Ep3: Mayday - The Miracle Baby
Intrigue
English - November 09, 2020 06:10 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 1.3K ratingsNews Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
“This was just one baby out of thousands and thousands of other babies.” How James got involved in a war.
When he fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 James Le Mesurier left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions.
Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Editor: Emma Rippon
Researcher: Tom Wright
Mixed by: Neil Churchill
Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak
Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur
Narrative Consultant: John Yorke
Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum
Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman
REFERENCES
PM, BBC Radio 4, 13 November 2014
“’Find her for me! Her name is Aya!’, Her mother. SCD in Damascus were able to rescue Aya” - The Syria Civil Defence - The White Helmets, 20 Feb 2017
“First explicit pictures of massive barrel bomb dropped on rebel zones in Syria” - euronews (in English) Credit: DaryaRevlution, 31 Jan 2014
“Baby in the rubble: Syria’s White Helmets” - UN Humanitarian, 22 Oct 2015
“Direct targeting to the white helmets teams” - Syria Civil Defence - The White Helmets, 19 December 2019
“Rescuer weeps after saving Syrian baby” – CNN, 30 Sep 2016
PM, BBC Radio 4, 13 November 2014
Storyville - Last Men in Aleppo - BBC collaboration with the Aleppo Media Centre, 27 Nov 2017