When police in New York shot a young immigrant 41 times in 1999, thousands of people took to the streets to protest. But Amadou Diallo's mother Kadiatou wanted her son to be remembered for the way he lived, not the way he died. So she flew to the US to speak on his behalf. She has been telling Sharon Hemans her story.

The killing of Amadou Diallo

History as told by the people who were there.

History

Society & Culture

A group of men known as the ‘Cairo 52’ were arrested in Egypt in May 2001. They were on board the Queen Boat, a floating gay nightclub on the River Nile. Omer, not his real name, was arrested and imprisoned for habitual debauchery. There is no explicit law against homosexuality in Egypt and Omer was released early following the orders of US president at the time, George W Bush.  Omer speaks to Dan Hardoon about the arrest and its aftermath – in graphic detail. (Photo: Some of the 'Cairo 52', dressed in white with their faces covered, being escorted by security into a court in Cairo. Credit: Marwan Naamani/Getty Images)

Egypt and the ‘Cairo 52’

Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who spent nearly 30 years in the Philippine jungle, believing World War Two was still going on. Using his training in guerilla warfare, he attacked and killed people living on Lubang Island, mistakenly believing them to be enemy soldiers. He was finally persuaded to surrender in 1974 when his former commander, Yoshimi Taniguchi, found him and gave him an order.  In a televised ceremony, Hiroo presented his sword to the then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos. President Marcos returned the sword and gave him a full presidential pardon and told him he admired his courage. Hiroo died in January 2014 at the age of 91. This programme was produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe, using BBC archive. (Photo: Hiroo Onoda steps out of the jungle. Credit: Getty Images)

Hiroo Onoda, Japan’s last WW2 soldier to surrender

After winning the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Franco's dictatorship began. During the war, he acquired St Teresa of Avila's severed hand and kept it for spiritual guidance, it was returned when he died in 1975.  The hand was initially stolen by General Franco's opposition from a convent in Ronda, but Franco’s nationalist soldiers took it for themselves when they won the Battle of Malaga.  Sister Jenifer is the Mother Superior of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Ronda, where the hand is kept on display for people to see.  She tells Johnny I’Anson who St Teresa was, why her hand was cut off, and what made it special. (Photo: Monument of Saint Teresa of Avila, Spain. Credit: digicomphoto/Getty Images)

St Teresa of Avila's severed hand

When Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream was stolen in 1994, an undercover operation was launched to get it back. Thirty years on from its recovery, hear from the art detective at the centre of the story. In 2013, Charley Hill told Lucy Burns how his task saw him take on a fake identity, rub shoulders with criminals and encounter the Thai kickboxing champion of Scandinavia. (Photo: The Scream on display in Oslo in 2008, after being stolen for a second time. Credit: Scanpix Norway/AFP/Getty Images)

The Scream: A stolen masterpiece

Lake Karla supported hundreds of families in Thessaly, providing fish for all of the region and beyond.  Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas grew up on the shores of the wetland and have mixed memories of the lake. They too lived off its fish, but they were also victims of its floods.  The lake was drained by the Greek Government in 1962, destroying a vital ecosystem.  In 2023, when torrential rain poured over Thessaly, the lake was restored – but the region was devastated. Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas speak to Maria Margaronis. (Photo: Lake Karla. Credit: Maria Margaronis) Music: “Platani apo to Metsovo,” used by permission of ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.

The killing of Amadou Diallo

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