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Uyghur Families Desperate To Reunite; China Faces Scrutiny Over Treatment Of Uyghurs; U.S. And Allies Sanction Two Chinese Officials For Human Rights Abuses In Treatment Of Uyghur Muslims; Government Agrees To Let Fuel Ships Into Port Of Hodeidah; Reconnecting The Atlantic Forest; Meghan And Harry's Tell-All Interview Contradictions Exposed. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 25, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Censored, this is what television screens in China look like right now. They have been blocking CNN International
throughout the day because of what we are about to show you. They don't want you to hear this story but it must be heard.
Tonight in a CNN investigation we are about to take you inside one of the world's great humanitarian crises children being ripped away from their
families. Some of the loved ones left behind are now turning to us for help in a new and heartbreaking report.
Amnesty International estimates China's policies towards ethnic Uyghur Muslims have split up thousands of families, the U.S. and other countries
have labeled China's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide. China denies the human rights abuse allegations claiming their actions are justified to
combat religious extremism and prevent terrorism.
But in an exclusive report, CNN's David Culver, Senior Producer Steven Zhang and Photojournalist Justin Robertson traveled to the heavily
surveilled region with the parents' permission. They went in search of the lost children of Xinjiang.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Followed by a convoy of suspected undercover Chinese police vehicles mimicking our every turn
through China's far western Xinjiang region. Blocking roads that lead to possible internment camps and keeping us from getting too close to so
called sensitive sites. How we ended up on this journey had less to do about us and more about who we were looking for?
CNN searching for the last Uyghur children of Xinjiang a region in which several countries including the U.S. alleged China is committing genocide
against the ethnic Uyghur Muslim minority. Thousands of families have now been ripped apart due to China's actions. We tracked down two of them.
Now in Adelaide, Australia - constantly replays the only recent videos he has of his daughter and son. He has not held his wife or their children in
more than five years. He's among thousands of families from Xinjiang who've been torn apart according to a new Amnesty International report.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: April 17th, the mass internment started and as one of the first people detained my wife was detained too.
CULVER (voice over): Before they were separated - was studying for a PhD in Kuala Lumpur his wife was studying English there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were happy as a family. It was - it was good old days.
CULVER (voice over): But - wife lost her passport while abroad in Malaysia. Chinese officials told her that to renew it, she had to go back to
Xinjiang. She brought the couple's two young children with her thinking they'd soon be able to travel back to be with her husband, but that was
late 2015.
Amnesty says the forced separation of families allows China to control the narrative keeping something precious to dissuade their loved ones outside
the country from bad mouth in China. Chinese officials have repeatedly pushed back against claims of genocide in Xinjiang, the Foreign Minister
recently calling it preposterous adding.
WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTR: We welcome more people from around the world to visit Xinjiang CNN believes it is the best way to debunk rumors he
says.
CULVER (voice over): So we decided to try to find the missing children ourselves with permission from their parents. The five plus hour flight
from Beijing ended with a strange request from the cabin crew. As we approached cash cars airport to land, all window shades had to be shut. No
explanation why?
We went through a standard COVID test for all arriving passengers loaded up a rental car and roamed without anyone stopping us. Though, like much of
China, you're always watched. You immediately encounter the vibrant and richly diverse culture of this region.
The faces also different, perhaps not what you'd expect in China. From the Grand Bazaar to the Central Mosque, we stroll through the reconstructed Old
Town. Its here we began to notice people trailing us.
CULVER: There are usually individual men on phones and kind of keeping a social distance, shall we say.
CULVER (voice over): But it seemed they wanted to know who we were searching for this video of - little girl was a critical clue for us. We
matched the alleyways of old - with the backdrop in the video, the first day, no luck. 24 hours and 20,000 steps later, we weaved our way through
one last corridor and suddenly.
[11:05:00]
You know this man, is he your father. The daughter and her grandparents, - mom and dad were not expecting us, but they let us into their home. She
told me she's going to turn 11 in May but amidst her innocence and awareness, not to say too much.
She told us she had not spoken to her father since 2017. And when we asked her, what would you want to say to him if you could talk to him? I miss
him. She later told me. I don't have my mom with me right now. I don't have my dad either. I just want to be reunited with them. She told me.
