24/10/2015 Reporters

Welcome to Reporters. I'm Christian Fraser.

From the newsroom, we send out correspondents to bring you the best

stories from across the globe. This week, 21 years after the end of

apartheid, we ask whether South Africa's rainbow nation has failed.

In terms of who the rich and poor are, it is still white and black. We

are still getting blamed for things that were not even our idea. The

fighting that is duelling the migrant crisis. A report from the

Syrian border, as tens of thousands flee conflict raging in Aleppo. A

report from the fires covering Indonesia with a deadly suffocating

smog. We want the government to give a quick response to help the people

here. And fast forward to the future, 30 years after the first

Back To The Future film, we ask what predictions they got wrong and

right. Professor, quick, jump in! We've got company! It is now 21

years since the end of apartheid in South Africa, and the first post

apartheid generation is growing into Young adult heard. It is a

generation campaigning for change, with a new black consciousness of

its own. There is lots to complain about. The economy is struggling,

dissatisfaction over inequality, and failure to deliver the basics, such

as reliable power. There is anger at the government but also the white

minority who owns more of the wealth than they did in 1994. We have been

finding out whether South Africa's dream of a rainbow nation has

failed. There is a real new confidence and

consciousness in black South Africa. It is what Nelson Mandela wanted. A

rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world. But at the front edge

of fashionable downtown Johannesburg, it is not working out

that way. In terms of the rainbow nation in South Africa today, we

have a long way to go. Who the rich and poor are, it's still white and

black. There is still a lot of hate harboured from apartheid. We are

still getting blamed for things that were not even our idea.

At the start of the century, apartheid had fallen. The truth and

reconciliation process was almost complete. Nelson Mandela had

transferred the reins of power. There was a real sense of hope and

confidence in this new rainbow nation. But 21 years since it all

began, people across South Africa are talking about the end of the

rainbow. South Africa is a cappuccino society, a huge black

majority at the bottom with cream on top and a few chocolate sprinklings

on top. She is talking about the new black elite. Only a small amount of

wealth has left white hands. It's a definite shift from the previous

generation that was interested in reconciliation in order to maintain

peace and the status quo. I don't think that is as much of a

consideration for young black people any more. She is from a new

middle-class. Young people who did not know apartheid but now want

more. The concept of black consciousness, Pan African, it is

something we are turning to to find ways to mobilise and do something

about structures which we feel suffocate us because they don't

speak to us as black people. The legacy of apartheid is often blamed,

and the remnants are not hard to spot. There is an increasing

realisation that this country still has a long way to go. We are facing

a second transition in our society. We had won in 1994, and now the game

is up. We will have a new one. -- we had one. We have to see to it that

the new one brings more happy people at the end of it. It has to be

peaceful. It cannot destroy the economy. This is how the majority of

people still live in South Africa, in townships created by apartheid.

Come to any township, whether in Cape Town or Johannesburg or Durban,

and you get a sense of why these people don't feel much has changed.

21 years since democracy. Yes, there is some power. They have toilets for

sharing but they flood. Houses have been built but not enough. People

are still very disappointed. That disappointment is turning into

anger. Every week, there are new protests in South Africa for jobs,

better services and now against corruption. The inequality of white

wealth, but also the government of liberation are now being blamed. It

is corrupt to the core. Nothing is bunch and all. Corruption is

institutionalised. -- nothing is functional. Radicals demand space

and support. We have 35% unemployment. The most in equal

society in the world. We live in a country where 54% of the population

is in poverty. Nelson Mandela's ANC party, even President Jacob Zuma,

has been accused of corruption, ignoring the judiciary and not

acting in the interests of the poor majority. Is the government of South

Africa corrupt? There is corruption within the government of South

Africa but that does not mean the institution is a corrupt

institution. We are an equal. The gap between rich and poor in this

country is enormous. -- we are unequal. The rich South Africans are

six times richer than in 1994. So a race dynamic does enter. Even though

we are trying hard to build a nation not based on race. Based on the

equality of every citizen. On the outskirts of Joe Berg, away

from the busy chaotic, often dangerous urban lifestyle is Steins

city. Parkland residence, they call it.

All on what used to be an illegal township, it's paradise behind a

high wall. It is named after the man behind this... I am Alexander,

founder of compare the meerkat .com. He was a friend of Nelson Mandela.

