30/10/2017 Inside Out West Midlands

On this week's Inside Out...

Tonight, murdered in Australia.

Now her mum's campaigning to make it

safer for backpackers.

What I can do is to carry

on trying to bring your

kids like Mia home in one piece,

having had the time of their life,

which is what travel is all about.

Skin fragile as a butterfly's wings.

But Assya is determined

to live her life to the full.

I'm in pain, 24-7.

I've had it all my life

and it's never changed.

You shouldn't be afraid

to go out

because of your condition.

And the boat that survived

almost unchanged

for millennia.

So here she is.

I'll finish her off for you.

Wow!

Terry, she's beautiful.

Those are natural.

She's a natural.

I m Ayo Akinwolere and this

is Inside Out West Midlands.

Hello, we're in Bewdley

in Worcestershire, on the banks

of the River Severn ? a river that's

played a key part in the story

of that ancient craft, the coracle.

More on that later.

First though, Australia's

a magnet for young people

in search of adventure.

But one mum's campaigning to make

conditions safer for backpackers

after her daughter was murdered.

It was at the Backpackers hostel

where she was living

that she was attacked.

The attacker was a 29-year-old

French national.

Last year every parent's

worst nightmare became

Rosie Ayliffe's reality.

Her daughter Mia was murdered

by a fellow backpacker.

This was Mia just a few

days ago on her way

to work on a farm.

The death happened in Australia.

Somewhere most consider

a safe place to travel.

If Mia walked into a

room, she lit it up.

Mia was working long hours

for little pay in

the gruelling Aussie heat to get her

second year's Visa.

If you want to stay longer

than a year on a working holiday

visa in Australia then you need

to do 88 days ? three months ?

of work in agricultural or various

other industries in remote regions.

So how dangerous is it for young

travellers to do this

farm work in Australia?

Like Mia - Rachel from

Birmingham has also done it

and says it was incredibly tough.

They were in a working hostel

like I was and I've seen

for myself how

pressurised it can be.

She thinks the harsh

conditions could have added

to the killer's frame of mind.

It would've been very hot

where she was working outside

all day and it's quite small space

when you're living and working

with people the same time.

It can be

quite a pressure pot.

The murderer has now been jailed ?

but Rachel thinks the fundamental

problem behind Mia's death remains.

Sadly I've heard stories of sexual

assault on some female backpackers,

physical assault ? and I've met

people who've been hit.

Obviously what happened

to Mia could happen

anywhere.

But I think the conditions

they would have been living in, the

pressure that it puts on people,

I think that could've been a

contributing factor, definitely.

Rosie wants to make a difference.

She's heading to Australia to start

a campaign for better

working conditions.

I have to do my best

to do something, to stop

what's happening here.

Perhaps retracing

Mia's footsteps can

put her own mind to rest as well.

I don't know which way it's

going to go but hopefully it

will help me come to terms

with her death.

So just how bad are the conditions?

Rosie's journey begins

at a farm to find out.

I think the crop we're

passing is sugar cane.

And when you see how tall

it is and imagine Mia working

in that field - it would

be way over her head.

And it's pretty hot out there.

For Rachel, it isn't just

the heat but the isolation.

Some people I've met have been

on cattle stations or dairy farms,

that are literally hundreds

of miles away from the nearest shop.

Even more in the desert - it can be

extremely remote.

If you're in a remote

area like that it can be

extremely hard to get out.

and Charlotte right now.

And the experiences just get worse.

Everybody have a story

about the 88 days.

About the working in

the farm, a lot of stories.

Bad stories, yeah.

I've seen incidences

where people have been

denied water, denied

going to the toilet.

We're speaking

about people working

in 40 degrees - some

are 18, 19 years old.

People collapse mentally.

They just break down.

It's almost like being in prison

rather than in Australia.

But most backpackers are only

finding this out when it's too late.

I don't think there's

that much information

regarding...working in Australia.

Any information you do get

is from backpackers'

experiences really.

So this is what Rosie wants to focus

on - raising awareness.

It's been quite a journey.

I've met several backpackers who've

encountered quite harsh

conditions in the field

and who've had experiences,

which, you know, I don't

think people back home

would be happy about.

I've got to get the story out there.

But is getting the story

out there enough?

Rachel thinks the Australian

government need to do more.

I do think that if the government

wants backpackers to be doing this

work to get their Visa, they do need

to be regulating it a little bit

more and keeping

a better eye on things.

Rosie's turned to the media

to get some action.

What in particular did you find

out about the farm work

scheme and how young people

are possibly being exploited by it?

I started to hear stories

about other young people

who were involved in the same

government programme that

Mia was involved with.

And frankly I was shocked.

I was horrified by

some of the stories.

It's started to work.

Anti-slavery campaigners

in Australia are now on the case.

If it's raining for two

weeks, as it often does

in tropical Queensland,

there's no work.

