sentences... and beat them. >> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states government. >> the cia admitted it. this is al jazeera america, i am del walters in new york with a lack at that time tonight's top stories, thousands of people taking to the streets of europe, demanding syrian refugees and others fleeing the violence are given safe haven. from europe to new york, hundreds more gather in lower manhattan pressing the u.s. to do more. >> i don't think this person should ever have a badge or a gun again. >> tennis star james blake speaking out.

the police say it's mistaken identity, he says it's racism. in we look at the tech city dominated by white asian men, talk about what is being done to diversify the workforce, four firefighters burned fighting a fire in northern california. ♪ ♪ thousands of riff gees looking for a safe place to call home. randies armed the world. demanding more be welcomed with open arms. there is word tonight germany has take then 10,000 new refugees today alone. see far they welcomed more than 40,000 people this week, men, women and children all fleeing

war zones in the middle east and africa. today across europe angry protesters taking to the streets demanding more to be done to help the worst crisis seen in decades, barnaby phillips was at one of the largest rallies in london. >> reporter: it's sample, heartfelt message that refugeess welcome in britain. the mood festive. the kraut optimistic by coming out in large numbers they can shame their government in to taking in more refugees. in particular, syrians fleeing conflict. >> germany and speed sweeped have take then more than their fair sherry believe a country our size and wealth we should take in the same refugeeses. >> basically i put myself in their position and i would want people to treat me well if he had to flee england, that's why a. here real eu6789 this was pick a piccadilly in central london, it

took one hour for the crowd to march past opposition. the british government argue that his it gives far more in foreign aid to help syrian refugees than any other country in europe. thousands of people who have come out today in central london are saying emphatically that is not enough. and that britain should be doing more. but an impressive turn out doesn't moon this crowd is necessarily representative of britain as a whole. many british people feel this country has taken in too many immigrants in recent years. prime minister david cameron will wants to be in step with public opinion on the refugees crisis. for all the passion on london's streets, he may feel he's done enough to placate his critics, barn barnaby phillips, al jazeera, central london. in madrid, the country has take in what it says is an unspes need february of h refugs

says men, women, and children all fleeing war-torn syria. this was the scene in greece hundreds marching through the streets of greece tonight, little protesters make getting their way toward the european committee's head quarters in athens demanding safe passage for re refugees, greece seeing e most lands on the ground its island. in pole an the government banning a protest who are against refugees. instead this is the pro refugees rally held. human rights watch says some eastern european countries are treating refugees like animals. in new york they are calling on president obama to let more k079 to tcometo our country rich. many say it's not enough. >> reporter: hundreds of people gathered in new york city on saturday in solidarity with the syrian refugees.

one lone protester stood far from the crowd. but those rallying made their feelings clear. that syrian president bashar al-assad and isil must be competed and the u.s. must let more refugees in the u.s. than the nearly 2,000 resettled here since 2011. the obama administration says they'll accept up to 10,000 syrian refugees per fiscal year which starts this october. the people here say it's not nearly enough. >> i leave my daughter in sear kwr56789 many feel retribution by the assad regime against family members in syria if they speak up. they tell me previous atly mo details about families divided by war and under siege by both the assad regime and isil. >> i came from the city, the capital of isis, let me hear a big by for those terrorists. i want to go back and see my own mother who is waiting for me.

he came to the u.s. with his father and younger brother when his parents divorced 18 years ago. >> syrians in general have a unique love of their hope lands. no one wants to leave, from ply experience. >> reporter: his mother and stepbrother are trapped. now a strong hold of isil. >> i have seen refugees and i have speak tone them. and the first thing that i ask them, what is the number one goal? what do you want to happen in had this life? the number one answer is i want to go back to syria. i want to see my family. i want to go by the river. i want to go by the beach. i want to eat from there. i want to visit my father's grave. that's what the syrian people wants. >> reporter: he serves as a very public voice of many syrians too afraid for their families to speak publically. >> no to isis and tell the u.s. government you need to do more. courtney keel i, al jazeera. not our syrian refugees are trying to get to europe. thousands crossing southern