Off camera her grandmother overcome by grief as I asked about her mother, and if she'd been sent to a camp, she quickly bolted to her grandfather
translating our question from Chinese to Uyghur for them. Camps are too sensitive a topic to discuss.
As they talked notice the sudden murmurs in the background. It seemed word of our visit had gotten to officials and back to the family bringing an
abrupt end to our visit. She wants the family together. And that's why she wouldn't want to say she didn't want to say they want to go abroad.
But we still wanted to know where - wife and son were. The family says they'd been living with her parents and a house nearby. It's locked on the
outside so it must have gone for the day or they're gone permanently. We asked the Chinese government if the wife is currently in a camp they have
not gotten back to us.
While on the ground and Xinjiang there was a second set of children we wanted to track down. Their parents are in Italy.
ABLIKIM MAMTININ, FATHER OF CHILDREN TRAPPED IN XINJIANG: My children thought we'd abandon them that we don't care about them.
CULVER (voice over): After having five children and getting pregnant with a sixth, they say authorities wanted to force the mother to have an abortion
and throw the father in jail.
MIHRIBAN KADER, MOTHER OF CHILDREN TRAPPED IN XINJIANG: The policies were too strict, it was impossible to take all our children together with us. So
we left our homeland and our children in desperation.
CULVER (voice over): The older children now aged between 12 and 16 were left behind with their grandparents, Mihriban and Ablikim hoped the
separation would be temporary until they could secure more visas, but they went nearly four years unable to contact their children.
And they got worried that family members were being rounded up and sent to camps, determined to reunite the family. Their cousin in Canada -
choreographed to their escape attempt from half a world away. Their parents had finally secured visa approvals from Italy for their children. In June
2020 - managed to communicate to the kids this is your only shot.
If you just stay, your life is going to be a stay there is nothing we can do. On their own, they traveled more than 3000 miles farther than going
from LA to New York, recovering hidden passports, eventually flying into Shanghai.
When the children arrived here in Shanghai, they were excited and happy they never thought they would make it this far. But their repeated attempts
to obtain their visas failed. Arafat also says multiple hotels turned the kids away because of their Uyghur.
They finally found a place willing to take them in all the while they dropped geo location pins for Arafat to know that they were OK. The last
pin dropped on June 24th. A few blocks from the hotel. Do you know who these children are? Have you seen them before?
Arafat in Canada watched then, silence minutes, two hours, two days, and two weeks and then I told like my aunt they might have been detained - in
Italy they start crying like they cannot believe it.
After several phone calls he learned that police had tracked them down. China's giant surveillance network zeroing in on the fourth children.
Arafat later found out they'd been sent back to Xinjiang and thrown into an orphanage. In Rome the parents heard the devastating news of their
children's detention as they begged for help outside Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office.
The Italian government refused to comment to CNN on what happened. China has also not responded to requests for comment on the two families cases.
Having found - for her father, we hope to find the four applicant children to bring their parents some comfort. We handed out before sunrise leaving -
for hour or so drive to get to the orphanage where they were sent. That's the eldest boy - standing in front of the building a month ago.
[11:10:00]
As we drove we watched as one car after another trailed us after making a pass by the orphanage, we headed to one of the kids schools. We asked to
see the kids. Eventually a local official showed up and asked for about 30 minutes to get back to us.
It was more than two hours ago, but they've yet to let us talk to the children. We later made contact with - through video chat. Do you want to
be with them? Do you do you miss them? I do. He says, he answered quickly and kept looking off camera.
Someone was directing him to answer tell, them that you see your sister every day the boy said. Can you tell us about your journey trying to
reunite with your parents last year? When we asked about the Shanghai escape attempt he deflected? Much like - here was another child keenly
aware that the way they speak and what they say could impact those they love.
After about eight minutes we ended the call her literally right over there. We later learned that three of the children were interrogated about our
conversation despite the pressure that the children face every day. Late last month, they even risk sending out a photo message to their parents.
The four of them lined up holding a sign in Chinese saying, dad, mom, we miss you a rare glimpse of an uncensored truth. With each passing hour of
our being on the ground in Xinjiang it seemed the number of likely security agents trailing us increased, adding pressure to our search.
But before leaving, we reconnected with - who was hungry for any information on his wife and kids and desperate to see his little girl. We
watched him as he watched her. That's my dog. That's my mother. For - its part relief, seeing that she's OK. Even proud that she still wants to be a
doctor.