He built the country's most expensive house. The new Black

consciousness movement is now criticising Mandela for not doing

more to tackle white privilege and redistribute the wealth. Eight

garages, butlers, a chef... Nicholas runs a mine. Like many who can

afford to, white and black, he and his wife are retreating. It is a

vast project within the walls of a hospital, school, shopping mall and

security. Almost a citystate. Security is 24/7. The kids can run

around, no problem. I am very fortunate I can provide my family

this kind of security. It makes my life easier to actually stay here

and contribute to the economy and a lot of other things. Hopefully by

doing that, we can all one day live in a place like this without walls.

A new generation is finding its voice and is demanding more. A

terrible past is slowly being broken down. But at 21, the rainbow nation

is not what they hoped it would be. Such huge societal change often

comes in waves. Sometimes stable, sometimes disruptive. Amid such

riches here in South Africa, hopefully in peace.

This week's state visit to the UK by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping shows

just how far Chinese relations with Britain have come. Only three years

ago, China froze all high-level contact after David Cameron met the

Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, a man in Beijing considers a

dangerous separatist. Our reporter travelled to Tibet to ask people

what they make of Britain's strengthening ties with China.

It is one of the most beautiful yet closed and controlled places on the

planet. The voices of these devout and traditional communities are

rarely heard. China tries to keep foreign journalists well away.

But we have come ahead of the Chinese state visit to Britain to

try to find out what people think of China's recent efforts to keep Tibet

off the diplomatic agenda too. There is a heavy security presence. But we

pass unnoticed through the checkpoints and reach our intended

destination. A monastery which has been at the centre of one of the

biggest challenges to Chinese state power in decades. The one-man

protests and gruesome self immolations in the nearby town are

met with a heavy response. This monk holds a portrait of the Dalai Lama

aloft. Punishment for such defiance can be many years in prison. This

may be a long way from the pomp and ceremony of the London Summit, but

the fact that the is so much in evidence here is an illustration of

why Tibet's religion and culture remains central to the question of

how the outside world engages with China, and how individual countries

including Britain are prepared or not to challenge Beijing on its

human rights record. There was a time when the British Prime Minister

was keen to be seen with the Dalai Lama. But not any more. Surrounded

by surveillance cameras, the monks here have been cut off from the

internet. Forced to turn their backs on their recs I'll spiritual

leader. Now China is forcing foreign governments to do the same. --

exiled spiritual leader. In a quiet corner outside the monastery walls,

and at great risk to themselves, some of the monks agreed to talk.

TRANSLATION: The Dalai Lama is the only master in our hearts. China

tells other governments, the British government, not to meet with the

Dalai Lama. Should they listen? They should meet him. But if the

government knew I was talking like this, they would arrest me. The

Dalai Lama's popularity is undiminished. He is still worship

here in secret. At far from this remote region, the Chinese president

will know he has had more success in limiting his influence in London.

The start of winter is not slowing down the migrant crisis at all. The

UN Refugee Agency says 9000 people are still arriving on Greek islands

every day, many from Syria, where the situation is getting more and

more volatile. Aid agencies say an upsurge in fighting around the city

of Aleppo has forced 35,000 to flee their homes in recent days. This

report from Syria's border with Turkey. You may find some of the

images in this report distressing. A Russian arsenal and mighty

firepower have brought about the furious return of President Assad's

forces in Syria. New fronts in the fighting bring

fresh hell on the ground. An offensive in southern Aleppo,

regime tanks taking half a dozen towns in the last five days.

It has caused an exodus of tens, and today hundreds, heading to the

Turkish border. This man tells us, we left Syria

because we can't live there any more. It used to be just Bashar

al-Assad. Now we have Russia and we don't know who is coming next. It

has become a World War. This was Mohammed's house near Idlib

province. His father was pulled barely

conscious from the rubble. Here, his mother. She died shortly

afterwards. Russian jets were to blame, he says.

