26/08/2012 Reporters

financial reforms. That is the latest. Now it is time

for Reporters. And we report from northern Syria

where Kurds are warning they will fight it President Assad of tries

to take back control of the region. What lies beneath? We meet South

Korea's tunnel hunters digging to find the are enemy from the north.

-- the enemy. Will Brazil's preparations for the

Olympics be at the expense of its African slave heritage?

Welcome to Reporters. As the fighting in Syria continues,

President Assad's security forces have relinquished control of

several Kurdish towns so they can battle rebels elsewhere. Kurdish

leaders claim they now control about half of the territory, and

warned that they will fight the regime if it tries to return. For

the 2 million Kurds in Syria, 10% of the population, they say they

want autonomy in a day it -- in a democratic Syria.

In a quiet corner of Syria, so long a pressed, a change has taken place.

-- op pressed. In the Kurdish north-east, Bashar al-Assad has

given up control of a swathe of territory. The Kurds may be winners,

if and when a new Syria emerges. They are now calling the shots,

running their own checkpoints, and several towns and cities. They

saved their weapons are for self- defence. But the most powerful

party, they told us that if President Assad of tries to retake

control, they will fight. Of course we will do something. We warned not

say, come and kill me. We have to defend ourselves. After decades of

repression, Syria's Kurds can now speak openly. Some are demanding

more than the departure of President Assad. TRANSLATION: We

want to take over our our own affairs. All the Kurds want a

better Kurdistan. That is just what neighbouring countries, with their

own Kurdish minorities, are afraid of. This was the moment in late

July, when the Kurds make them move, protesters and gunmen, taking over

a key building, like this intelligence headquarters. But the

government retreat was probably tactical. As art's forces are

needed more elsewhere. -- President Assad's forces. At the intelligence

building, Kurdish flags are flying, there are fragments of a dark past

remain. Locals manage to save money in volumes, receiving President

Assad's Longreach. -- many volumes. If two people were having a

cigarette together, they made a report about it. The Syrians are

still keeping watch. Their bases remain, and they have not let this

region completely. But for the most part, they are staying out of sight.

When the trouble around the Kurdish areas, you can see evidence of

change that has taken place. We are driving by a military intelligence

base, and there are still some Syrian forces left inside. Local

people say they do not know how many. For our own safety we have

been advised not to go any closer. Outside this court house, we

stumbled on a young Syrian soldier. He looked nervous. Suddenly, a

plainclothes Syrian official appeared. But the once powerful now

sound fearful. I am not guilty, he told us. Please do not make

problems for me. Beginners' lessons in Kurdish. The language can now be

taught without the risk of being jailed. The Kurds say they would

not be silenced again. They are calling for autonomy in a

democratic Syria. After decades of struggle, they are savouring this

moment, which some are calling a Kurdish spring.

For centuries, cash guy in China stood at the heart of the Silk Road,

the trade route of ancient times. Now China is pouring billions of

dollars into the city, wanting it once again to be the transport hub

for Central Asia and beyond. But what we found, the locals remain

unconvinced that they will share in the boom.

These mountains mark China's western frontier. It is actually

closer to Baghdad and than it is Beijing. The City one stood at the

heart of the Silk Road. In some ways, not much has changed. For

centuries, farmers have gathered at the livestock market. They had all

over the prize in a city where trading is in the blood. Until

recently, it was something of a backwater. But now that is changing.

Beijing is pouring billions of dollars into the city, to transform

it into their export Harbour. To the south, India and then Pakistan,

and over to the west, Central Asia. Its location is absolutely key to

its economic success. But Beijing also believes that by pouring money

into this city, it will help ease ethnic tensions across western

China. But for that to happen, local people will have to share in

any economic boom. Construction jobs should not be hard to come by.

