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The Documentary Podcast
Heart and Soul: The Sarajevo Haggadah
The Documentary Podcast
Dec 8, 2023

Sarajevo’s most famous artefact, a 700 year-old Jewish prayer book called the Haggadah, captures the story the city wants to tell about itself. But is it accurate? In Sarajevo, Farrah Jarral joins members of the Jewish community to find out. In a city devastated by conflict in the 1990s, she hears stories about living together, and the wish that Jews and Muslims can still live alongside one another, as they had for hundreds of years. And the story of the Haggadah seems to capture that. Saved from the Nazis by a Muslim and a Catholic, and then again from destruction in the 1990s by another Muslim, it captures the possibility of living together, caring for one another's treasures.

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Albania: Land, money and the sea

Albania has had many different faces over the last hundred years. Once ruled by the Ottomans, it became a kingdom before turning into a totalitarian communist state after the Second World War. During this time, no one was allowed in or out; all private property became state-owned, and bunkers sprang up across the country. After the fall of the communist regime, Albania descended into chaos. In 1996, a pyramid scheme that three quarters of the population had paid into, collapsed. People lost everything, and the country, especially the south, erupted into violence.

These days, Albania is aiming to shake off its past and transform its reputation from a country marked by corruption to one known for luxury tourism. With its miles of unspoilt beaches, snow capped mountains, and olive groves that could rival anything Greece has to offer, it’s unsurprising that it’s quickly attracting investors. Among them are Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who are hoping to build a resort on an island off the coast of Vlorë. They have visited the secluded beaches of Zvërnec and Nartë; currently home only to endangered monk seals, sea turtles, and a few sheep. They, like others, hope to benefit from new government incentives to build luxury 5 star plus resorts.

However, ghosts of Albania’s communist past remain. Land disputes, allegations of corruption, and a lack of infrastructure could derail these resorts before they’ve even broken ground. For Assignment, Emily Wither travels to Albania to find out whether it will be able to re-brand itself, and whether its dream of luxury escapism will become a reality.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.


26min 33sec




Heart and Soul: The Sarajevo Haggadah

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