The backpackers are getting further

into debt and that's when we see

sick practices like seizure

of passports, seizure of laptops

and things like that in order

to stop people from leaving.

And things are beginning to change.

Three out of the six Australian

states are planning to bring

in regulations.

But for Rosie, the hardest

part is yet to come.

That must be the hostel,

because I can see hostellers.

This is the hostel

where Mia was murdered.

The owner has agreed to let Rosie

in - but we have to stay outside.

I'm sitting in the cubicle

where Mia died and apparently

she fought for her life.

Even with chest injuries,

even with a blow to the heart,

Mia was still fighting for her life.

For Rosie, all that's left

are painful memories.

Just the thought of my

girl lying here dying

in a toilet - it's just not easy.

She's now heading

back to Derbyshire.

Did the journey bring any closure?

My conscious and unconscious

minds have been searching

for answers to what happened that

night and now that I've had

the police account and I can't do

any better than that.

Back home, Rosie's set

up a website to offer

advice and support and it's making

a difference to Shaun & Charlotte.

You hear a lot of

horror stories mainly.

don't work on these kinds

of farms.

We've been warned.

Rosie's also getting Rachel to help

out with the campaign when she heads

back to Australia.

You don't expect to get

there and not come back.

It's desperately sad

what happened to Mia and that's why

I really want to help Rosie

and her campaign to make it safer

for backpacker to go there.

It's the end of a hard

year for Rosie.

Nothing will bring Mia back.

But knowing that others

will hopefully be safer gives Rosie

a little more peace.

Something Mia would have liked.

What I can do is to carry on trying

to bring kids like Mia home

in one piece and also having had

the time of their life,

which is what travel is all about.

And if you'd like to drop me a line

about that film or about anything

else in the programme or in fact

in this series it's [email protected]

Later the boat that's integral

of the history of the River Severn,

though it's not always the most

stable of craft.

CHEERING AND WHOOPING

Next, a young woman from Birmingham

with a rare and challenging

skin condition is refusing to let it

limit the life she leads.

Assya's in constant pain and even

everyday tasks can be a challenge,

but she's determined to be

an inspiration to others

with the condition.

They land on you so

perfectly, so subtly.

And you just sit there wondering.

Wow!

Assya Shabir adores butterflies.

She has a certain

attachment to them.

They just want to be loved and just

want to be appreciated

because butterflies

are so beautiful - and so are we.

She's fond of them

because the two have

something in common.

Assya's skin is as delicate

as a butterfly's wing.

She and I clicked right

the way from the beginning.

We just sat and nattered

about all sorts of other

things apart from skin.

Assya might be fragile

on the outside but inside,

she's made of tougher stuff.

She's a very lovely

person, she's very brave.

Assya often talks about how

when she meets people,

they often see the EB first

and not her.

And this year, just

like the majestic butterfly,

Assya feels like she's emerged

from her own cocoon.

EB, epidermolysis bullosa,

is the name for a group

of rare and incurable genetic

conditions which cause the skin

to break and blister

with the tiniest of touches.

In the UK, there are

an estimated 5,000 people

living with it, leaving sufferers

like Assya

wounded and sore from birth.

I'm in pain 24/7.

I've had it for all my life,

it's never changed, sometimes it

gets extremely painful.

When my skins really

bad, I need help.

I'm literally like a baby.

Help getting changed,

help getting up...

But sometimes the reaction she gets

from others can be just

as painful as her skin.

I get fed up, left, right

and centre on a daily basis,

no matter what happens, but I can

tell by body language, and how

someone speaks to me,

how they actually feel.

Sometimes it does take me back.

They would be nice to my face,

but you can see from

the way they are standing.

I can read it.

When I was younger, I used to put

on a tough side, like a wall.

So anything would come and it

would just stick in my head.

But over the years, she's tried

to break down that wall

to embrace life,

and for good reason.

When she was born, doctors predicted

that Assya would live

for only 24 hours

but this year, she's

reached a milestone birthday.

It's her 30th and plans

for a party are well under way.

Today, Assya and her friend Husna

are meeting with Birmingham

designer Rima Tadmory, who's giving

up her spare time

to make Assya the bespoke

gown of her dreams.

Assya and the condition

and everything

that she's gone through leading up

now to her 30th birthday,

I felt like I've always been

waiting for something

to happen in my life

where an opportunity comes along

and I'm able to give back

to the community and I felt

like this is something I have

to grab with both hands and I have

to run with it and I'm really

excited actually to meet them both

and I'm going to go do that now.

If

The idea to throw the party

is all down to Husna.

She just couldn't let such an

important birthday pass unnoticed.

She's just such a loving

person and she's so bubbly

and regardless of the challenges

that she faces with EB,

she's still such a joy to be around.

She's always smiling,

laughing and she's really just

giving love out and I wanted

to give that back to her.

