i don't think. you're a. do it yourself network or. subscribe to. hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm lara baba lola thanks for joining us today it's been called the forgotten war but the conflict in eastern ukraine continues to claim lives 5 years after it started ukraine's new president

a lot of resilience he says ending the fighting was program once separatists it's his number one priority well the political newcomer recently resisted the front lines and invited top european diplomats to discuss ways out of the crisis. well it's a promise the people in donbass are counting on the vast majority of those in the region of new has voted for zelinsky because of his commitment to ending the war and he has taken the 1st step towards deescalation ukrainian army has partially withdrawn from the contested region and that's giving hope to nina cedar ranko who has to cope with living in a war zone as a disabled person. clambering over still needs a lot hearts because makeshift bridge it's a journey made by thousands day in day out this is the only crossing point between government and separatist held territory for hundreds of kilometers. minas

a doting co and her husband are not only live on the separatist held site but her pension and the medicines she needs are only available on government territory once a month nino must cross the front line each trip is an ordeal. to the. national been the most to me i was scared the whole time on the bridge and i had to take a tranquilizer ideologue in what would have happened if someone had a trip to tell you why they were carrying any. more we should think it would be useful. but since ukraine's new president followed him as alinsky was elected nina says she at least feels hopeful selenski has promised to make ending the war in donbass his priority. be given to a good people we were so impatient just waiting for the election year but we have such high hopes in humans alinsky gave his oath of office i simply cried and if i do i just want all of this to and to finally get back to peace but it will be.

at least into the needs of the hunts that could now be a little more likely even though heavy artillery can still occasionally be heard in the distance block by block the ukrainian army is dismantling its forward defenses disengagement means soldiers on boats. and now several kilometers apart where previously they could practically look each other in the eye it's a measure agreed on some 2 years ago but it's only now being implemented on the ukraine's new president. wish the new ukrainian positions nothing is supposed to give away its location the soldier we meet is adamant this is no retreat live edition that gives russian the new position is bigger and better for us if we can see the end to be better for me. but then the. 5 years of conflict with the separatists have left their mark more than 10000 ukrainians have been killed and 3 times as many injured since fighting broke out this conflict has cost being called

dealy back home in the hands she owned a business that employs more than 150 people the separatists gave her just 6 hours to leave everything behind instead she began volunteering coordinating donations for the ukrainian army she believes ukraine should not back down. i'm totally against this withdrawal i don't want us to give up this territory again this must all stay ukraine. we need to join the e.u. or nato. with a neighbor like russia we can't live without nato. this memorial is for the ukrainian soldiers who died in and around stern it's a little it was no tally as idea given the casualties the tally says ukraine must not just cave in and accept peace at any price at the present tense him that was his nickname he was a scout. but i'd just seen him in the next morning i got

a call that he'd been shot and it happened nearby. ninnis adoring co has had enough she just wants to get back to her old life a life in peace nina worked in a bakery until a failed operation put her new wheelchair that was almost 2 decades ago a pension is just 50 euros half of which goes on that prison drugs which she can't get at home in separatist held territory it's time to head back to the bridge most people here will have to wait several hours just to pass the checkpoint in hot temperatures of 30 degrees celsius fatalities and no rarity in these queues and then to give me an. ordinary people have had enough of this war when you don't when you were grieving for the normal life felt well used to live the couple not mind there's reasonable. scars left by 5 years of runty but a little more normality could perhaps finally be around the corner president

selenski has announced team tends to rebuild the room in breach within weeks with or without support from the separatists. a little is known about their roots in fact many in the country aren't even aware of this black minority the afro turks while their ancestors were brought to the ottoman empire as slaves hundreds of years ago and for yelchin yannick turkey is his home but he's often viewed as an outsider now he's on a journey to discover more about his family's origins and claim his place in turkish society. on his way to work nick stops by to check on the syrian refugee families in the neighborhood and ask them how they're doing and if they needed anything. they call him yelchin brother yeah i don't know if she can give me what you need is turkish but in his hometown is mir he's often himself taken for refugee specifically he's an effort turk

a descendant of african slaves brought here in the mid 19th century by the ottoman empire. on the streets and even in his own leather workshop he's been called black in a derogatory manner or turkish for error. and. these remarks even come from my own acquaintances although they're meant to stroke a year might go by without any remarks like that at all and then i might hear them 10 times in one week. but turks of african origin like el chino nic are growing more confident once a year they celebrate a festival in izmir with people coming all the way from the americas and africa. is mir's mayor also came to underscore his liberal image but many passers by are still surprised that afro turks exist. really these people here i wasn't aware of that. very few of the

afro turks themselves know their roots forced assimilation has consigned their history and culture to oblivion now their descendants want to change that some years ago they founded an association for the purpose. community father had been with stood up so now we have been able to say who we are exactly of course we're turks were born here but there's more to it something was always missing. in a disadvantage suburb of his near the young family sits down to breakfast like most afro to. they're of modest means they have little time to delve into their past. believes his ancestors came from tanzania but that's about all he knows all about what you're going to do but even if you do want to research it hardly any documents from that time can be found. through. the children haven't learned anything about the history of the african slaves in school leaders it's not even

mentioned but they've had their experiences with day to day racism. i really don't like to be in crowds. followed by feel uncomfortable and frightened. and. you know what it was a kid it was worse than budgeting admission to get i was trying to hide under a chair called the head of. the annual afro turk festival concludes with a big picnic the yonex try to get together with other efforts turks more often these days. the food here is turkish. music too. but recently grass skirts and brightly colored shirts have become popular. nobody here can afford an actual trip to africa so they're happy to see more and more africans visiting turkey he should know. whenever we meet people from nigeria or sudan here in turkey we invite them over one of them tell us all about

their home countries and cultures well not them that you recall. of course we'd like to travel to africa or so. maybe someday destry more come true if you good mix that it's. ok but you know nick wants to bring about change here in turkey in 2018 he ran for parliament as a candidate for a left wing party. but he didn't collect enough votes to become the 1st afro turkish representative in the grand national assembly. hello. we're already more visible in many areas of society. now it's time for us to go into politics time for a black president told minister just a black but it. would look almost a good. coach in yannick thinks the time is right some 160 years after slavery was abolished afro turks are demanding their place in turkish society.

