “unputdownable” audio. New episodes every week from The Documentary, Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, BBC OS Conversations and The Fifth Floor.

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Nataliya Zotova of BBC Russian tells us how Yulia Navalnaya has stepped in for her husband since his death and how there is somewhat of a precedent for this in Russia. Plus Ikechukwu Kalu explains how the BBC Igbo social media team use proverbs to connect with their audience.  Produced by Caroline Ferguson and Alice Gioia  (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

The Fifth Floor: Love and politics in Russia

The war in Gaza has triggered demonstrations at dozens of universities thousands of miles away in the United States. There have been hundreds of arrests as police have gone in to break them up and remove the protest camps that have been set up. Amid the heightened tensions, three Jewish students with different views towards Israel and its government, share their experience on campus and the impact on their studies.. We also hear from protesters at two Ivy League universities in the US, Colombia and Harvard. One describes witnessing the police raids. They explain their motivation for being part of the protest and reflect on whether their actions might have possible repercussions in the future.

BBC OS Conversations: Student protests in the US

Dating in the Jewish world can be a struggle - different denominations, beliefs, being Kosher or not Kosher, ideologies and geography makes navigating this world difficult to decode. Amie Liebowitz talks to matchmaker and dating coach Aleeza Ben Shalom from Netflix's Jewish Matchmaker and  goes on her own quest to learn about the traditional and religious values of matchmaking.

Heart and Soul: Jewish dating

South Africa is marking 30 years of democracy this year, reflecting on the remarkable transition from apartheid that captivated the world. While some South Africans are celebrating, others are questioning whether the promises of democracy have delivered. The BBC’s Nomsa Maseko embarks on a personal journey, starting from the polling station she accompanied her mother to in April 1994, to meet the people who fought for South Africa’s freedom, built its democratic institutions, and are seeking to improve their own lives today. She asks all of them: what does 30 years of democracy mean to you?

South Africa: The people shall govern

A bonus episode from the Lives Less Ordinary podcast. 
Evy Mages grew up in and out of foster care in 1970s and 80s Austria. But even when she started a new life in the US, she was haunted by traumatic memories of a strange yellow house high up in the Alps, where she had been placed as an eight-year-old. It took an idle internet search in her 50s to reveal that this was actually an institution called a 'Kinderbeobachtungsstation', or 'child-observation station', where vulnerable children were experimented on by a psychologist using shocking methods. She decided to step back into her past to uncover the full, disturbing truth of what happened there. Evy's story first appeared in the New Yorker in 2023. Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Edgar Maddicott Editor: Rebecca Vincent Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 For more extraordinary personal stories from around the world, go to bbcworldservice.com/liveslessordinary or search for Live Less Ordinary wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

A long way from Vietnam

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