But, it's not all glamourous

dress designing.

Trips to the hospital are part

and parcel of Assya's life.

Hello, Squirt, how are you?

But luckily Assya's got a great bond

with the doctors and nurses

who've been treating her

for most of her life,

and she's in safe hands.

The skin clinic at Solihull Hospital

is a centre of excellence for EB.

if

Sometimes you need to be more human

and Dr Hegerty

and the EB team around Solihull

are absolutely amazing.

We always have this banter

which is amazing and they make

you feel more relaxed.

Interestingly, Assya's

condition hasn't really

changed over the years.

She's grown in spite of it all.

if

A lot of the problem with EB apart

from the blistering is pain and it

suddenly hit me that they really do

have a lot of baggage.

And that's something Dr H,

as Assya calls him, wanted to fix.

He brought in psychologists

to specifically help patients

manage their pain and it's paid off.

if

She's changed psychologically,

massively, and now

I see a young lady who is biting

the world back.

Assya's sessions with

Dr Kate Martin have helped her

if

to open up and overcome

a lot of issues.

I would just get moody and nervous.

I kind of go, like, I shut down.

if

But in the beginning,

therapy wasn't easy.

Assya was originally very avoidant

of therapy

in the same way as coming

to her medical appointments

but that is

because of her

difficulties with trust.

The way that our body heals

itself is intricately

affected by our mood,

how we're feeling.

I realised stress is

a big thing with EB.

When I'm stressed, when I'm upset,

when I'm feeling worried or even

exhaustion makes the skin worse,

but the worst thing is stress.

When I start keeping things inside,

my skin erupts like a volcano,

literally, and I learnt

with Kate that I shouldn't

if

be keeping stuff in.

Going to her has made my

skin so much better.

But it's not just Kate and the team

who have been a source

of support for Assya.

if

She's also found inspiration

from fellow EB sufferers.

RADIO CHATTER

that means that there is severe

rotation in its form.

I got to meet Sam when I was 16/17,

after I'd just left school.

She taught me to live, not give up

because of her condition.

Samantha Hall didn't

let EB hold her back.

she became a storm chaser,

travelling across America.

I'm lucky enough to have

found something

that I deeply, deeply enjoy.

I probably will have

to stop at some point,

definitely because,

you know, if it gets

to a point where I am needing

a

lot more care, it's

going to be rough.

So that's why it's like,

make the most of now, you know?

I don't want to think about that!

SHE LAUGHS

Sadly, Sam died last year

but Assya feels more empowered

by her than ever.

So much so, that she's decided

to step wildly out of her comfort

zone and just like the butterflies

she admires,

Assya too wants to take flight.

Right into that skydive.

You're not scared.

Not yet.

You wouldn't know it

but Assya's afraid of heights.

But she's overcome it to motivate

others like her and raise money

for charity at the same time.

Something her mum is proud of.

It is very difficult

to say no to her.

When she strung up,

I'm very up with her.

I'm very happy because she's

achieved what she wants to do.

With her feet firmly back on ground,

it's time to celebrate what has been

a massive year in Assya's life

If

with a makeover and the

unveiling of THAT dress.

This dress has made me feel

like $1 million, or maybe more.

Because it's just priceless.

I'm just so happy that

everyone's come and made time

to see me and stuff.

It means the world.

It's clearly a very

special moment for Assya,

and with the party in full swing,

let's leave her to enjoy her moment.

We've come along to Bewdley Museum

to take a look

at these little beauties.

They are called coracles.

They're quick and cheap

to make and light to carry.

For our final film, film

Mary-Ann Ochota has travelled

upstream along the River Severn

to Ironbridge to discover how

these simple boats helped

save lives in times of crisis.

This is Ironbridge, birthplace

of the Industrial Revolution.

That's the famous bridge,

the first bridge in the world

to be built entirely of cast iron.

It was built in the late 1700s

when this place was rich in the raw

materials for industry.

Coal, iron ore and of course water.

At the same time as technology that

would power an industrial revolution

was being developed here,

the primitive coracle

was to prove a lifeline.

For one thing, you could use it

to cross the river without paying

the expensive toll

on the fancy new bridge.

Talk to anyone around

here about coracles and before long

they'll mention the Rogers family.

To say they were the heart

of the Ironbridge coracle community

over the past few centuries

is somewhat of an understatement.

We been making coracles my

ancestors for 300 years.

As well as making them,

they would use their coracles

to help in times of crisis,

rescuing people and animals

from floods, or even retrieving dead

bodies from the river.

Tommy Rogers, his son Harry

and his son Eustace must have built

hundreds of coracles from the 1800s

right up to 2003 when Eustace died.

Their workshop - built

by Harry in the 1920s.

It still bears his mark:

Harry Rogers Coracle Man.

Come on in and have a look.