What would you want to say to him if you could talk to him? But to see her break down sending her love to her father no, dad, no matter how strong can
hide that agony for long? She clearly your little girl is hurting. But she loves you a lot. And that came across right away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't even describe my feelings right now. I will try to bring them here in Australia, I'll try my best I'll do everything I can.
CULVER (voice over): Beneath that relentless determination and inconsolable grief for years lost, and a hope for families to be whole once more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CULVER (on camera): It's not surprising, but China is not happy with how this reporting has played out. In fact, in recent weeks and months, they
have begun to deflect and point towards other countries issues. So when they hear the U.S. or Canada or the UK or Australia highlight human rights
issues within China, they say now wait a minute, look within your own borders and your own country's issues.
And that seems to be how they're going forward with responding to this narrative. Now, another issue is going to be how they handle businesses
because Becky one thing that we know has started to surface is businesses responding and changing even where they're sourcing some of their items.
For example, H&M a good while ago now several months ago, actually stopped bringing in some cotton from Xinjiang that resurfaced on Chinese social
media recently, and just this week, we saw a backlash, and a boycott even of some H&M products by Chinese consumers.
Nike posted on their website, a similar statement, saying that they're looking to where things are sourced, trying to avoid any sort of forced
labor situation with ethnic minorities in particular, specifying even the Uyghur community and so it's likely something that will play out in the
business world as well. And will that bring real change and positive outcome for these families remains to be seen Becky?
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: Thank you, David. David and his team are continuing to monitor the situation about the children in his report and we will continue to
bring you updates on that story. It was David as I mentioned.
China continuing to deflect and impose tit for tat tactics when it comes to the international pressure around the treatment of the Uyghur community
this week, Beijing going as far as to release a joint statement with Russia condemning the so called politicization of human rights. This was following
the recently imposed sanctions by the U.S. and EU which China dubbed a violation of international law.
China's rising influence has been a hot topic at the NATO Summit this week with issues like Myanmar, North Korea front and center Beijing, one of the
few international allies of those nations and therefore a crux in the geopolitical action here.
Well, to Myanmar, China has close ties with that country's military and it's now facing pressure to take a tougher - as Myanmar intensifies a
deadly crackdown on dissent. Hundreds of protesters have been killed since the military coup, including the youngest known victim, a six year old
girl. CNN talked with her grieving families. Paula Hancocks now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): --was six years old, shot dead by Myanmar security forces. She was in her father's arms later last
Wednesday, her father relives the moment she died. The family has asked us to hide their identities for fear of retribution from the military.
He says they entered the house by breaking the doors down which we had blocked with bicycles. They asked if there is anyone else in the house and
fired a gunshot while saying doesn't lie to us old man. They shot her as she leaned towards my chest. I ran carrying her and could not even look at
them.
We took her to the local emergency clinic but the doctor said it was already too late. We are hiding his identity as he fears repercussions from
the military. The oldest I've seen killed so far is 58 years old he tells me the youngest until now was 13. The knife shooting randomly in
neighborhoods it's not even safe at home behind a locked door.
The family tells us they had difficulty burying - according to the Muslim tradition of cleaning her body and burying her as soon as possible. Because
they did not tell anyone in case the military tried to take her body. It's a fear we've heard from several doctors and bereaved families.
When we got to the cemetery, her sister says a few people were there so we had to hide her body. We had to wait until they were gone and only when no
one was around could we bury her. The family is now in hiding, saying they heard police are waiting at their home.
The older brother was also arrested they fear for his safety. The military has not responded to our requests for comment. Why did they have to shoot
her dead because sister asks what sin had she committed? What sin have we committed? What can a child do - death has come as a shock even in the
midst of a relentless stream of deaths and arrests in Myanmar.
MARC RUBIN, REGIONAL EMERGENCY ADVISER, UNICEF: The youngest child to have been killed and we shocked even more so as she was killed in her own home.
She was sitting on the lap of a father which means there is no safe place anymore for children.
HANCOCKS (voice over): --has gone. Her older brother arrested her entire family too scared to go home one family's tragedy in Myanmar that still has
an uncertain ending. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well meanwhile, North Korea urging Beijing to stay close as Pyongyang bares its teeth at the West yet again and gets a reaction. A
senior U.S. official tells North Korea says that North Korea fired two ballistic missiles on Thursday its second launch in a week.