board never to jordan, more than a half million crossing since that war began, 10,000 this year alone. as nisreen reports from the board he should refugees are not the only ones now struggling to cope. >> reporter: they came carrying only a few belonging it is. many said they had to run for their lives. the latest syrian refugees to arrive in jordan. all were exhausted. >> translator: life is destroyed in aleppo. our homes were di demolished we have nothing left but god's percent mercy we left only withe cloargt we were wearing. >> reporter: they had to walk to get here. their journey inside syria was even more agonizing. they traveled from north to south, fleeing from isil-controlled territory close to turkey. >> translator: syria is miserable. we were escaping air strikes, barrel bombs and isil. we are tired. >> reporter: many also say they left zooer i can't because they had no food.

>> translator: we ran way from hunger, fatigue, and bombardment. >> translator: we came to our brothers in jordan because we could no longer find anything to eat 67 the jordanian he vinnie army runs the operation at the border it says it has spent more than $700 million on feeding, treating and transporting refugees beforehanding them over to humanitarian agencies. since the emergence of isil and al-nusra front it's become harder for syrian refugees to his make the long journey to jordan that's because the jordanian army has reduced the numbers of areas that connection get in to jordan from 45 since the start of the conflict to six now. the army says it has had to priority security over humanitarian year gesture to his prevent terrorists from entering jordan by hide ago wrong the refugees. >> translator: refugees used to come from southern syria. now refugees are coming from areas in the north near the

syrian-turkish border. why won't turkey open its borders. why is only jordan asked to do so? >> reporter: their gorp is a far from over. here here they will be taken to a scurry base where the jordanian authorities will run background checks, a of they have been cleared they will be taken to a refugees camp. many will stay there for years. after four years of war these people say they feel violated, humiliated and destitute. they have nothing left. al jazeera, on the jordan-syria border. and all next week al jazeera america airs special coverage of the refugees crisis, our coverage beginning monday at 7:00 p.m. eastern tim, time, 4:00 specific, we'll look at the refugees settlement here. european leaders say, quote, significant progress has been made, talking about the effort to his settle the conflict between ukraine and russia. germany's foreign minister meeting today in berlin with his counterparts from russia, are you crane and france he says

they are now close to an agreement and that agreement would involve pulling back weapons from the line that separates ukrainian forces and separatists in eastern ukraine. both sides did agree to the no lay my moreland mines and to work at clearing the ones that have been put down. the turkish government lifting a 9-day curfew on the south eastern city. they were there as part of an operation that reportedly killed 30 for kurdish fighters and a civilian. protests followed pro kurdish politicians rejecting the official toll, they say only 21 civilians were killed. gerald tan has more. >> reporter: stuck indoors for nine days. the people were finally allowed out. with the government curfew lifted. they were able to inspect what was left of their neighborhoods many could express only anger and grief. >> translator: armored vehicles to start in front of our house and fire randomly and continuously at us, we felt like prisoners. >> all my children were awake,

we ran to the backyard, but they opened fire on us. >> translator: we were terrified. we didn't have electricity, we were starving to death. we didn't live, what on earth did we do to do deserve this? >> reporter: mainly kurdish city with a population of more than 100,000. it was sealed off at the turkish military launched a bombardment campaign fighters from the kurdistan workers party or p.k.k. fighting has is under after a two-year ceasefire collapse ed in july with the p.k.k. behind a string of attacks being including one killing 14 turk i.police officers in a bomb blast in the country's east. speaking at the ruling party, the prime minister pledged to the continue the fight against the p.k.k. >> translator: we will give severe punishments to those who attempt to destroy the piece and disturb our citizens by trying to drag turk any to chaos, their

head quart never northern iraq and every place they are gathering are being wild out by the forces of the turkish people's republic and the turkish army 67 they are concerned civilians are paying too high a price in these operations. council of europe is demanding immediate access for observers to assess the impact of the curfew. activists say people were deprived of food, power and medical care and suck today disproportionate use of force. gerald tan, al jazeera. firefighters in california battling wild fires near sacramento at this hour in lake county four fight fighters there suffered burnt they were fighting the valley fire which has consumed more than 400 acres so far. more than 100 crews are aggressively fighting those wild fires think the city of middleton in lake county is now under mandatory evacuation, meanwhile, southeast of sacramento, thousands of people in the town of san andreas are now being told to get ready to

