Bastian Hartig

With state and national elections approaching in the US, the country is more divided than ever before. Also on the campaign trail are a range of young politicians fighting for office. Will they be able to overcome the growing polarization in society?

Wyatt Gable is a 22-year-old Donald Trump supporter hoping to represent the Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Sabrina Bousbar, a 27-year-old Democrat from Florida, wants to become the first woman Generation Z member of Congress. Policy-wise the two budding politicians are worlds apart. As for the presidential election between Trump and Kamala Harris: both express serious concerns about their country's future, should the candidate from the rival side win on November 5.

Like many Americans, Gable and Bousbar fear the political divide is insurmountable - a divide reflected in the respective youth and student organizations. While the right-wing populist "Turning Point USA" bangs the drum for Trump, 17-year-old William He has launched a center-left alternative movement in the shape of "Dream for America". For all that divides the camps, Gable, Bousbar and He are each hoping that the deep divisions will not worsen and tear their society apart.

What explains this polarization, and is there a way of overcoming it? Can a new generation of activists and politicians help to bridge the gulf? | DW Documentary, 28.10.2024

Director, Camera: Bastian Hartig

For many kids, pandemic lockdowns have also meant a lack of exercise. In the US, that's only added to the nationwide problem of childhood obesity. Doctors in many cities, including New York, are now sounding the alarm. | DW News, 06.10.2022

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

The most powerful men in Iran fear Masih Alinejad. On her social media channels, she gives a voice to Iranian women in their struggle against oppression. | DW Shift, 07.03.2022

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

After the demise of Concorde, supersonic commercial airliners were written off as too expensive, too dirty and too loud. But a comeback is now on the cards. New technology could make supersonic travel much greener, quieter and more efficient. | DW Made in Germany, 05.10.2021

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

Faced with shortages of food and medicine, power blackouts and an economy in crisis, thousands of Cubans staged rare protests last summer. But since then, little has been heard from them. Cuban exiles in the United States are worried about developments on the island. | DW News, 02.10.2021

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

The September 11th attacks that prompted the US invasion of Afghanistan motivated Americans to join the military in the 'war on terror.' But now, many people are asking what the 20-year mission achieved. DW's Bastian Hartig met a veteran in New York. | DW, 19.08.2021

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

New York City is a dream to many - and a nightmare for others. The pandemic has exacerbated poverty and inequality in the city. Meet New Yorkers struggling to make it through the pandemic and those who are trying to help. | DW, 15.04.2021

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

New York City is coming back to life after a year of the pandemic. Live venues are opening back up as people get vaccinated. And New Yorkers can't wait to enjoy their city again.

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

Web video, 03.04.2021

In the US, the number of hate crimes directed at the Asian-American community has skyrocketed since the onset of the pandemic last year. Activist organizations say they recorded almost 4000 incidents in 2020. In areas with large Asian American communities, like New York City, the situation is particularly troubling.

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

DW News, 18.03.2021

Tamika Lawrence gave her all to become a Broadway actress. But she hasn't appeared on a stage since the pandemic hit. Now, Tamika has to reinvent herself.

New York has changed since COVID-19 struck. Even Times Square is almost deserted as people wear masks and observe social distancing. Tamika Lawrence is sad because she loves the square, which represents New York's vibrancy. Now she fears that might never return. She makes ends meet just like her friends with part-time jobs while they all wait for a better future.

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

DW Documentary, 26.10.2020

The US plans to withdraw thousands of troops from its bases in Germany. Grafenwöhr in Bavaria is home to the largest overseas US-Army base in the world. The town depends on the US-soldiers and their families. But the consequences of a withdrawal would not only be economic. | DW News, 29.06.2020

With people living in close quarters, refugee centers in Germany have become hotspots of coronavirus outbreaks. Lockdowns of the centers often trap all the refugees inside, infected or not, along with the fear of contracting the virus. Here’s my report from southern Bavaria for DW News. | DW News, 25.05.2020

Dozens of heads of state are due in Jerusalem tomorrow to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. But they'll also be talking about a resurgence of anti-Semitism. Jewish people and institutions have been attacked around the world, including in New York City, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. There, the number of anti-Semitic incidents, some of them horrific, has been on the rise. DW's Bastian Hartig reports.

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

DW News, 22.03.2020

President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war has created a climate of impunity in the Philippines. Every day people are killed in the streets, and the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. Some of the victims' families are suing the President before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Now the Philippines are withdrawing from the ICC.

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig

DW News, 17.03.2019

Cover photo: © Human Rights Watch

Muslims in the southern Philippines have voted in a referendum that could grant them more autonomy. It's the culmination of a peace process aimed at ending decades of separatist violence. 2.8 million people in the volatile Mindanao region were asked if they back a plan by Muslim separatists and the government to create a new self-administered area.

