27/08/2016 Witness

Hello and welcome to Witness at the British Library in London.

We've got another five witnesses who have

given us a glimpse of history through the eyes of people who were

This month on the programme, one of Al-Qaeda's first terrorist

Bangladesh's struggle for independence.

And the creation of the world's most famous sheep.

But first to Afghanistan where for 1,000

years three huge statues of Buddha towered over the valley of Bamiyan,

some of the country's most significant monuments.

But in 2001 they were destroyed by the Taliban.

Sayed Mirza Hossein was one of the local people

taken captive and forced to

Sayed Mirza Hossein still lives in the Bamiyan Valley where he

In August 1998 Al-Qaeda carried out one of its

first major attacks, targeting the US embassies

George Mimba, an American national, was working

in the American Embassy in

Nairobi when it was hit by a massive truck bomb.

I cannot describe to you

Then the smoke started filling up the building.

for help, some shouting, some people crying, some

The first explosion sounded like a tremor.

Then it turned out it was a

People were arriving to look at what was going on.

I did not want to be left behind but I had an

e-mail that I had to send, so I clicked send.

Then I started also walking, following them.

The building next door to the American Embassy was almost

There are people clambering over the destroyed

building and people inside the United States embassy.

I started fighting myself out of the debris.

Then all I could see were bodies of people.

The people you just talked to a few minutes ago, seconds ago.

You look at yourself, what is there for me to live for?

When I opened my eyes I see across the

I just closed my eyes and left the building.

And then something told me to open my eyes.

And I still hear people crying in the building.

So I am heading back into the building.

When I went up to the first floor it is dark, it is

So I started to crawl on my knee, touching the bodies, to

feel if there is anybody that still has life.

And then I am calling out, is anybody here?

Then I heard somebody calling my name, George, please help me.

I started moving very fast towards that direction.

I just held on to that person like this and started

The voice that called me out for help was a lady's voice.

And when I called out again there was

On the face of it it is like we have recovered.

More than 200 people were killed in the bombing and more than

George returned to work at the US Embassy in Nairobi and he

In July 1996 scientists at the Roslin Institute

in Scotland created the first animal cloned from an adult cell.

Dolly the sheep was created in a laboratory

using an adult cell taken from one sheep to fertilise an egg from

It was a breakthrough in the history of genetic engineering.

Sir Ian Wilmut led the team of scientists.

It was extremely exciting to see her knowing she was

the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell.

From a professional point of view it's the most

Scientists in Scotland have produced the first ever clone of an animal.

Dolly, a seven-month-old sheep, was created in a laboratory using a cell

This was the culmination of about five years of

It was not a eureka experiment where you just stepped out

The new technique involves taking a cell from an adult sheep and

removing the genetic material from it.

The genes are then inserted into

an empty egg cell taken from another sheep.

The egg is then used to start a pregnancy, the offspring being a

Many clones could be produced this way.

In the case of Dolly the cells came from mammary tissue

which could be removed from an animal which was autopsied

for other experimental reasons and it was two of the stockmen

who were watching the sheep who had suggested

that she should be christened after Dolly Parton as a mark of respect

it was necessary to carry out molecular biology tests to show that

she was genetically what we said she was. Once we had that information

that could be written up into a manuscript. I do not think we were

prepared for the number of people that came out first Monday. Clearly,

as we had cloned an adult, there was a possibility at some time that we

could clone an adult person. There was a lot of excited debate about

whether it was an appropriate thing for us to do. How easy mate it be

scientifically for someone somewhere to apply your methods to the cloning

of humans? If he really wanted to do it it could be done. Now it is

generally understood and accepted that morning itself is not a useful

thing in medicine. Further discussions are required. This was

only with the background of knowing how she had been produced that she

was scientifically very interesting. She became special as time went by

because she was used to people wanting to photograph her and they

where you got her to stand in a particular place for the cameraman

was to offer her food. She was healthy and continued to be healthy.

She had a total of six worms in the vacancies. Dolly was born on Easter

Monday. She is said to be in good health. Her lamb is sprightly. Later

in life Dolly was infected by a virus which causes lung cancer. We

decided that was time to end her life. Her remains went to

National Museum of Scotland where National Museum of Scotland where

she is to this day. She is one of the most popular exhibits in this

country. The importance of Dolly to me is in the science. It was a

privilege and an and excitement to be part of the group that did that.

There is no doubt all of us were very fond of Dolly.

And even later received a knighthood for his role in the creation of

Dolly. You can watch witness every month on

the BBC News Channel or you can catch up on all our films and more

than 1000 radio programmes in an online archive.

