Latest update: 13/06/2012 

- Bahrain - China - Israel - Syria


A Syrian filmmaker killed while filming, attacks against Africans in Israel, and more...

This show is made up entirely of amateur images. We've seen time and time again how images captured by ordinary citizens then uploaded onto the Web can change history, or at least shift the balance of power. This week, we take a look back at some of those moments.

STORY 1: Syria

We begin today with another cameraman killed in Homs. Like his comrades, Bassel al-Shahade was not a journalist. He was a film student studying in the US on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. But he couldn't see what was going on in Homs, and not be there himself. So he returned to help document what the Syrian military was doing to his city - and to train others in how to handle a camera. Bassel was killed by a Syrian rocket on May 28, when he was out with a group of students. Our Observer Rami had warned him of the dangers just the day before.

 

STORY 2: Israel

In times of economic hardship, people often look for scapegoats, for someone to take out their frustration on. We saw a couple of weeks ago that far-right groups in Greece are trying to stir up anger against immigrants. But the crisis is not just being felt in Europe - it's hit hard in Israel too. We head to Tel Aviv with our Observer David Sheen.

 

STORY 3: World

Next up, a look at some of the images sent in this week by our Observers.

First stop, China, with the blogger Zuola, and an amazing chance discovery. He was on a train recently and happened to meet a woman whose husband had participated in the Tiananmen massacre, 23 years ago this month. She was carrying with her photograpbhs that her husband took the day after the massacre. Zuola took pictures of the photos, and posted them on the Internet. The remarkable photos have somehow escaped the censorship around the Tiananmen anniversary, and they're circulating on social networks.

Now to Bahrain, with a video sent to us via Twitter, by Liliane. We already knew that the authorities in Bahrain have been using a lot of tear gas to put down anti-regime demonstrations. But this video shows something else - police officers shooting a tear gas canister directly into a house, through the window. Our Bahraini Observers tell us it's meant to discourage demonstrators from taking shelter in local residents' homes. A dangerous technique... Activists say more than a dozen people were killed in Bahrain last year because of tear gas - in several cases, when it was used inside enclosed structures.

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Derek Thomson presents a news show produced exclusively from content provided by amateurs. Photos, videos and personal accounts from our network of Observers around the world - all checked by our staff in Paris. First run Saturdays at 8:10 am Paris time.
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Derek Thomson presents a news show produced exclusively from content provided by amateurs. Photos, videos and personal accounts from our network of Observers around the world - all checked by our staff in Paris. First run Saturdays at 8:10 am Paris time.

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