evacuate at a moment's notice. the butte fire in northern california, growing to more than 100 square miles in just two days. officials say it went from 5% to 10% contained between friday and saturday kevin corvo has more. >> meteorologist: as we shift in to seve september in to october. the butte wildfire just towards the southwest of lake tahoe, and towards sacramento, we have 10 counties that are under air quality alerts, that's going to continue through sunday evening. we are going to see better weather on monday until the temperature is warm in to the 90s in some locations across the valleys and high 80s in to the higher elevations there. tomorrow is going to be very much like the same. so we do expect that the butte wildfire is going to increase its size, but as we go towards monday, we are going to be seeing a lower temperature across the region, that's

because we had some clouds coming in to play as well as the potentially of some rain, we are not going to see a lot. but the humidity is going to be coming up and that will help the wild fires across the region as we look what happening across the country, still warm across much of the south, but take a look up here towards the north. we are going to be seeing the temperatures in chicago tomorrow, 68 degrees in new york, at 77. kevin, thank you very much. police say they are talking for a man in connection with a string of free bay shootings in phoenix so far they are calling him a person of interest. but they say the 19-year-old isn't their prime suspect. the shootings that occurred mostly along interstate 10 left phoenix residents on edge for two weeks, no one killed but a girl was injured. former tennis champ james blake saying the undercover officer who tack hemmed in new york city should be fired he made the comments after learning about the officer's history. >> i don't think there is much of a gray yeah.

i don't think this person should have a badge or a gun again. i don't think it's too much to ask. he's had five civil complaints and nba four years, which is more than 90% of the police officers has over their entire career. >> the surveillance video has been broadcast widely over the past few days, showing the undercover n.y.p.d. officer tackling then slamming james blake onto the sidewalk. it happened in front of the grand hyatt in manhattan, blake was canned handcuffed in a case of mistaken stay. he officer thought he was the subpicture in a fraudulent credit card ring. >> the video shows never raise might arms, never ran, never did anything that could be seen in any way as confrontational add nod to the fact that the suspect is i nonviolent criminal so there was no reason for i in in any way. >> reaction to the video was swift. new york city police commissioner william brad an announcing the officer has been placed on desk duty. acknowledging excessive force may have been used.

>> we are very anxious to talk to mr. blake, one, to external a percentage apology on my part, on the part of the police dealt, mayor and the city. >> mr. pl brat unand the mayor have played it clear and they apologizing i appreciate it, i room that, but i am sure this isn't the first time police brew till tal has happened and i am sure it's not the last time i want them to apologize to the people that this happen to his that don't have the same voice i have. >> but commissioner brat unurged caution noticing that the officer was shown two photographs of the subject spect which looked remarkably like mr. blake, brat unalso denied blake's suggestion that race was a factor. but blake isn't buying it, he vows to continue speak out until the nypd does more to end what he calls police brutality. >> what happened to me would have been swept under the rug if there wasn't a video to show how obvious and egregious the action was.

>> now, the officer, the man who tackled blake was the subject of four civilian complaints in 2013, he's also been named in two federal civil rights lawsuits involving the arrest of two men in queens that same year. coming up on al jazeera america, blacks and hispanics making up only a fraction of the tech industry. one of the fastest growing fields in he should. up next we take a deep look at how one nonprofit getting mind or at this teens a head start in learning the business. we are also live on the pacific island of have that true. restless defense there struggling to recover from the damage left behind by cyclone pam. and an explosion i in packed restaurant. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment,

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it's saturday night and time to take a deeper look. tonight we are looking at america's tech industry and its lack of diversity. in recent years, silicon valley has been criticized for not having enough women or minorities. change that go could mean changing school curriculums before kids even go to college. richelle carey introduces us to one group trying to make a difference. >> reporter: he's got a big mohawk. and big ideas. xavier jenkins stands out on the crowded streets of new york. xavier is 17 years old. and entering his senior year in high school. i met up with him near the end of his summer internship at the bosh microsoft offices.