It's hard to describe the feeling when you fill your country and lose

your home and your family, he says. -- you flee your country. And you

watch your mother died right before you. It's indescribable. Meanwhile,

Russia continues to deny causing civilian casualties. Russian

intervention in Syria is beginning to make a difference, firmly in

President Assad's favour. In Aleppo, the regime is retaking places it has

not held in almost a year. This is the first wave of accommodation of

attacks between Russian, Iranian and Syrian forces. If the rebels don't

receive reinforcements soon, they could be at risk of losing

significant amounts of territory. These men now face those more united

than ever. The division among the Syrian rebel groups has already cost

them dearly. -- these men now face foes. It might be hard to imagine a

whole country covered by a cloud of smoke, but that is the situation in

Indonesia. Hundreds of thousands are suffering respiratory illness after

breathing in hazardous smoke caused by fires. They are often started to

clear forests for plantations and have been burning for weeks, sending

a heavy haze across the region. Our reporter has been to one of the

hardest hit areas and found the impact on children particularly

devastating. Children appear like ghosts out of

the haze on the side of the road. It is uncomfortable to breathe even

with a mask and in the car. For more than three months, these villages

have been surrounded by smouldering peat fires. It is not just

unpleasant, it's deadly. This woman's family tried to protect her

from the haze, but from the moment she was born, she was breathing in

hazardous air. It was like she was struggling for air. Her chest was

tight around the heart area. They rushed her to the hospital but it

was too late. Doctors said she died of haze related illnesses. Each day,

this woman still makes up a bottle of milk for her lost daughter. I

call out her name. I remember the exact time I would be her. She would

wake and I would knows her. I am trying to forget. -- I would nurse

her. A health team has set up a temporary clinic here for this

village that has been breathing in the toxic haze for months,

particularly affecting children who as you can see are not wearing

masks. People here are suffering from

headaches. It is difficult to breathe. Many other kind of things.

Especially for childrens, because they do not know about the haze,

they do not know about the dangers. This lady says her daughter has been

coughing like this for two months. She has been given cough medicine

and a simple surgical mask which will do little to protect her. I

feel so sad seeing my children suffer this way. At night, it's

terrible, she wakes up at least three times. We want the government

to give a quick response to have protection for the people here. The

Indonesian health minister admits they are overwhelmed and is telling

people they should stay indoors. If the pollution level is high, people

should quickly go inside. But their houses are wood, the smoke is

getting inside. That is true, but you can close the windows with

curtains. However there is nothing you can really do, you can just

minimise the impact. The fires are predicted to burn for at least

another month. The effect on the next generation will be felt long

after they are put out. Wednesday was the 21st of October

2015. If the date sounds familiar, maybe it is because you watched the

movie Back To The Future I I. It was the day Marty McFly and the doc

travels to in the Delorean Time Machine. Motherboards, video calls

and flatscreen TVs were just some of the things imagined. As the sci-fi

vision of 2015 arrives in our lifetime, Peter Snow has been

looking back at what Back To The Future got right and wrong. --

hover boards. This is a 1981 Back To The Future

Delorean. Up comes the wing, there is my white jacket. Just put this on

so I can drive... Here is the most important piece of kit on the car.

The nuclear reactor. It is powered by fuel which is actually vegetables

and garbage, rubbish! Amazing. Inside, another vital thing, the

flux capacitor. That is the thing that is powered by the nuclear

energy. It pushes the car through the sound barrier. The flux

capacitor flashing away, that will do... Here we go!

Sorry... It's Peter Snow! Why can't he just use a folding bike like

everyone else? No power steering on this thing. The future... So this is

the anniversary of Back To The Future. By now, if the film was

right, we should have had flying cars, hover boards and engines

powered by rubbish. Forecasting technology is like almost any

forecasting, extremely difficult. But it actually is somewhat easier

than forecasting society. For example, we have forecasts of Argosy

Clark, the famous scientist and sci-fi writer in the 60s, which

forecast the internet. -- after C Clark. He said we would have

computers in all of our rooms, connected all around the world. A

pretty amazing forecast. That was exciting! Professor, quick, jump in.

We've got company! # The power of love is a curious

thing. What about the future for the

materials we use in this car? It is extremely exciting because we now

have opened doors to working on nano materials... Explain nano

materials... Very thin? Ultrasmall material that you cannot see with

your eye. Very fast release of energy, the super capacitor

lot of hope in nano materials, because super capacitors require

high surface areas, fast release of energy, and this is what the nano

materials could potentially deliver. I can't go 88 mph because BBC health

and safety have forbidden it. They have managed to fix it so the car

will go through the time barrier at 33 mph... 31, 32, 33...

How good do you think we are at addicting the future? I think people

are terrible at forecasting the future on the whole, and experts are

worse. If you take a bunch of ordinary people and ask them

economic growth in the next five years, they are usually better than

the economists. Are you optimistic about the way things will go in the

future? They can turn at a lot better than we expect. The bank

announced last week that poverty is down to 10%. -- the World Bank. It

was 60% when I was born. Magnificent improvements in human living

standards. That is because of innovation. It is because of

technology and also because of changes in the way we live. There is

every reason to think that process is

A man just drop this off. How am I going to play that? I trust this

place will still be here when I get back...

# Take me away. I'll be back in time.

Well, we are all still here, Peter. Peter Snow, getting rather excited

about the future. That is all we have time for. Join us at the same

time next week. Goodbye for now. Time to predict a bit of the future

on the weather front. Much better weather on the way tomorrow. The

evening will turn clear but chilly once we get rid of all of the cloud

and the rain