Podcast Summary: The Global Story — How does war affect a child’s brain?

Global News Podcast – BBC World Service
Date: March 22, 2026
Hosts: Asma Khalid and Tristan Redman
Special Guest: Fergal Keane, BBC war correspondent (retiring after 37 years)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Global Story examines the devastating impact of war on children’s brains, focusing on both immediate and lifelong trauma. Veteran BBC correspondent Fergal Keane shares powerful stories from decades of reporting, including the Rwandan genocide, current conflicts in the Middle East, and his own struggles with PTSD. The discussion is intimate and often harrowing, highlighting the persistent suffering of children in war and the psychological legacies that follow them for life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Reflections: The Ongoing Crisis

• Theme: Children are often the most vulnerable and least talked-about victims of war.
• “More than 1,100 children have been killed or injured in the Middle East in the two weeks since the war in Iran started.” — Asma Khalid (02:02)
• Emphasis on the cycle of turmoil and the suffering of children in multiple conflict zones.

2. Fergal Keane’s Reporting Career and Most Marking Stories

• Background: 37 years as the BBC’s foreign war correspondent, including formative work in South Africa and Rwanda.
• “I watched over a period of four years, this country moved from the brutality of racial separation...to Nelson Mandela...being sworn in as the president of a non racial democratic South Africa. That’s the kind of thing you go through and you think, I’ll never experience that again.” — Fergal Keane (03:32)
• The genocide in Rwanda (1994): Profoundly shaped Keane’s psyche, witnessing unimaginable atrocities, particularly towards children.

3. Reporting on Trauma: Telling Children’s Stories

• Motivation: Came from Keane’s own childhood experiences of trauma within a home disrupted by alcoholism.
• “I was traumatized by the presence of my father’s alcoholism...Fear was constantly present, tension was constantly present, and where I learned very early to be quiet, not to speak up.” — Fergal Keane (09:15)
• Led to a deep empathy and sense of responsibility to amplify the voices of traumatized children in war.

4. Ethical Approach to Interviewing Children

• Protocols:
  • Never interview a child without guardian approval.
  • Always ensure a mental health professional is present and support is available afterward.
• “You don't re-traumatize the child...We always now make sure there is someone there who is in a position to counsel the child and comfort them.” — Fergal Keane (10:26)

5. The “Letter to Daniel” and Personal Perspective Shift

• Context: Written after the birth of his son, juxtaposed with reporting from Rwanda.
• “I am pained, perhaps haunted is a better word, by the memory suddenly so vivid now of each suffering child I have come across on my journeys...it’s nearly too much to bear at this moment to even think of children being hurt and abused and killed.” — Fergal Keane (11:46, 12:44)
• Expresses his transformed outlook: glory and recognition seem meaningless compared to the safety and innocence of a child.

6. The Story of Valentina: Resilience and Aftermath

• Background: Survivor of the Rwandan genocide, lost all family, suffered horrific injuries.
• “For more than a month, they lived and slept among the rotting corpses.” — Fergal Keane, on Valentina’s ordeal (16:08)
• “...I figured that if the killers came, I would pretend to be dead.” — Valentina (15:24)
• Despite trauma, Valentina’s story ends in resilience: she emigrates, starts her own family.
• “The big lesson is that given a chance, the human spirit and especially children are phenomenally resilient. I don't believe that anybody is doomed by what happened to them in their childhood.” — Fergal Keane (18:16)

7. Fergal Keane’s Own PTSD Journey

• Origins: Childhood trauma made him especially suited to war reporting, but also susceptible to PTSD.
• “I think I had PTSD from a very early age...because I was perfectly formed to operate in war zones.” — Fergal Keane (21:29)
• Recognition:
  • Self-medicated with alcohol.
  • Multiple breakdowns, leading to formal diagnosis with complex PTSD.
  • Ongoing recovery: therapy, staying out of war zones, surrounding himself with love.
• “Life is full of pain. Number two, it’s full of uncertainty. And number three, if you’re going to have decent mental health, you’ve got to work at it every single day of your life.” (Heard from an American psychiatrist, 24:34)

8. Global Scale: Children in Conflict Today

• Statistics:
  • “520 million children living in conflict zones...about one in every five children worldwide.” — Fergal Keane (25:35–25:51)
  • Ongoing devastation in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, etc.
• “That’s a staggering number, right? One in five, 20% of the world’s children.” — Asma Khalid (25:55)

9. Advances in Trauma Recovery for Children

• Progress:
  • Recognition that children cannot recover in ongoing trauma.
  • Importance of re-establishing stable families/communities post-conflict.
  • Newer therapies encourage gradual re-engagement with fearful triggers (e.g., sleeping alone post-trauma).
• “You can’t recover from war trauma if you’re living with continuing trauma.” — Fergal Keane (26:21)

10. The Present Moment: Iran, Gaza, and the Lasting Reality

• Recent Events:
  • Civilian harm and fear among children in Iran after US-Israel war escalates.
  • Harrowing detail: a young Iranian woman describes, “This war, it has come into our homes, it has come into our families, it has come into our blood, and I don't know when we’re going to be able to get rid of it.” — Keane (28:37)
• Broader Point:
  • Children remain the least protected, despite international law and conventions.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You don’t get closure on an experience like that...If you witness massacre, if you see your family being butchered, you don’t close a door and suddenly it’s gone.” – Fergal Keane on trauma’s persistence (17:17)
• “Given a chance, the human spirit and especially children are phenomenally resilient. I don’t believe that anybody is doomed by what happened to them in their childhood.” – Fergal Keane (18:16)
• “I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of this child. I was just overwhelmed at what he represented, at the possibility of new beginnings. And it brought up memories of the children that I had seen, so many of them who didn’t enjoy the protection that my child had.” – Fergal Keane on “Letter to Daniel” (13:08–13:38)
• “Children are the ones who have least ability to protect themselves. They are the ones who, under international law...should be most protected. But that just doesn’t happen. It never has. And you have to wonder if it ever will.” — Fergal Keane (29:45)

Important Timestamps

• 02:02 – Introduction of children’s suffering in ongoing conflicts
• 03:32 – Fergal Keane reflects on his most formative reporting experiences
• 09:15 – Fergal’s childhood trauma and its link to his reporting
• 11:24 – Reading from “Letter to Daniel”, reflections on fatherhood and children in war
• 15:24 – Survivor Valentina recounts hiding among corpses to survive
• 17:17 – Discussion of trauma's persistence (“closure” is a myth)
• 21:29 – Keane discusses living with PTSD and eventual diagnosis
• 25:35 – 520 million children living in conflict zones globally
• 26:21 – Advances in supporting traumatized children
• 28:37 – Iranian perspective: “This war...has come into our blood...”
• 30:31 – Final reflections on children and the persistent reality of war

Conclusion & Final Reflections

Fergal Keane’s decades of reporting from conflict zones have left him with deep insights into the psychological scars borne by children. He weaves together personal experience, the stories of survivors like Valentina, and the sobering realities facing millions of children today. Despite advances in understanding trauma, Keane argues that children remain the most vulnerable during war, rarely protected by international law or adult decisions.

His central message: children’s pain lingers for a lifetime, but so does their capacity for resilience—if only the world pays them proper attention and care.

For further information or to support children living through conflict, search for “Global Story” on BBC podcasts, or read Fergal Keane’s reporting and articles on the BBC website.