Tales of torture, salvation and the Dalai Lama are just some of the
stories that have poured in from around the world as listeners are invited
to share their experiences of how and where they listen to BBC World
Service and what it means to them.
My BBC starts on Monday 31 May at 11.00am (BST) on
BBC World Service's Outlook.
We hear how BBC World Service gave Jawad Amir a lifeline to the outside
world during 21 years in hiding in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein had sentenced him to death for supporting an outspoken
Shia cleric, but Mr Amir managed to escape and hide in the space sandwiched
between two walls of his parent's house.
He spent his time listening to the BBC Arabic Service, reading the
Koran and watching the world go by from a tiny hole in the wall.
After Saddam's statue was toppled in Baghdad Jawad finally felt safe
enough to leave his hiding place.
He said: "I found out about the fall of the regime from BBC World
Service. I used to listen in the late evening through until the morning.
I believe that every person in Iraq breathed the air of freedom."
Former rebel fighter Captain Soe Min from Burma describes how the Burmese
police tortured one of his relatives for listening to BBC World Service.
He says: "People listen to the BBC in Burma in whatever way they can.
It's not easy. It has to be quiet. If someone complains that you have
been listening to the BBC and the authorities find out, you will be
arrested and the punishment can be severe.
"My cousin, Aung Din, wanted to know more about the politics of
the country and because he listened to BBC World Service he was tortured
severely.
"They put headphones on his head and played the BBC on the highest
volume. They said to him, 'You want to listen to the BBC? Listen to
the BBC!' He is now deaf."
BBC World Service saved Tarnue Kootee Korvah's life when he heard on
the radio that his village in Liberia was under attack from guerrillas.
He fled to a refugee camp in Guinea with his family and helped illustrate
World Service stories for other Liberians who could not speak English.
Listeners can also share their stories through the My BBC website.
Christine Skarda, a nun in the Himalayas, says BBC World Service has
kept her in touch with the world for the last 12 years while on a meditational
retreat.
She says her teacher, the Dalai Lama, listens everyday and she takes
him as an example.
"I live in a hut in the Himalayas and although the reception is sometimes
rather bad I still listen to Newshour. I listen alone of course, in
retreat, but with the rest of the world listening at the same time I
feel more connected".
Stories from Singapore, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Cameroon can also be
heard on My BBC broadcast on BBC World Service in Outlook during the
first week of June and on the My BBC website.
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