going. to be a good. documentary . hello and a warm welcome to focus on europe glad to have you with us here in europe the number of syrian refugees arriving has dramatically declined after nearly eight years of civil war fighting has ceased in most parts of syria well the so-called

islamic state has lost vast swathes of territory and u.s. backed troops are close to recapturing the terror group's last remaining stronghold of bad news germany is home to some seven hundred thousand syrians many of whom came here to find refuge from the war well even though the war appears to be drawing to a close many syrians don't expect to find peace upon their return for a brutal regime of bashar al assad is by all accounts still in power and many syrians in europe are worried about what prizes the government will take against those who fled the war one of them is i mean but for german authorities the threat he may face from damascus and its secret service doesn't make him a new to the rules. yes this syrian family lives in a small apartment somewhere in germany we won't say where exactly nor use their

real names. the father lives in fear of the regime in syria which they fled in two thousand and seventeen. i'm wanted for military service and syria is not a safe place. it's difficult very difficult really. the father says you can be sent to jail for dodging military service in syria we'll call him i mean he says he's seen too much fighting and dying in his home city of day it is sort of seeing pictures of it brings back the memories not the thing for her to do i remember what happened in syria the shelling with the seeing children dying when bombs were dropped on my hometown digging the children out from underneath the rubble. with these scenes remind me of the horrible things in my past. and how my children would hide under the stairs or in the cupboards if they saw a plane in the sky ready to drop bombs in this book so they become but the fact that

my children have witnessed horrible things. in them. i mean has no proof that he was to be drafted he says he lost the papers on the way to europe along with his old passport. it's one reason his application for asylum was rejected. but he and his family can stay in germany as war refugees until the fighting in syria ends no the german authorities want them to apply for valid syrian passports at the syrian embassy then they can receive longer residence permits and german travel documents but i mean refuses to go on of up in the i can't go to the embassy even if there's no immediate danger and i'm wanted for conscription and i can't go to the embassy because that would endanger the lives of my family and the. hundreds of people do go to the syrian embassy in berlin every day for travel documents many of them like i mean are war refugees with no right to asylum the legal term is persons with subsidiary protection status

german legal experts say they can be expected to go to the embassy. and i don't believe. anyone with subsidiary protection status has anything to fear for him before they're not being persecuted personally. if they were allowed to be here because a civil war is raging in syria. one house with syrian human rights lawyer anwar albany says many who come here are afraid also for their relatives back in syria especially if they belong to the opposition syrian intelligence tries to glean information about contacts with the regime's opponents from embassy visitors. if someone refuses to answer questions them tonight a passport. so that the people. who . send this information. go to syria so it's. not. them saying it's appropriate for their presence

in syria. is the embassy in berlin operating on behalf of syria's secret service we confronted its head of mission with the allegations he denied them health i'm at morton's who has any syrian who's been here so far stated that he was questioned about anything beyond his own passport matters that it's kind of thought and we don't do that oh we don't collect any personal information we only require the documents that are needed to establish the applicant's identity . of house. i mean doesn't believe that he wants no contact with syrian authorities whether for passports or any other documents for himself or his family even if it means serious problems with finding work in germany or traveling. i wouldn't know what to do if the foreigners registration office or didn't renew my residency or give me german

travel documents before a month i still would not go to the embassy. so i means and his family's future in germany is uncertain their greatest fear is having to return to syria even after the fighting is over because the old regime may still be in power. but. the great city of el use this was once a sacred site of antiquity located beside the mediterranean sea it is home to one of the country's greatest archaeological sites well today it's known as l.f. zina and is now famous for the dozens of abandoned ships that litter the coastline and its port it will be a herculean task for port manager shot. to restore its purity and well hercules fought monsters. this has to contend with something equally as frightening

bureaucracy. these ships once carry passengers oil grain or contraband cigarettes when they will no longer see where the they were abandoned here illegally. the gulf of any of siena is the ugly junkyard of greece a country that looks back over a long seafaring tradition. here lumbers go getters has been head of end of scene as port authority for almost a year now. but he feels immense frustration because his port is still a graveyard with dozens of rusty wrecks. where these boards they couldn't work anymore or they've had their issues yet with a long. way to come here and they were just living. there more than forty wrecks lying dormant often of ciena most above water but sun submerged. and many of them carry toxic cargoes of waste oil and tar that threaten to pollute