And the American military is responding saying "The U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad". A South
Korean lawmaker tells CNN that the country's spy agency believes Pyongyang launch the missiles with U.S. President Joe Biden's upcoming news
conference in mind.
The Biden Administration says it is putting the final touches on its North Korea policy, which could be unveiled as soon as next week. Well, travel in
the Suez as efforts are underway to free this massive containership.
Those efforts continue as do its effects on global trade. We'll look at what's at stake coming up. Plus, more on David Culver's heartbreaking
report on the separation of Uyghur children from their parents. We'll look at what the U.S. is doing to put pressure on China.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: This hour we've connected you to an exclusive investigation about the lost children of Xinjiang in China. This follows a damning report by
Amnesty International surrounding China's policy of separating families from the largely Muslim Uyghur community.
Well, earlier in the week the U.S. and its European allies impose sanctions on some Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uyghur community.
Independent investigators say the Chinese government is violating every act in the UN Genocide Convention in the treatment of the Uyghurs.
Well, U.S. Lawmaker Tom Malinowski has been a proponent of sanctions against China. I want to get his reaction now to CNN's exclusive report.
Thanks for joining us. You will have seen our report Amnesty International releasing a report stating that thousands of Uyghur families are being
forcibly split up in Xinjiang, and children being prevented from leaving the region to be with their parents.
We brought you our extensive reporting to our viewers from my colleague David Culver, just before the break your response to that reporting.
TOM MALINOWSKI, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I found it heartbreaking but unfortunately not surprising. We've known for some years now that the
Chinese government is engaged in an effort to essentially eradicate the Uyghur culture, to make everything that is unique about the identity of the
Uyghur people to make it disappear, because it threatens their conception of a unified country under Communist Party rule.
And the effect that it has on individual families is sometimes lost because the numbers of people affected are so great. We hear about hundreds of
thousands of people locked up in camps. And that's a number and what you've done is to put a face and a name to the victims. I think that's incredibly
important for your viewers to see.
ANDERSON: The U.S., EU and Canada also the UK introducing sanctions on several Chinese officials over human rights violations in the region of
Xinjiang. I should note that the Chinese Communist Party has been accused of committing genocide there by human rights experts, the Dutch and
Canadian Parliament's and also the outgoing Trump Administration.
These sanctions are the first multinational effort to punish Beijing since Joe Biden took office. The question is will this move or these moves
actually have a meaningful impact on the Chinese government or on its actions in Xinjiang?
MALINOWSKI: So here's what's really significant about this action that it was done by the United States, the European Union, Canada, the United
Kingdom, together. This is something that that we've not been a to muster in the past a joint international response holding specific Chinese
officials accountable for these crimes, that Chinese diplomacy is all about splitting us from our allies.
[11:25:00]
MALINOWSKI: It's about isolating their critics, and then putting pressure on those isolated critics. So I do think that this is something that will
cause significant concern in Beijing that for the first time, all of the leading democracies of the world or many of them have come together to make
the statement.
And then, you know, I would say, the important thing here is also that we are trying to win an argument with the Chinese Communist Party. It is very
difficult to change the policies of a powerful country like China. But imagine what the world would be like, if we just watched this and did
absolutely nothing?
If we allowed China's actions to become the new normal in the world we're trying to win an argument about what is right and what is wrong, what is
acceptable and what is not on the international stage, the genocide is not acceptable.
Whether we affect China's actions or not, I hope we do. But it's essential to establish for everybody in the world that this is wrong.
ANDERSON: President Biden has made it absolutely clear that containing China's aggressive rise is his top foreign policy goal. The first meeting
between his administration and Chinese officials last week in Alaska, underscored that the two countries, quite frankly, are engaged in an
ideological power struggle over issues like trade and human rights.
Now, look, since the Nixon era, the U.S. has had a policy of engagement with China, meaning consistent dialogue in areas of mutual interest. I
wonder whether at this stage, you believe that that is clearly no longer the case. And if so, can you talk me through what the new strategy is, as
you understand it, sir?