Jude Pilgrim from the

Ironbridge Coracle Society

is going to show me round.

Mind the floor, it's not too safe.

Wow, look at this.

Since Eustace's death in 2003,

with no one in the family to pass

the business onto,

the shed has stood empty.

How fantastic!

Much as it was when

they were building

coracles on here.

There were more tools,

but it's basically the same

shed.

They used to leave little

messages on the walls.

Severn frozen over, Jan 20th, 1940.

So presumably no

coracling that month.

But Eustace knew how

to keep himself busy.

Eustace used to make these model

coracles and he used to be

so pleased with himself

if he could sell them

to tourists for £5.

Made his day.

a

But the family wasn't always

on the right side of the law.

Here's Eustace, in 1972.

Oh, bit of poaching.

It was a main industry

here at one time.

Tell us about it.

There was about 15 of these poachers

living like large off the land.

With names like Hellfire Jack

and Gunnar Bodin, these sound

like outlaws from the Wild West,

not the West Midlands but for many,

during the 19th and early 20th

centuries, times were hard.

Unemployment, cholera

and tougher fishing regulations

meant it was a simple

choice: poach or starve.

The penalties were severe

but it was the coracle men,

with Eustace's grandfather Tommy

amongst their number,

who were at the heart

of the poaching scene.

They played hell with

the policemen on occasion

but it hasn't always been one-sided.

The poachers got some scars

to show many a time.

if

Matter of fact one got

drownded one time.

You can imagine them

floating down the river.

Picking up a few rabbits

from the snares.

And maybe a few pheasants.

So they weren't just stealing fish

but the fruit of the land?

They certainly were.

and that was what made

the coracle so useful for them.

because they could escape and nobody

could follow them.

But they weren't just

doing it for themselves,

but for all the families

in the area.

And the distribution

point was the barber's.

So the men would go in for a short

back and sides and he would say

if

"Something for the weekend?"

if

And they would walk out with a

rabbit or pheasant for the weekend.

We can still meet people today

who say I wouldn't be alive

if the coracle men hadn't

put food on our table.

Since Eustace died,

Terry Kenny's been Ironbridge's

premier coracle maker.

He's going to help me make my very

own traditional Ironbridge coracle.

a 5th

And that is particularly

handy, because I'm going

to be needing one.

Turns out Ironbridge hosts

an annual coracle regatta

and I'm going to be taking part!

To get me started Terry's already

made the gunnel, the circular rim,

and put the seat post in but there's

still plenty for me to do.

First job is to make

the frame using ash laths.

Reasonably gentle.

Not quite so critical as the centre.

That's about right, yes.

The whole frames takes 25 laths.

I work on a basis of 30

because you're going to break a few

You do a lot of this by eye.

And to do that you have to make

a special coracle maker's stance.

Which is thus.

Whilst I might have

perfected the stance

I'm not sure about my handiwork.

It's a bit rubbish isn't it?

I'd been expecting to using

traditional woodworking methods.

Genuine medieval power drill that.

Well I think you can certainly see

what it's meant to be.

Time to fit the cover.

It won't be made

with an animal hide.

We're using a modern

fabric ? but you can

use anything really.

People down here at

Ironbridge apparently used

to use old bed sheets.

as long as you have a platform for

the tar, that is all you need.

So actually using whatever

you've got to hand

IS the traditional way, even if it's

quite a modern material.

Yes that's right.

Excellent teacher .

I'd be prepared to go in this.

Once it's tarred of course.

I'll take that!

All that's left now is to paint

the wood and tar the cover

to make it waterproof.

And THAT's how you make

an Ironbridge coracle.

This is the Ironbridge

coracle regatta.

People have come from far and wide

for a day of paddling and racing

and I get to see my very

own coracle for the first time.

Wow!

Terry, she's beautiful.

Thank you.

You even put my Anna Jones on it.

Look at that! -- my initials on it.

This is all very nice,

but it's time to get serious.

I've been entered

into some of the races

and because I've done a bit

of coracling before,

I'm in the intermediate category.

It's really hard work!

And it doesn't help when you get

stuck under a tree.

I didn't win any of my races,

but I didn't go overboard either.

It's time for the experts

to show us how it's done.

And I have the honour

of starting them.

Ready, steady...

Who'd've have thought a coracle

could go so quickly?

But then again, the coracle

is full of surprises.

These simple boats have proven

themselves dependable,

versatile and fun for centuries.

I reckon they'll be around

for another few centuries still.

Good effort.

And you can see more

about the coracle in

Britain Afloat ? a BBC 2 series.

We will see you next week at the

same time. Have a good one. Goodbye.

Next week, Stoke-on-Trent is known

the world over as the potteries, but

the ceramics industry has been in

decline for decades. Now there's a

growing confidence around ceramics

led by a new generation and

cutting-edge designs.