Most of the workers are not from the region. He shows me the largest

development. It is set to be home to 100,000 people. TRANSLATION: It

still lags behind other Chinese cities in terms of development. But

business opportunities are priceless. That is why you see so

many investors flooding in. That is changing the face of the city. It

is home to China's ethnic-minority is. But now a third of the

population is Han Chinese. Many are entrepreneurs, drawn by the

prospect of profits. Locals fear they are losing out. For

generations, his family has made traditional instruments. He says

they are not benefiting from the boom. TRANSLATION: The investors

coming to the city are gaining more than the locals. Why else would

they bother travelling thousands of kilometres. The city has long mixed

traditions with trade. But the city's development may not bring

the stability that Beijing wants. Living in the shadow of a 60 rot

conflict has many consequences, but one unique development in South

Korea is the creation of the so- called tunnel hunters, a band of

men who run the countryside searching for signs of North Korean

infiltration tunnels. Four such tunnels have been found in past

decades. We met the men who spend their time and money trying to

unearth the enemy. To become a tunnel Hunter in South

Korea, you need a pump, a generator and a bit of imagination. Kostjasyn

and his band of investigators are all private citizens, priests,

Burleigh Bears, ex-soldiers. -- Pastor Kim Jin-Chol. This mountain

side hole is the latest find. He and his men believe that North

Korean agents dug this tunnel as part of a past secret network,

stretching under South Korean territory. They point out to us

what they say is evidence of explosives, equipment, and man-made

holes in the wars. Not everyone has faith in the tunnel Hunters'

theories, but he says he feels a responsibility to investigate.

TRANSLATION: The military says that this is not a North Korean tunnel.

But a local civilian was concerned about it. The military is a passive

in responding to the findings, that people have no choice but to come

to us. North Korean infiltration tunnels had been found in the past

by the South Korean army. Four of them, Dr Le along the demilitarised

zone. The Army says there may be many more, and it still devote

specialist resources to finding them. The second tunnel stretches

back more than a kilometre into North Korea. We are not allowed to

film inside for security reasons, but South Korea's young recruits

are being taken down to see what North Korea left behind. Man-made

walls, booby traps and boreholes. But it has been 20 years since a

new find, and these days the tunnels are seen more as a tourist

attraction. They have got more than 900 missiles targeted against the

South. They can hit almost every target in South Korea. They had

artery that can reach Seoul in a matter of minutes. The net asset of

the tunnels, in 2012, is much smaller than it was back in 1975.

There was a time, ten years ago, when Pastor Kim Jin-Chol and his

crew got the public on board, with major operations like this one.

These days, at his Sunday service, the pews stand largely empty, most

of the congregation has fled from his tirade against the northern

Tourette's. Many tunnel hunters have lost even more, he says, their

families and their Saviour's. But belief in the worth of their

unusual hop Be has not played it One of the biggest attractions in

France, the island of Monye San Michele, was in danger of losing

its island status. Silk had built up to connected to the mainland but

scientists and engineers recently started a controversial project to

wash the mud away. Since it began visitors have been banned from

parking on the mudflats in front of the rock. And as Christian Fraser

reports, that has opened up a whole For 1,300 years it has been a focus

of deep reverence and spirituality. In medieval times more San Michele

was a fortress, repelling repeated attacks by the English. But today

the ramparts are open to 3 million visitors a year. It is the second

most visited site in France, and it's getting a facelift. Since the

late 19th century and the building of a causeway that links it with

the mainland the rock has been surrounded by vast deposits of silk.

Their worst fears were that in 2050 it would cease to be an island. But

until they built this down. TRANSLATION: We can see began

working. In less than three years we have claimed back 50 hectares

from the sea. It is restoring the pristine beauty of the bay. It only

the move to banish tourists' cars and buses had gone as smoothly.

Since the spring cars and buses have been banned from the mud flats

at the foot of San Michele, and now were directed instead to this

brawling new car park where they are charged the princely sum of

EUR8. The tropical it is a long walk to the shuttle bus,

particularly in the often awful weather. But those with businesses

on the island say that since the change they have lost 30% of their

trade. TRANSLATION: For us it is a catastrophe. Since the new parking

rules were brought in cars cannot come through, are barriers.

joining the throngs of the disgruntled is UNESCO. It

threatened to suspend the pressures World Heritage status, concerned by

the proximity of a wind farm, and an ugly landing stage emergency

services. The threat is on hold for the moment. In antiquity the rock

was besieged by the English armies. Today it is loud controversy that

surrounds the island, ascetics verses profit. After 1,300 years of

history are a quiet piece of the Abbey still offers welcome refuge

from the warring parties below. Talks are being held in Brazil to

discuss ways of revitalising sites linked to the slave trade. The

recently rediscovered key of the Longo, the arrival 0.4 half-a-

million slaves into Rio, is being considered for inclusion on

UNESCO's World Heritage List. Quentin Somerville reports from Rio.