MALINOWSKI: Sure. So I would not phrase it as an effort to curb China's rise. Problem is not China, there's nothing wrong with China or the Chinese
people or the Chinese nation. What this is about is defense of international standards and norms of rules that should apply to every
single country.
We're not standing up against China. We are standing up for human rights. We are standing up for their trading rules. We are standing up for state
sovereignty and the law of the Sea and the rule that big countries cannot just steal territory from others because they are bigger.
It's about standing up for principles that the Chinese Communist Party is challenging. And I think that's the difference between Joe Biden's approach
and Donald Trump's. Trump's was more anti China, which is no way to win the support of the Chinese people or the people of the rest of the world.
Biden's approach is more standing up for universal international norms, and bringing democratic countries together in that effort, that these sanctions
related to what's happening in Xinjiang are an early sign that what Biden is doing is working that he is building an international coalition.
ANDERSON: I could talk about this all evening with you, sir. But I have got other things that are important. Although I have to say this is absolutely
top of our priority list at present. It is extremely important. And I do appreciate your time this evening. And perhaps we will talk again as we
continue to watch this space. Thank you.
My colleague, Christian Amanpour, will be speaking to China's Ambassador to the U.S. Again, there couldn't be a story that's more important that is at
11 pm here in Abu Dhabi 7 pm London, time to join CNN for that.
And still ahead tonight on "Connect the World" the Yemeni Government promises to let fuel ships dock despite a Saudi blockade, will that help
the country's starving people? Well, we'll talk with the International Rescue Committees David Miliband about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: To Yemen now where the U.S. says the decision by the internationally recognized government to allow for fuel ships into the port
of Hodeidah is a critical step towards delivering humanitarian aid but it says more must be done. Now that port is controlled by Houthi rebels.
It has been under a blockade and enforced by Saudi warships. The two sides of course have been locked in a civil war. A CNN investigation revealed
that no oil tankers adopt in Hodeidah this year and that triggered calls from the UN to end the blockade. Lifting thin air blockades is a key
condition of the Houthis after the Saudis proposed a plan to end Yemen's six year conflict.
All those ports are so important, especially Hodeidah because that is where food and other aid arrives for the people of Yemen. And those are people
who desperately need it. Millions of people plunged into poverty and starvation because of the war. And the longer it drags on the worst it is
getting.
The International Rescue Committee says prices for basic food items like rice and flour have more than doubled in Yemen in the past five years.
Well, let's talk about this more with the Head of the IRC, David Miliband joining me from New York.
And those surprises doubling and whether or not they've doubled or not, it's a question of whether people can actually get access to that food aid.
That is what is important at this point. And these blockades, of course, have been critical to the efforts of humanitarian agencies to get food and
fuel of course, in.
Today, the U.S. welcoming the news that these four ships will be allowed into Hodeidah at this point, certainly the Yemeni National Oil Company,
David says that no tankers have arrived as of yet. What do we know about the situation? And is this a solution?
DAVID MILIBAND, PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Well, we know Becky that Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. 20 million
people in the country 3.3 million in catastrophic humanitarian need, that means that standard living has collapsed, and they're on the edge of
starvation.
So the situation could not be more serious. Would the opening of the Hodeidah Port to four tankers be a "Solution" which is your question? No,
it wouldn't. Would it be a step in the right direction? Yes, it would, because there are two absolutely vital connected issues here.
One is to address the attempts by all sides in the conflict. There are no longer just two sides. There are many sides' complete attempts by all sides
in the conflict to interfere with the flow of aid, which is reprehensible and wrong in every aspect, legal, moral and political.
But there's a second aspect as well. This misbegotten war is a man made catastrophe. And its man made from the UN Security Council resolution was
passed in 2015, compounded by war crimes that have been documented on all sides by the UN.
So the desperate need alongside basic humanitarian access is also for a political momentum. Not the restating of previously rejected plans but a
new political momentum to end this conflict that is in no one's interest and is a disaster for the Yemeni people.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: The Saudi Arabians have, or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has offered a solution to end this conflict in Yemen, the proposal being sold
as a way to finally find a solution. Do you believe that what is on offer is a durable solution?
MILIBAND: Well, no one yet knows what's on offer because the circle plan has not been published. We've seen a couple of tweets from the Saudi
Arabian side and from the U.S., but no plan has been published.