but i thought teenagers just excellent all day. >> no, that's only on the weekdays. [ laughter ] >> reporter: this job is not about fetching coffee. it's not sharp inning pencils. >> i am not doing that much i am deploying task sequence on his to the net, would. i like the creative aspect. you have an idea and you can execute it as quickly as you have it. >> when we are ready we can add the data base in. >> reporter: xavier is working with a technical architect at microsoft. today he's learning how to create a complex website for a growing business. xavier earned his internship through a nonprofit organization called all-star code. it immerses teens of color in an intensive summer program focusing on computer science classes. it also offers access to companies like microsoft.

so tell me why there is a need for a program like all-star code. >> the technology sector is the one of the fastest growing industries in the u.s. economy. however blacks and latinos make up less than 10% of the sector. >> reporter: all-star code thinks part of the solution to change that go arechanging thatg students started early. >> i quickly found out i loved. >> reporter: one of the reasons it's team upping with all-star code is to reach kids. they are working t to hire more minorities. schools are not emphasizing signs, technology, engineering and mathematics also gnome as stem education. >> we refer to it as the opportunity dried. there is a definitely a gap. in skills and education that we are hoping to bridge. >> reporter: a recent gallop study commissioned by goodal

shows 67% of parents believe computer science should be required learning. but 75% of principals say their schools do not offer programming or coding classes. do you think they teach enough computer science in schools? >> not really. >> reporter: do you think if more teenagers, more kids had the chance to take coding or computer science, do you think they would actually like it? >> yeah, i think so. it's fun. >> reporter: technology is playing an increasingly large role in the u.s. economy think you don't have to look far for examples, facebook, uber quickly turned in to multi billion dollars companies. and that translates to high-paying jobs. but according to the bureau of labor statistics. by 2020, about 1 million coding jobs will go unfilled. >> when you look at where is all of the innovation happening right now, it's happening within technology and software engineering, coding is a big

part of that. >> reporter: through these opportunities, xavier has learned a lot about tech, and himself. this school year he's hoping to get a job teaching other kids how to code. his mentors at all-star code could not be happen area. >> extremely proud. but also it speaks to the quality of young men that we attract. they want to pay it forward and teach young men or women about coding. >> reporter: his message to them is simple, but four. >> if you give 100% in to what you want to do, you will definitely do it. there lo it may take time if you work at it you will get. >> reporter: xavier's got it. richelle carey, al jazeera, new york. not to mention rocky that mohawk. christopher edmond is an associate professor in math mount i cans science and technology at teachers collegiate columbia university and kate is the chief content officer at. [ inaudible ] and the former

president of girls in tech. and chris, i'll start with you. if you had to give the fortunate 500 companies the tech companies a grade when it comes to diversity, what would that grade be in. >> it would be "d" or "f." >> but they say they are trying. >> sometimes trying is not good enough. so the reality is until the point where they were almost forced to showcase what the diversity is in their offices and of course these companies we just didn't know anything about it. and in the last two years, they were forced, literally because of the general conversation in the public, to talk about diversity and show the numbers and those statistics were appalling, so we have in some instances less happen 5% african american and latina. gender equity is awful. the fact they are working towards it, by no means means that you get an "a" for effort. >> "d" "f" is he being extreme or accurate? >> i say that's really spot on. i think it's a move in the positive direction.

i do think it was definitely a forced in some ways force go ahead. there are some good companies that understand the benefits of diversifying, but some of the major players i think really have -- have traditionally abysmal rates on all of these. twitter most recently suggested they were going it raise their female employees by 1%, when you hear that number, you kind of say, 1%, okay, that's good, but is that enough? >> in fact on the issue of gemser you say it shouldn't be gender for jeppedz ar gender saf it is, fortunate saw a 1% change at some of the largest tech companies, so what gives, that's not much this. >> it is not much. there is a lot that goes behind it there are heads hr processes, hiring processes that sort of thing, but if companies are able