the gulf for years to come. now the greek government has promised to act and appointed gaga letters to head the cleanup big ownership of these foods they don't have any more legal ownership the owners. don't exist but all of these don't exist or relatives say they don't want to have anything to do the books to go with these boards cutting them and send them to. for scrap from the. environmental activists christers christakis says greece has no suitable service was cities he's watching the current flurry of activity with suspicion he has filed for years to end the disfigurement of this section of the coast but says the authorities not only ignore the problem but even dubbed ships here themselves.

after. a hard meet is the nor one it was detained by the coast guard in two thousand and fourteen with more than two tons of heroin on board. so forth back then that was the biggest drug haul in europe. it was confiscated and then they just left it there. if the ships are dismantled now i fear it will be done without consideration for the environment in the past ships were taken apart myspace and the remains just covered with sand. christakis used to go swimming here when he was a child he asks is it credible that officials will really dispose of these colossal wrecks if they can't even clear the garbage off the beach. this is he's mejor gets a color says the end of scene and used to be an important industrial site with jobs for the entire region. since greece's financial crisis the situation on land isn't

much better than in the water one industrial ruin after another. but these ruins at least give the mayor some hope for the city's future of siena has been named one of the european capitals of culture for twenty twenty one. so carlos wants to stage theatre productions and art shows on these grounds and by then he wants the rex to big on. the about to be about we intend to follow the example of the rural region in germany. are there the selection as capital of culture lead to the old industrial areas being turned into a ribbon of green spaces with many cultural attractions. really but what we don't want to see. is new rex dumped here now for the celebrations are over. put direct to god it says that is the

responsibility of the coast guard. he is still struggling through a mountain of paperwork to finally dispose of the first wreck. the result you could see is this papers on the table here. and from valve you can have some of these. for the five months i've been with the people here who are twelve fourteen i would have to be fifteen i would have to take all the. projects ready. one problem is that many of these abandoned ships are not registered in greece but in panama or the bahamas that means a worldwide search for the only use. so it may be years before the gulf of enter siena gets its old spark. imagine opening a letter one day that says you are going to receive five hundred sixty year olds every month from the government no strings attached it's yours to spend as you

please well that's precisely what happened to you how you have been in finland he was invited to take part in the country's basic income experiment two years ago we join you and his family at the start of the groundbreaking project well it has now come to an end and the government is reviewing the data so can money buy happiness is a question you have has been called to answer. on the outside this old school house in western finland presents a picturesque nordic winter scene. inside it's the setting for a social experiment on a grand scale you hire yet a villain has been receiving a basic monthly income from the state for two years now he's headed for helsinki to tell about his experiences in a panel discussion at the finnish parliament. wherever he goes he takes his camera but with

a basic income oh my land i'm on. the aisle i'm actually quite open to everything. and when i'm on the train i'll have to think about what i want to say. and how i can make the best use of the fifteen minutes i'm allowed to speak. so a lot less so i can leave the audience with a little food for thought since then i. met them on the other. we visited you half for the first time some two years ago at his home near could. he specializes in hand carving and crafting she minds drums at that time it was more a hobby than a trade. to get one of the cool of his wife is a nurse they live with six children and a dog. we were interested to see how life had changed for them since that day in autumn twenty sixteen when this letter arrived. and i hauled in. i was waiting for the mail nine nine when i saw the letter even before i opened it i

knew it was from the social security agency only got a moment to help the letter in my hands i really started cheering. for you hard getting the basic income was like winning the lottery he had plans to start an agency for accommodation and studios for artists called art b. and b. but it hasn't been very successful so far as you have sees it you have to try things out and the basic income gave him the freedom to do just that. cal sinky back in january twenty seventeen finland's government selected two thousand people to receive five hundred sixty euros a month for two years as an experiment that made world headlines. and the panel discussion you had needs hyla another recipient she and the others will. interviewed over the coming months by the social security agency it's really