Well informed observers, people who really are following this minute, will say that the ideas were previously posed last year and have been rejected,
for example, the international crisis group's work on this has been exemplary and they've said that.
So our position, my position, the position of the desperate Yemeni civilians, who 450 International Rescue Committee staffs are serving every
day in Yemen, is that there needs to be an inclusive political process because the situation the political situation is fragmented.
There needs to be a national ceasefire on all sides. And above all, there needs to be an end to the bickering about what comes first, whether it's a
humanitarian move or a political move. The truth is the humanitarian moves unnecessary in and of them, the ceasefire are necessary in and of it. And
the political process is necessary in and of itself, and we can't make the sequencing the blocker on progress.
ANDERSON: This is such a complex situation. And you're right to suggest that those who understand it is pretty much those who follow the
incremental on this on a day to day basis. And we stand and act as observers to a certain extent and try and sort of pick apart the details
here.
I know that your organization has released a detailed report on the gravity of the situation. Regarding hunger there are a lot of numbers and
statistics right around David, but what does your report actually mean, for the Yemeni people? To what degree is the humanitarian crisis continuing to
degrade as it were?
MILIBAND: It is - it's degrading, and it is pushing people into starvation, and some of them are dying. The key figure is the 3.3 million people in
catastrophic humanitarian need, the economy has collapsed. Food prices have grown by the 150 percent that you've documented at the beginning of this
section in key areas over the last four years.
But in addition to that, we have the evidence from the United Nations Aid Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, who explained that the cuts in aid that have
been made over the last year have pushed people into starvation, and pushed millions of people, notably children into starvation.
And this is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Although Becky, I understand why you say it's complicated. At some level, it's not actually
that complicated. What you've got is a fight that is turned into an internal fragmented mess. And it is the people who are paying the price of
that mess are the Yemeni people themselves.
The answer to this isn't that complicated. The answer is one to stop fighting two to get the aid flowing, three, to have a political settlement,
in which Saudi Arabia isn't threatened by what's happening in Yemen. But the outside world supports economic, social and political development in
which all the communities of Yemen have a say.
None of them are able to be to dictate to others but they're all able to have a say and have a part. And at the moment what we've seen on the ground
over the last six years is the Yemeni people have been forgotten. They've been forgotten by the competence. And too often they've been forgotten by
the international community.
We're talking about starvation in a country where conflict has become the order of the day. That's what needs to be center stage. And that's where
this needs a diplomatic push. Because I'll say this, you're absolutely right to say the Biden Administration have brought a new approach.
They've stopped supporting offensive military operations. They've refused to designate the Houthis as a global, a terrorist organization. It seems
there may be some progress on the board. But unless this moment is seized, we're going to see many people die for absolutely no reason.
ANDERSON: Yes, a point we have made on a regular basis on this show throughout this six year conflict. And David, you've been a regular guest
on this show and your analysis and insight is extremely important. Thank you very much indeed once again, for joining us.
MILIBAND: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Well, you know that feeling when your boss drops a mountain of work on your desk, and you think this is impossible.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, pity the poor soul who's been told to do this to work in this digger, trying to free the absolutely enormous ship that is wedged in
the Suez Canal. Tip, the digger is that tiny little yellow thing on the left, dwarfed by the bulbous presence of that ship looming over it.
And you are seeing about I would say, a fifth of that ship. That's the bottom, the very bottom of the hole. And looming large over just about
every supply chain, that you can imagine is this container ship, it is gumming up all manner of global delivery, so much of which passed through
the Suez Canal.
Our Ben Wedeman is familiar with things being well and truly stacks so student of Lebanon's politics as he is. Ben, joining us now from Beirut
with more on what is this gigantic bottleneck? Ben, that container ship wedged in the Suez Canal, the world's busiest waterway, and extremely
important if not one of the most important arteries for trade around the world. They call it the arteries of life in Egypt to place you know,
extremely well having been Bureau Chief for CNN there for 15 years, what's the latest?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that we don't know how long that artery of life is going to be blocked.
We're hearing anything from perhaps a few days to indefinite weeks. And really, the longer it goes on, the harder its impact is going to be.
10 percent of the world's trade passes through the Suez Canal, and keep going back in history. For instance, in 1956, if 1957, after the war that
pitted Egypt against Israel, France and the UK, it was closed for many months. And from 1967 to 1975, it was closed as well.