it actually sit down and understand truly that it's not simply about -- it is positive to have gender or racial whatever you he can wit i but there are also several real concrete, well researched, well reported positive that his come with that. women in leadership, companies are known for actually the bottom line looks better when you have women in leadership or women in boards, for instance. there are real, concrete bottom line benefits. >> christopher, you write, youth of color are also positioned as consumers not creator, do you think more people of color if they knew that that they would be fewer consumers when it comes to some of the tech companies we are talking about. in the old days it was the boycott was the thing that worked. how do you boycott google or facebook? >> we are in a point in time where we have been so inning

done dated with technology. such a part of our livelihood it's almost impossible to extract that out of common exchange. so, for example, if a young group of color did he seed tell not use them. we wouldn't function. so it's -- in this instance if you extract yourself from the use of technology then you are barred from having an opportunity to engage at large. it's a necessary evil b insuring folks know you are more than a consumer this is where the conversation needs to shift beyond my just saying these youth of color are consumers not just part of the people making decisions it has to be a concerted effort by companies, schools, to insure we reverse that reality. >> big companies like intel are putting in plan to his diversify the workforce. last year they say 20% of the new hires were well, african american, hispanics and native

american. this year intel says they more than doubled that. let me ask you this, kate, is it that they are trying or is it that there just aren't qualified candidates out there to fill the positions? i say sa that with at of sarcasm. i have heard the same things said in industries from automotive now to tech. >> i think that they are did he havnaturally trying think i disagrees there is a lack of talent. however i would say there is a gap in the pie line. the pipeline is getting for the case of this conversation women in front of these companies, understanding the jobs. many companies are -- google has an on inning it were rear material system, they -- referral system, they work highly on employs reofficerring, so offense times that jumps over any external efforts they might have. nowadays there are more of the

hiring managers that are going out to things like boot camps. perhaps to an organization like all-star. that type of thing, but that pipeline, that's where i think there might be a gap. the technical he want is there. >> when i was teaching on the college level i was surprised that most of my students lacked the one thing they needed the most and that was just an imagination. how do you create a microsoft or google when early on you are being taught to get ready for a test? there are parents out there right now scream that go all my child did from grade three to the time they graham waited from high school was get ready for a test. >> and those parents would be right. to address the last question, also, about this issue of qualification. we have to have crate cal conversation about whether qualification means ca deposit shall oftentimes the perception if a percentage is credentialed by degree, et cetera, manies they have qualification to be successful in science, technology, and math hi matic says xavier was the example of a

young person that didn't have a diploma. let me push back. >> if i am a student and i see bill gates and i see facebook and twitter and i see all of these people, these dot com gazillion airs, i want to be like them. shouldn't i bone up because it is on the i want net as opposed to playing video games or shooting a basketball. >> i don't see those people, so i see the technology. [speaking at the same time] >> how could you not see them? >> i see the technology they are markth too. i don't see these people. if there is an absence you can't become something you don't-y yourself as, you don't become someone -- [speaking at the same time] >> no african american broadcasters when i started my career, where does the imagination -- where does the challe together kids come from. >> this motion of the exceptionalism that comes of being the one.

is the problematic issue. we have to understand that. a lot of times we have folks who are successful in spite of the their joes and never not the hard and fast rule. they are the anomaly. for the young people also, this idea of a path towards success, requires folks like you, the one person, we today have ab an sense of folks willing to take on the roles. >> i want to show you in graphic. computer science, gallon found students had no access to those classes 25%. are we pointing finger at silicon valley or should we paint them at the education system. >> it's dual purpose. the k through 12 education is system in this country is often difficult in -- for the schools

to change out of their core curriculum to add these at this points. i am seeing, however, many of these schools are starting to partner with outside nonprofits. to be able to offer even if it's after school. or a weekend program. so i think they are trying on get in there while it may not be a class in the, you know, the eight period of the day i think some schools are really starting to get out and try to add it in because they do understand the importance. and then also making the extension from your sort of regular science and technology courses that are traditionally offered. >> let me push back on you then. every decade there has been warnings that one group or another is falling behind in one sense or another, be it a minority group or a country, you know, for instance in the reagan administration they said we were falling behind japan yet we keep crank out these industries, should more of a be onus being

plagued on the backs of the students? >> that's a tough thing, if you were -- if you recall yourself as a middle schooler or high schooler, there are a lot of factors that go in to your motivation, there is parenting, your teachers, extra crick are curricular activities that you may have. so if you can find what drives you during that time, i think that i think it's important. i'm a a believer that during that time, though, it does take a little bit of supportive encouragement to kind of understand what your opportunities are. i don't see necessarily your normal seventh grader saying i need to go and i need to take coding classes on the side. so i can do that. i think there are so many factors there. >> christopher edmond associate professor at teachers college columbia university and kate. g.c.c. o of untapped and former president of girls in techy thank you both for being with

us. >> thank you. >> thank you. and still to come from respiratory disease to his cancer, more people exposed to the dust from ground zero after 9/11 are getting sick.