interesting to hear the pats fans of the experience because we researched this were not aware of the contacts first people so everything i know what they have been through i threat from newspapers and heard from them so it's really interesting and different kind of stories there's two thousand participants everybody has a very unique story four of the recipients are here this evening to tell their stories is up first she's long term unemployed and suffering from cancer now she dreads having to live without the basic income. will do no one apart in a matter of my life has changed for the worse now i'm treated like this again like i was two years ago. or. i have to beg for everything and everything takes forever. the payments used to come on the first of the month now the money arrives whenever. i last has the basic income had restored some sense of dignity for her that's over now and. i think.

i guess i was a speech touch me the most. she really has to struggle to get by every single day. especially now that she's been officially listed as unemployed again since early january. now it's all starting over again for her with all this bureaucracy you know. back in you his workshop the basic income experiment was controversial the government's already trying a new experiment where the monthly allowance only goes to people who are active if only into munity service so in a sense you how we'll have to live from his drums but he's optimistic. during the two years with the basic income i was able to invest in new tools. now i can make the drums ten time span. aster than i could two years ago. when his wife said work

looks after the children a steady job wouldn't be much help to him he has to be able to put the drums aside to prepare meals for everyone you have doesn't believe money buys happiness anyway in such an isolated spot you can live very modestly there's a lot of mom i'm afraid the future looks fairly uncertain for my children that's another reason why i want to do something to ensure they in particular and the coming generations in general will have a somewhat better future i suppose. than mesdames before power generation is responsible for finding solutions because we haven't done. them. the initial basic income experiment is over as far as you have is concerned it was successful he's now working toward getting by without money from the state but how about the other recipients the finnish government will be assessing the results until the end of this year to find out.

now to a russian horror fairy tale that's how the experimental electronic band i speak describes their work their lyrics are political their videos are provocative and that has put the band on the kremlin's radar president vladimir putin is cracking down on near zick critical of his government bans like i speak are popular with teenagers in provincial russia who longed for more freedom and opportunities we caught up with i speak in rozanne as they wrapped up their latest tour. their rebellious and popular i speak is on stage and for the final concert of their russia tour the song the bitch is clearly an audience favorite here was. it's an anthem against off. and conformism songs like this one have made the author already is in russia suspicious of i speak the band say they shut down more than

half of their concerts on their recent russia tour the musicians were searched and question several times. this year for the senior it felt completely surreal we sing a few songs from the secret services chases through the whole city teachers who misuse yes some of our songs do have a political message she misses your country but the political stuff is such a small percentage of our work through the porch so you think to yourself what would happen if we were actually a political group which means we are just what they wouldn't let us perform at all . kerosene and to my eyes the whole of russia is watching me let it burn lyrics and videos like this one are intentionally provocative here the duo poses in front of the seat of the russian government and on the shoulders of the riot police. i speak isn't the only young group that has had problems with the off the words last

year over forty concerts were canceled it's a crackdown that has shaken the russian music scene but also created a huge sense of solidarity at the end of two thousand and eighteen dozens of musicians took to the stage in moscow to protest against the tough stance of the kremlin. these absurd things can happen to other musicians they can easily happen to any of us. lately there seems to be an unspoken rule for musicians if you so much as touch on politics you'll have a problem. this issue ation would make any musician want to write about it it politicizes people who otherwise wouldn't be interested in political protest at all . bloody near putin seems to have understood that as well and has signaled a change in the kremlin strategy the russian president wants his administration to come up with new plans to support youth culture by september. what to round out

another modern music is based on three pillars are sex drugs and protest but i just know the drugs are our biggest concern of course you missed. it to they clearly lead to a degradation of the entire society see. if this music is impossible to stop a school then we will have to lead and directed properly but i wouldn't however put and tries to lead and direct observers say the kremlin will do all in its power to ensure the discontent doesn't turn into a protest movement. but what we've seen so far is an attempt by the kremlin to label anything they don't understand as nonexistent useless and wrong but now the main thing for them is to reestablish communication with young people to understand what they want and how to deal with that. because i. was on the problems the group had with the police has led some parents to accompany their kids to the concert most of the fans here say they identify with i speaks