So it's not as if this is a unique event. But since 1975, the world economy has grown eight fold and the amount of trade that's flowing through the
Suez Canal is higher than ever before. The longer its closed, the harder the impact is going to be.
Obviously, companies shipping companies are going to have to simply redo their calculations and figure out how much they're going to have to charge
their customers by going around the African - the African continent, so it's going to have an immediate impact on prices.
And of course, more regionally, for instance, the Egyptian Government earns about $5.6 billion or earned $5.6 billion last year from operating the Suez
Canal. That's one of their many important sources of revenue. If you combine the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, and what it's had on
tourism, it's going to have a real blow to Egypt and many of the countries of the region.
Why there depend on imports, like Lebanon, for instance, or exports like the oil, oil producing countries of the Gulf. So the longer this goes on,
the more pain is going to be felt Becky.
ANDERSON: 10 percent of global trade goes through that Suez Canal at present gummed up Ben, thank you Ben Wedeman on the story for you. Let's
get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.
And a top Military Commander in Libya loyal to Renegade general Khalifa Haftar has been assassinated in Benghazi that is, at least according to
local media Mahmoud al-Werfalli was swarmed by the ICC for alleged war crimes.
There are concerns his death could lead to an escalation of violence on the ground between rival factions. Alexey Navalny's legal team tells CNN the
jailed Russian Opposition Leader is losing feeling and one of his legs after complaining last week of back pain.
Well, the Russian Prison Service quoted by state media says he is in generally good health. The vocal Kremlin critic is serving two and a half
years in a prison camp outside Moscow. You're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. We will be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: I want to bring you "Call to Earth" now CNN's initiative to promote a more sustainable future. Tonight's report is about the Atlantic
Forest in Brazil, one of the world's most ecologically diverse regions, the decades of its destruction mean that only fragments remain. Well now Rolex
Awards Laureate Laury Cullen has a plan to bring it all back. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURY CULLEN, PROJECT AND RESEARCH COORDINATOR, ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: What I really love about being in the forest
is seeing the size of the change we can really make. Is it really possible to bring out that forest back?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Laury Cullen has dedicated his life to restoring the Atlantic Forest in Brazil after witnessing the destruction of
his birthplace.
CULLEN: The Western Sao Paulo Atlantic forest range used to be a very, you know, green continuous, beautiful landscape. What used to be 100 percent of
forest cover now is only 2 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Decades of deforestation have led to a significant reduction of one of the world's most diverse habitats. All that
remains of the forest are isolated fragments. This means many species are now under threat, as they no longer have the ability to disperse.
CULLEN: The wildlife, especially you know, jaguars, pumas ocelots, they are very isolate a small forest patches, they cannot see each other. That's
when we started having problems of inbreeding depression that can kill the local population in a very short term.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Cullen and his team use a targeted approach to forest restoration taking what's left of the fragments and
planting in corridors. These proposed corridors aim to connect the fragments and act almost like an express highway for local species.
CULLEN: To Dream App, is putting priorities were where the forest should really be to make sure we put the right corridors in the right places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): To date, Cullen and his team had restored 3000 hectares of forest and tell us they have already seen at least half of
native species using them, including some animals at most risk of extinction.
CULLEN: Today is already possible to see the lion; the families of these little monkeys by themselves using some of the forest corridors that we
have put back if we just keep on going the survival of this much endangered species will be OK in the long term.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Cullen is motivated by both the community and climate benefits to reforestation, but his accomplishments represent a
transformation that is as much personal as it is philanthropic.
CULLEN: I used to be a hunter and my father used to take me hunting in Amazon. So that's how I got in contact with forests, killing a lot of
endangered species, but now I'm doing my part to pull out his forest back, trying to redeem all the bad reputation that I had in the past.
[11:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Cullen's efforts benefit not only the landscape, but also the communities living on it.
CULLEN: People are really part of the restoration equation. Every restoration that we do is done by the local people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Cullen and his team have set themselves the ambitious target of bringing back corridors to cover 60,000 hectares of
land, equating to 20 percent of the whole region.