Report: Bastian Hartig
Camera: Bastian Hartig, Lukas Messmer
DW News, 21.01.2019

Thai rap group lands a major YouTube hit with a song that criticizes the Thai military government. The video got more than 20 million clicks in one week. Fun fact: The song’s popularity went through the roof after the police publicly announced it was mulling investigating the group for a possible violation of the country’s Computer Crimes Act.

Report/Camera/Editing: Bastian Hartig | Modified version of report aired by DW News, 14.11.2018

For many in Thailand, Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing is serious business. And that includes children and teenagers. Some kids start boxing as soon as they can walk. For them, the goal is to turn pro and break out of poverty. But this is a quite dangerous path. Just recently, a 13-year old boxer died of a brain injury from a blow to the head.

Report: Bastian Hartig | DW News, 04.12.2018

The city of Palu on the Indonesian island Sulawesi was among the hardest hit by a recent earthquake and tsunami. People are desperate to leave, as rescue workers work to find survivors buried in the rubble. DW's Bastian Hartig filed this on-the-ground report from Palu.

Report: Bastian Hartig, Camera: Karl Vandenhole | DW News, 02.10.2018

In Palu, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, survivors of last week's devastating earthquake are struggling to access food and medical supplies. DW's Bastian Hartig reports from Palu, where thousands of people are now homeless and hungry.

Report: Bastian Hartig, Camera: Karl Vandenhole | DW News, 03.10.2018

Nisa and Umar were separated from their nine year old son after the earthquake and the tsunami in the Indonesian city of Palu. Now they’re searching for him around the clock. They’re convinced he’s still alive.

Report: Bastian Hartig, Camera: Karl Vandenhole, Bastian Hartig | DW News, 08.10.2018

Chang Sain’s brother was taken prisoner by North Korea during the Korean War. Chang Sain never saw him again, but now, with relations thawing, his hopes are rising that one day he can meet his nephews and nieces.

Report: Bastian Hartig, Camera: Andreas Nebeling, Bastian Hartig | DW News, 12.06.2018

With massive numbers of Rohingya refugees pouring into Bangladesh, securing their survival has become a race against time.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News, 19.09.2017

More than 400.000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh. There, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News, 14.09.2017

Thousands of invited guests, hundreds of statues, and a 50 meter tall funeral pyre: Thailand is preparing for the cremation of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the first funeral for a Thai king in almost seven decades.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News, 10.08.2017

Twenty years ago, Britain handed Hong Kong back to China. The idea was to guarantee the territory political and judicial freedoms. But journalists say the press is being stifled.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News, 01.07.2017

Every year, hundreds of North Koreans risk their lives to escape the country's repressive dictatorship. Many are just children. They often find that the reality of their new home is far different from what they had imagined.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

Drug addicts in the Philippines are in danger. It's not just the effect of the drugs that threaten their lives: there are also death squads hunting them down. The squads are illegal but allegedly supported by President Rodrigo Duterte, who is waging a merciless war against drugs in his country. Addicts and dealers are regularly shot dead on the street. Renato has vowed to help drug addicts in Manila escape this fate.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW

Myanmar's army has repeatedly been accused of waging a brutal campaign against Muslim Rohingya in the country's western Rakhine state. Rohingya who have fled across the border to Bangladesh describe rapes and killings.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

Several hundred people gathered at Bangkok's Siriraj hospital to pray for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, after the palace said the king's health was "not stable." The 88-year-old king has not appeared in public for almost a year.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

July 6th is International Kissing Day but what's fun for some can be frowned upon, when it's done in public. That's what DW correspondent Bastian Hartig found out when he went to Hong Kong.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

The son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos is running for Vice President in the Philippines and he is enjoying a surprising amount of support - but his candidacy also sparks controversy.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

In historic elections, Myanmar's citizens have given most of the electable seats to Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party NLD. Now the newly elected MPs are preparing for their new job.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

Before Myanmar's historic elections, radical Buddhists are trying to influence the outcome of the vote.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

El Niño has hit Indonesia with extreme drought, crop losses and fires. It might be the worst El Niño episode ever to hit the country with tremendous consequences for the population and the economy.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW News

Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of opium. Decades of civil war and the sluggish economic development have left farmers in Myanmar's eastern Shan State with little choice but to cultivate the illegal crop. The abundance of readily available drugs and the lack jobs have created a broken society. But there are inklings of change.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW

Thailand's government is trying to avoid an EU ban on Thai fishery exports. High time for Thailand's seas but for many fishermen the newly enforced regulations pose a big problem. Bastian Hartig reports from Thailand's Samut Sakhon Province.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW Business, 14.07. 2015

Six months after of Typhoon Haiyan the people of Tacloban are still struggling to find back into their lives. On the surface, things are slowly returning to normal but for most, their lives will never be the same again.

Report and Camera: Bastian Hartig | DW