lyrics they're often about a sense of hopelessness of. their lives and of course if i can really relate to this music i think it reflects my reality here i know exactly what they mean right there you know the fact that the government is cracking down on this group doesn't solve the problems they're singing about it could lead to protests just to hear what. i think it was the video the band can clearly relate to the worries and realities of their young fans many of them say they don't feel the kremlin understands them anymore at all. i mean here she just in the government has decided to correct youth culture to somehow bend it back into its old shape but the process can't be stopped anymore and we certainly won't censor ourselves. now we want to be even harsher more radical and interesting. you can't ban music the fans chant in between songs at the concert. i

speak stark and sarcastic music has clearly touched a nerve with young russians and their difficulties with the author worries have gotten them a lot of publicity instead of silencing them it has made them one of the voices of a new generation the kremlin is now pushing to connect with. sport is a universal language that can unite people and transcend barriers and it is with this spirit that the little vatican state has launched its first ever athletics team nuns and priests can now be seen running through the a tally and capital of rome for them it's a divine experience one they hope will take them to the olympics for the catholic church it's a welcome change of headlines. a race in the italian capital rome. but first a quick prayer on the batek and now has a newly founded sports club athletic about to qana it brings together priests nuns

and others from the better considered state this is its very first competition event in vitro but it's like a baptism with this rain i'm very excited to be taking part and running for this club for the first time but they're going to put up a member that's such a. mean i coax i never running because it gives you a sense of harmony. and it is a form of praying. that running with others is like taking holy communion. and then finally there's a signal and there are plenty come out economy was set up in january of this year by dominican sister not the tail and others she used to run half marathons by herself but now enjoys being part of a team you know steve when i ran i wear track season t. shirt just like everyone else that's really comfortable i don't you know my new doc . is a member of the pontifical swiss guard for him up being part about letting about

economy means more than just aiming for a top athletic performance. cut me want to spread christianity we've got to migrants on the team you know we're not just aiming for a good performance but we're also running in the spirit of being good christian this is what's been the it's when you win you. the club trains in the vicinity of st peter's basilica there's no race track and no resolute coach either even so the team is highly competitive. completes the ten kilometers in under thirty six minutes and not as pleased with her result to. the first medal for none. now the athletes are dreaming about representing the vatican city in the olympic games. well we wish them a blessing journey to the olympics godspeed that's all for this week on focus on

europe you can also watch our program on line and d w dot com and feel free to get in touch with me on twitter i'll see you next time. thank you thank you. thank you. thank you.

absolutely. trade in goods and services and with their entire world more. artificial intelligence will influence on buying assets. we want better and faster then few months. so what's left for us today will the digital transformation make

people superfluous. made in germany thirty minutes w. . more intrigue on international talk show for journalists to discuss the topic of the week so much international women's day we're taking a close look at the women in power and ask a pulse laser better politicians who want to impact is the next generation of young female politicians likely to have to join us on quadriga shoulder but. quadriga ninety minutes on d. w. . where i come from we have to fight for a free press i was born and raised in a military dictatorship but just want to shadow and if your newspapers an official information as a journalist i have walked off the streets of many cantors and their problems are always the same forward to social inequality

a lack of the freedom of the press. corruption gun afford to stay silent when it comes to the defense of humans and see the right to fold who can decide to put their trust in us. name is jen person i work a day dabbling. sarno just couldn't get this song out of his head. musicologist began searching for the source of these captivating sounds fun and found that deep in the red forest in central africa. the biocompatible. nothing else. and the littlest really gave him.

a little. he was fascinated by their culture history. only a promise to a son arnold the jungle and return to the concrete and glass jungle but. the result reverse culture shock. the prize winning documentary from the forest starts people first on w. the former chairman of donald trump's two thousand and sixteen presidential campaign poll man a force has been jailed for almost four years on tax and bank fraud charges it was also ordered to pay fines of more than twenty four million dollars an f.b.i. investigation revealed manifold had hidden income from working for ukrainian politicians aligned with russia he faces sentencing on further charges next week.

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