You may have seemed an image circulating online of a cargo ship

overloaded with refugees, sometimes described as Syrians trying to reach

Europe, or Europeans trying to reach North Africa in World War II. In

fact that's picture shows tens of thousands of Albanian migrants who

commandeered a cargo ship in August 1991 and ordered the captain to take

them across the bed till union to them across the bed till union to

the Italian of Bari. Robert was one of those on board. -- take them

across the Mediterranean Sea. It was a dream of freedom. Everyone was

crying, saying Italy, Italy. Albania was closed. After 50 years

of commoners people to leave because they were who were. In 1991 the

economy completely failed and we did not have any choice. The only way to

have fees is to leave Albania. Italy for as was a symbol of freedom. We

left the Albanian port at two o'clock in the afternoon. 22,000

people 25,000 people inside the boat. We arrived at the Italian port

of Bari at 11 o'clock. We were absolutely convinced that they would

accept us. They put ours, 20,000 people, in a very small space. I was

suffocating. I could not believe any more. It was horrible, a nightmare.

The plan of the Italian police was to bring them to a stadium. It was a

big space, but to deliver food for 10,000 people you need five hours,

so it was not possible for the Italian authorities to deal with

this difficult situation. At this moment we began to fight with each

other because the Italian authorities left as a loan and it is

like a society without roots. In this moment you must fight for

yourself. I stayed in the stadium ten days. Doing this, ten days, a

back to Albania. Me and my friends back to Albania. Me and my friends

decided to stay but we must try a way to escape from the stadium. I

tried four or five times. Three times the same policeman cots B. The

third time I asked him, why do you stop me gaining my freedom? My

father is dying in Albania. They need help from me. I have two worked

here to send some money there because we are a pool and you stop

me. I am not on the dying myself, also my family. This Italian

policeman began to cry. He said, I am sorry, what I can do for you now

to escape, he said, leave me alone, I will find my way to escape. I

stayed in Bari for one year. I need some money. With this money I

decided to come to open a restaurant. We have two worked here.

It is a beautiful country. People who can do something for their own

country they have two stay in Albania, not go outside. Robert is

now a film-maker in Albania. For our final film we are going back

to 1971 when Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, was fighting for its

independence. The conflict began in March when Pakistani troops started

out a raid against prominent in galley nationalists and

intellectuals to try and quell the growing liberation movement.

Meghna's father was one of those. That night was the darkest of

nights. It was the darkness that fell upon humanity. Workers in Dhaka

shout for author shall independence for East Pakistan. The already call

the country Bangladesh, Bengal state, and claimed they have

achieved official independence. There is a noncooperation policy

with the central Government. On the 25th of March 19 701I was a

schoolgirl. My father was then associate professor of English. The

Leader of the Opposition at that moment had given a declaration that

all schools and colleges should be caused and that no Bengali should

take part as a symbol of protest. Near to midnight I was almost

asleep. My father was looking at exam scripts when he heard a lot of

out of the window and he's so a out of the window and he's so a

convoy of military vehicles coming in near to the compound gates and

they came and and asked for the professor. My mother said, why do

you want them? They did not answer. They tracked him out of the

building. In eight moment we have turned our backs to the doorway and

we heard eight shots. It was shocking. It's just hit us that they

have not come to arrest people, they have not come to arrest people, they

have come to kill. It was as if the sky fell down on us. We went through

the back door and into the front of the building where we sought my

father lying. He was conscious. We asked what had happened. He said he

was asked to stand there and he was asked his name. He gave his name.

They asked his religion. Once he told them he was a Hindu then there

was an order to shoot. There was no way to take him into a hospital

because there was curfew. It was only on 27th -- ten to seven in the

morning that the curfew broke and we asked them to take my father to the

hospital. The hospital was full of dead and injured people. My father

was fatally injured. On the 30th he succumbed to his injuries and died.

Throughout the nine months of the war that followed we were living in

other peoples houses. Friends, families who gave us shelter. A lot

of people were trying flee Dhaka. Finally after nine months we saw

independence. Where he was shot, and artist later wanted to build a

memorial, not only to my father, but also to the other people who were

not have emerged of it was not for not have emerged of it was not for

the sacrifice of these people. My father was among them so I feel very

proud of it. Bangladesh declared independence in December 1971.

During the nine-month war and estimated 3 million Bengalis were

this month. We will be back next this month. We will be back next

month with another round-up of history. Thank you for joining me.

Goodbye. Some of us have had a nice day and

others the opposite with violent thunderstorms