Four years in Rio's old port the cranes stood still, and all was

quiet. But with some help from an Olympic deadline, all that is about

There will be new museums. Better public spaces. And this highway

will disappear underground. We want to bring people back here

with a view that the centre of the city should be a place where you

can live, you can work, where you can have fun. But much of this

area's future is built on a bad foundation, as the recent

renovations uncovered. Right here they have made an extraordinary

discovery. This was a key where slaves from Africa would arrive in

Brazil. Walking across the cobblestones they would arrive in

to a life of servitude and misery. Some 500,000 souls, who worked on

the coffee plantations and the sugar plantations of Brazil, would

have arrived here. The C one slapped against the stones. Then it

was the largest arrival point for the slaves -- the EC wants flapped.

We want to make this a place of reflection about racism, the

consequences of racism, and what it means for some men to have

supremacy over other men. We want to make sure it never happens again

in the history of man. From the centuries-old mud delights of the

first Afro Brazilians are re- emerging -- the lives of. Eight

child's tiny bracelet and a single earring, perhaps from Mozambique --

a child's. It is a small jewellery box that is very rare to find,

difficult to find, with 1,700 small beats. This neighbourhood was

called Little Africa. Long gone are the buildings where slaves were

fattened and then sold on. And here on this street the fate of those

that made it no further has been uncovered. This man was carrying

out building work at her home -- woman. It was a Monday in January.

Soon some bone started to appear, they were shocked, then they

realised they were children's bones. They had uncovered a graveyard of

the slaves that had died after the long voyage from Africa. The

building work stopped and the House became a small museum. TRANSLATION:

I often asked myself, why am I doing this. I get very emotional

when I think about it. But here you see two things, a lack of the

spectrum life and a lack of respect during death. They did not have

greats, the bones were thrown away as if they were trashed. A few

blocks away is the Pedro, it is the birthplace of Samba. Most of the

residents here are very poor, more than half are Afro Brazilian.

Louise is one of the soundings of the Pedro Colombo, a group that

preserves the areas African heritage. He says it is under

threat. TRANSLATION: Our traditions are disappearing. The new

investments in the region have not valued our traditions. They have

been more interested in looking at years of slavery than our African

heritage. Above is the city's oldest other. A new cable car is

being built that will make it easier getting up here. Hundreds of

families will see their homes disappear as the neighbourhood gets

renovated. This man has lived here his whole life. He worries that the

redevelopment is more for the benefit of the Olympic visitors and

will undo the fabric of one of the city's most historic neighbourhoods.

TRANSLATION: If you take away the people, they are the aural memory,

they are the living history, then it will end. I don't come here

because of the view, I come here because of the people. If you take

them away it does not matter that others will come, this will end,

and their history is what the City is supposed to be celebrating.

During Forest's of course provides opportunities. -- drawing tourists.

From this building this woman sells sweets and cakes through this

neighbourhood. TRANSLATION: I want to make this into a cafe so that

people walking through can come and chase my sweets. I'm going to do a

course in gastronomy. -- tastes my sweets. I am already employing ten

people. -- taste my sweets. She did not do this alone. Advice and

training came from Geovanni's group which helps Afro Brazilian

businesses get off the ground. is becoming a world-class city.

Important discoveries like the key are helping us better understand

that our origins are black. The city has so far been shown as not a

black city, this was buried. Now with these discoveries we can re-

examine the past and make links with the prison. Rio isn't the

first city to use the Olympics to try to bring life back to forgotten

neighbourhoods. But history is already a live here. At Pedro de sa

the African roots of this neighbourhood run deepest. What

will happen here with a Rio and the World Cup and the Olympics, it will

help us understand our own history. These mega events will be really

extraordinary four-hour country. Celebrating an encouraging the