it has been six months since cyclone pam made landfall on van what true. it devastated the country and four neighboring island nations as well. andrew thomas is on van what true with the story. >> reporter: good he can, del. it slammed on the evening of the

march 13th if already done extensive damage further north and crept slowly. people did know it was coming so those killed by the storm relatively few, thankfully. 11 in total. but the damage it did was extension tiff. nineties% of building here in the capital were damaged further south on the outlying islands, vellums had the majority of their homes flat ended. i was here in march i saw the devastation for myself over the last few days, i have been around the country looking at the recover effort since. in a couple of days pam will be six months old. she was named after march's storm. baby pam doesn't know any different. for everyone else, the impact of cyclone pam is still obvious. but although scared for vanauta recovery is underway, many houses damaged in march have been put back up. schools have been repowered, temporarily classroomed established. and in remote communities, there

have been sell breaks songs as health clinics are rebuilt. getting to this point wasn't easy. vavanauta is a sparsely populatd bringing surprise in to the country was only half the battle. >> we have plane that his arrived that by regulation can't land on grass. nineties% of our airports are grass. and so that made it difficult for the relief agencies to deliver it. we want to but we can't. >> reporter: on the island the it took two weeks for the first supplies to arrive. food and water are no long necessarily but the to remember took away livelihoods. there used to be fences all over the island many meaning the figures could be farmed selling them to the cap at that time iowas the second biggest income earner but the cyclone brought the fences now now the pigs are running wild. so now a new fence is coming in. basic repair for the economy. elsewhere trucks driving across

the always shouldering vol cape owe brings seeds and tools. this year's weather pattern means less rain, poe 1 10 shalla drought. >> it's planning season. >> reporter: people are being encouraged to plant vegetables near hair homes so wastewater can be used on them it's affordable building materials that are needed the most. we met jimmy pulling wood from the ruins of his house, six months on his family live in a temporary one-room shack. >> the problem is money. suddenly i have not enough mony to rebuilding another house. >> reporter: foreign governments and individuals donated 10s of millions of dollars in march. but the 6-month emergency kept are grant most that have we want in to are about to run out. but there is plenty of recovery work do and the next cyclone season just two mazza way. so the rebuilding is under way.

tourism used to make you were 40% of this country's national income. resorts like the one you can is he behind me were part what have made this capital the buzzing place that it was. but the one behind me may look nice, but it's not open yet. the damage was too extensive it won't open until next may. the same is replicated right around vanauta. in the more remote areas, getting crops growing is proving tough actual lot of sea water got swept up and dumped on fields making the ground salty and it needs fresh water to rinse through the soil before it's good enough to grow again, as i mention ed in that r the el nino weather pattern has meant this year has been much drier than normal the soil isn't getting flushed through and proving very hard to get crops growing, no one is talking about people starning but they don't have as much as they did. and there is the impending next cyclone season due to start at

the end of october and a lot of structures haven't been rebuilt yet. people don't have anywhere to shelter if a new storm olympics. >> andrew thomas for us live. at least you did not officer to get. three team dead after severe flooding caused a typhoon that hit japan. it's the 18th typhoon this year, more than 100,000 people have been or today leave their homes, the water is going down but people there say they have no place to go because their homes were destroyed. a kitchen explosion at a crowded restaurant in india killing more than 89 people doesn't ens more injured. the blast happened about five up miles south of new dully i delh. officials have ended the chris could you efforts and removed the bodies. faiz janel reports. >> reporter: the explosion took place 8:30 this morning. police suspected it happened