CULLEN: We have a vision, we have a mission, and we have a map and that's it. We're not going to give up. We have a lot to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We'll continue showcasing inspirational stories like this as part of the initiative at CNN. Let us know what you are doing to answer the
"Call to Earth" with the #calltoearth. We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, critics of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are calling out in consistencies in the couple's tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey,
remember that interview? Royal watches the world over were glued to their screens when Prince Harry and Meghan revealed shocking allegations against
Britain's Royal Family. But now contradictions have come to light that are impossible to ignore. Well, CNN's Max Foster has a story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Whether or not your team Sussex is hard to argue against the profound issues raised by the Oprah Winfrey
interview, especially around suicide prevention and confronting racism wherever it may live.
But critics of the couple are pointing to in consistencies in the tell-all interview, starting with their choice of platform. A major U.S. network
with the most established interviewer on the planet when they previously pledged to engage with Grassroots Media Organizations and young up and
coming journalists then there was this line.
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I've never looked at my husband online.
FOSTER (voice over): Twitter blew up with genuine disbelief especially in light of what former best friend - told "The Daily Mail". She was always
fascinated by the Royal Family. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0.
OPRAH WINFREY, AMERICAN HOST: But you were certainly aware of the Royals?
MARKLE: Of course.
FOSTER (voice over): And what about critics claim that Meghan lied about when they were married?
MARKLE: You know, three days before our wedding we got married. No one knows that the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us
in our backyard with Archbishop of Canterbury.
FOSTER (voice over): The son getting hold of a copy of the marriage license showing the legally binding wedding was in the church not the backyard. A
spokesperson clarified the couple exchange personal vows a few days before their official slash legal wedding on May the 19th.
The couple is known for their distrust in the tabloid media, and they voice their frustration with how the Palace tries to appease certain titles.
MARKLE: I think there's a reason that these tabloids have holiday parties at the Palace. They're hosted by the Palace. The tabloids are. You know
there is a construct that's at play there.
FOSTER (voice over): But tabloids reporters say they have no memory of such parties. Russell Meyers, Royal Editor at "The Daily Mirror" tweeting,
Meghan has just claimed Buckingham Palace through holiday parties for the UK tabloids and now I'm wondering why I never got a ticket.
[11:55:00]
WINFREY: Were you silent? Or were you silenced?
FOSTER (voice over): Oprah's question here has been a subject of countless memes. But the answer has been deconstructed to.
MARKLE: I've advocated for so long for women to use their voice. And then I was silent.
FOSTER (voice over): Is that true? Palace insiders will point to many occasions that show that Meghan was allowed to voice they say, particularly
on feminist issues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now in the climate that we're saying, with so many campaigns in "Metoo, and Time's up. There is no better time than to
really continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered, and people really helping to support them.
FOSTER (voice over): Insiders will also tell you they showed full support in Meghan, a junior member of her staff whose now let the Palace told CNN,
they've bent over backwards as far as I could see. I think there were complete hospitality and kindness and grace.
Everyone wanted to make it a success. A current Royal source added the Queen senior team was directly to avail themselves to ensure she had all
the support needed.
MARKLE: Unlike what you see in the movies, there's no class on how to speak? How to cross your legs? How to be Royal? There's none of that trend
that might exist for other members of the family that was not seen that was offered.
FOSTER (voice over): But CNN has been told the Queen dispatched her closest aides to Kensington Palace, Lady in waiting, Lady Susan Hussey and Dresser
Angela Kelly, to offer advice, guidance and tutelage to the Duchess. Royal aides say this was an unprecedented gesture of support for a new member of
the family, and that every department of the Queen's household was open to Meghan. Then there's the question of titles.
MARKLE: They were saying they didn't want him to be a Prince or Princess not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from
protocol.
FOSTER (voice over): The protocol that Duchess referred to was issued by King George V and it limits princely titles to children and grandchildren
of the serving monarch, as well as the firstborn child of the Prince of Wales. None of which applies to Archie, though he will automatically become
a prince when Charles becomes King Max Foster, CNN, Hampshire, England.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, we are nearly in the fourth month of 2021 and this is how long it has taken? Most women in the U.S. to earn the same amount that a
man did last month. We really love this have been marking equal pay day this week.
The most recent estimate show that women in the world's biggest economy earned about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men that amount changes
when broken down by race with many women of color faring much worse. While you're in this region, a hopeful side just over a year ago 10 Arab states
pledged to reduce the gender pay gap. Stay safe. Stay well, good night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