when a gas cylinder exploded. but these type of cooking gas cylinders are found all over the country. in restaurant and people apt homes they don't usually cause this severe damage. police now say they suspect the explosion took place next door in a three-story home that was storing mining equipment. specifically mining explosives. and that with a busy restaurant next door, in a residential neighborhood and a busy bus stand nearby, is why there was so much damage and so many lives were lost. many of the victims were taken to surrounding areas, this being a small town, they couldn't handle all of the wounded and were even taken to neighboring states the government is promising compensation to victims and already has lop were ailauncheda full investigation o determine what happened. after september 11 thousands of people said they had trouble breathing. ptsd even cancer the government set aside a billion dollars to pay for their healthcare cost.

the funding for that act expires next month. many now worry what happens next. paul bieber on the an has more. >> here is for the ptsd. but i put some of the heart ones that i can't forgot. >> reporter: ken george spends hours every day organizing and taking dozens of medications. before 9/11. george was a healthy nonsmoking road worker for the new york city department of transportation. but hours after the twin towers collapsed he was sent to work on the pile. the smoldering aftermath at ground zero. >> when i first got down there and i started walking towards the pile. it looked like the gates of held opened up. the flames. i didn't find anybody alive. there was body parts like you wouldn't believe all over the place. >> reporter: george would work on the pile for months. and what he saw there has haunted his mind and ravaged his body ever since. >> i started feeling sick on the

first night and i had this cough. and the cough never went away. >> reporter: george is one of the 33,000 first responders stricken with injuries or illnesses we would today 9/11. >> i have restrictive airway disease, a heart attack, night terrors 234-78-2011 president obama signed the compensation act in to law. it covers medical expenses for people like an n y.p.g. detective another healthy nonspeaker who worked on the pile. he died in 2006 of respiratory failure at the age of 34. the act includes a more than billion 1/2 health program for responders and survivors, but it's set to expire next month. the $2.78 billion

september 11th, victim's compensation funds end october 2017. >> in the history of environmental he can fore our and cancer, we are still very early. >> reporter: mount sinai hospital dr. michael crane says that as times goes on, the number of cases of deadly diseases like cancer, will rise. and that the act should be personally funded. >> at this very time, is when sort of the calendar begins to turn and these events will become more frequent. related to that initial exposure, 14 to 15 years ago. >> reporter: another worry the estimated 30,000 additional responders who haven't come forward for help yet. >> i don't know what they were exposed to and i really don't know the whole population. >> a moment of silence please. >> reporter: last week the detective's father joined new york area members of congress to call for renewal of the act that bears his son's name.

>> if those politicians the representatives down in d.c. want know what it's like to go through five years of hell without medical backup, without until -- proper medical care, without proper medical treatment, medications, i can go down there and tell you what it's like to watch your son die. >> it's amazing that a 9/11 responder has to go through this and worry now if the bill is going to get passed. because if it doesn't get passed, a lot of -- they are going to die. i am one of them. you go are going to die. >> reporter: al jazeera, new york. still ahead, the debate about police militarization. >> of course there is a perception of militarization of police. and in fact, that is a sad reality. >> police nationwide standing by the use of equipment that you are more likely to see in a war

zone.

>> it's been more than seven months since a mexican migrant farm worker was shot and killed by police in washington. on wednesday the franklin county prosecutor failed to brings charges against the officers involved. today there was a peaceful march iname of the victim. >> reporter: del, there is deep disappointment and frustration with that local prosecutor's prefuse toll charge the officers who shot the man. >> it's time for this community it stand up for what's right. >> reporter: but the community is still marching. still speaking out. not giving up on its peaceful 7-month quest for justice and accountability in his death. >> we want the three officers

actually charmed and fired. and we are not going to stop until it happened. >> they charmed them with nothing, it doesn't make any sense because of how reckless their use of force was. >> reporter: as proof. activists point to the cell phone and police video showing some of the 17 shots fired last february at a man throwing rocks. the family has filed two civil suits in this matter. and activists are now pinning their hopes on criminal culpability brought by the state. where washington's governor has asked his attorney general to review the case. the deem of justice is also still involved. >> kathryn barrett for us live from pascoe tonight. it's auld urban shield. this year it takes place in california. it's a showcase for the latest in law enforcement equipment. but some say it's a showcase that needs to be shutdown. melissa chan explains why.

>> reporter: the federally funded trade expo draws in law enforcement agencies from across the country. military support the vent. al jazeera visited last year in the wake of the unrest in ferguson since then a parade of high-profile officer-related shootings has only increased public colonel over the militarization of police. this is an armored vehicle from the city of lodi in california's police deem. one example of what is making some people uncomfortable this perception that there is the mel their saying of law enforcement. but people here at urban shield would say that this trade show is not just about guns and weapons, it's also about providing products to first responders and products for natural disasters. >> granted it is the world' largest tactical exercise, but we also encompass, medical, fire, and bomb squads and search and rescue. so all of those disciplines are

here. >> reporter: until deed, the other half of urban shield is the exercises. in this training scenario, terrorists have attacked a hospital. a swat team comes in to the rescue, precisely the kind of threat local police point to to justice their military-grade assets. people are concerned should they be concerned. is there a perception or misperception about the militarization of police? >> of course there is a perception of militarization of police. and in fact, that is a sad reality. it's a shame that it has cal coo this. but the fact of the matter is the police don't get to say we are not going for go to that call. no, this guy has high-powered weapons, we are hot going. no, people say you have to go. >> don't shoot. >> reporter: but not everyone agrees. last year the city of oakland hosted urban shield. public pressure forced city official to his drop the event. it's now held in the city a half

an hour's driveway. the protesters came out again this year. they say they want urban shield permanently shutdown. >> a lot of reasons why black people are getting murdered by police are not because of emergency situations and they are too quick to respond to everything and so it is an emergency situation and that's how we end up dead. >> reporter: but urban shield in its ninth year and fund booed i half a billion dollars federal program called the urban area security initiative will up likely go way any time soon. melissa chan, al jazeera, california. coming up pope france sit larger than life in philly. more on the city's project. to paints a mural of the pontiff ahead of his visit.

>> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states government. >> the cia admitted it.

philadelphia has commissioned a mural of pope francis. >> reporter: the pope visits philly in two weeks. the massive painting is part of a public arts program that's attracting visitors and changing lives for two decades. kristen saloomey reports. >> reporter: it may look like a lonely job. but for david mcshane making mural is his all about community. he's putting the finishing touch on his this piece, celebrating the philadelphia phillies baseball team. but like almost every work

commissioned by the city's mural arts program. it's creation has involved hundreds of people from the design face through execution. >> if i was in a gallery i might have a show up in a for a month and the audience would be relatively limited. whereas outside on a wall it's, you know, the -- it's limitless. >> reporter: the city has become known for its murals supported by a excision and a half public funding and private donations the subject vary widely from black history to suicide. up like most public art which is reserved for prominent parked or city centers, philadelphia's's murals can be found all over the fee in poor neighbored and even parking lots. the idea is that art is for over. they ever pointed on cloth squares before being hum outside a process that the public is invited to take part on.

about 2/3 of this one will be completed before pope problem sit becomes. >> when people come they will be producing the murals. from the time when all this is up stalled they can point out say i painted that. >> reporter: jane goaled started the program in the '90 ads as a way to stop gray feet i but it's will be so much more. thanks to its work with prison immaterial mates, school children and the mentally ill. >> we try to serve the city in the best way possible and the issues that philadelphia faces are issues that cities around the world are grappling with. when it comes to saturday's more intractable problems, i want to tell you it's often the role of innovation that creatively that make a doubles. >> reporter: transforming public spaces and in doing so, transforming lives, kristen saloomey, al jazeera, philadelphia, pennsylvania. and thanks for joining us, i am del walters no new york. the news continues from doha next. good night.

10s of thousands of people across europe rally in support of refugees coming to the e.u. ♪ ♪ hello. and welcome to al jazeera. live from our headquarters in doha. i am he liz beg. also ahead. we have a report from the turkish city where there is grief and anger after nine days of government bombardment. six months after cyclone pam we'll look at the efforts to rebuild vanauta. plus. >> i am therefore did delighted to declare jeremy