a boy restrained to his bed and a woman who hasn't seen daylight in 2 decades this is not a prison for violent criminals it's a state care home and lekha not greece well a decade ago it made headlines around the world after the shocking living conditions were brought to light so why after all this time has nothing been done while activists are outrage and have been fighting to bring dignity to its vulnerable residents our reporter visited the home that's become a symbol of shame in the country. scene from outside this is a typical nursing home for disabled people one of around 70 and all of greece. a small town on the palate nice. we visit the nursing home with the psychiatry your ghostly colliders who publicly criticizes the conditions in the home. he's not a welcome guest here as the nursing home's director obviously wants to correct the

negative image it has attained 3 years ago psychiatrist nicholai just found a home in an unspeakable state. because the story of the cards was clear that the situation in 2016 was shocking. there were 51 inhabitants 36 of which were permanently sedated by medicine or electronic equipment and accused of what with some people had actually been kept in wooden cages for 22 years without ever being let out not even for a few minutes they were even fed in those cages to the. director of pasta last less a rope less only shows us one part of the nursing home many things have improved he says and he finally receives political support 45 people live in the home which actually should only house 15.

antonius ray last is no stranger to the nursing home unless. he's got it 4 years ago because he didn't want to accept such inhumane conditions. at the war this summer when we entered the home we saw were about 50 to sable to people ranging from 4 to 50 years of age in tragic conditions. the hands were tied behind their backs. it was rendered. them a min. they encountered problematic conditions throughout the house was cold as there was no money for heating a lack of staff and the few who were there were unqualified a lack of food and what was served was unsavory people locked into cages to keep them quiet. but in the last 5 years there were 19 deaths among the inhabitants of the nursing home.

outside in the courtyard of the you can see the olive trees that. one for each person who died in this way would have. died from infections up along with probably caused by being fed wrong. habitants with pureed food while they were lying in bed to study the consequences of the inhabitants couldn't swallow properly and choked to death. after 30 years should either be shut down or conditions drastically improved activists n.g.o.s and european volunteers are all united into mandan humane treatment of the inhabitants. despite international media reporting on this tragedy for 10 years now the conditions at the nursing home have hardly changed the deputy mayor sat on the home support for 13 years but sees no fault of his own. with a given you're just the minister all sharks the government didn't hire qualified stuff. but for example in the 3 floors there was only one staff member per floor in

charge in the afternoons. so how were they supposed to control these children you see to stay there and that's why they were put in these cages or tied down which is of course an acceptable but there was no with the way. there was no other way a shocking statement but the director promises things will now get better. so. focusing on improving the living conditions of the people here and want to help them develop their perception and. no toric functions we want to further expand this during the coming year. will be my interest in those 2 french interns astelin pauline speak freely about the conditions at the nursing home yet they haven't really seen improvements. despite the joy the 2 entrance bring to the inhabitants they're not even allowed to take them outside. the staff so they say don't take care of the inhabitants at all everything that's was so that we can see

here it's shock because it's from it's not normal and they're not respect human rights that they're supposed to every hour she puts our. dirty come 1st. and it's little really that you look today here you like yan you're really like sheep and every time people are in the south room for example and upstairs and i was asked to be with me off and i was at this we've got there is one girl's who is blind and so she don't have in the music i mean she cannot see she can also hear anything because she is alone in the room. she is alone there is nothing only the master the 2nd but nothing she cannot even see so she just hear and leave in the way that she died doing homework only knows what and tony sree last won't give up and although he doesn't have much support he

wants to keep fighting for all these forgotten souls. they are the yellow vest protesters and have been putting pressure on the french president since last fall well they're angered by social inequality and policies which they say favor the elite now president emanuel mccraw is hoping to appease demonstrators by closing the very institution that paved the way for him and many other presidents they're called that show now the minister. has a reputation of being exclusive and elite but students is proud to study there and believes the school plays an important role in front society. this is the french national school of administration where ambitious students are being trained to become the next generation of french civil servants and lawmakers suzanne is one of the chosen few after earning a degree in political science the 24 year old passed the school's challenging entry

exam there isn't and i was. when i was younger i saw what impacts political decisions having to deal in especially when it comes to education and social affairs mr but i saw things that could be improved. which got me interested in starting a career as a civil servant. most applicants aspire to make france a little better says and hopes attending the elite school will help her land a top job as a french civil servant which isn't unlikely in a has produced some of france's most prominent politicians and heads of state among them president a man who call and his predecessors. but now has always had a reputation for cultivating a cloistered french elite only children from well to do parisian families it's been said stand a chance of being admitted. though lately efforts were made to make the school more

inclusive as headquarters were relocated from paris to strasbourg to draw in less privileged applicants in a director patrick maintains his school is open to everyone he says wealth or social status have no influence on who's admitted. i want to know. the establishment of each ministry and state department could recruit their own management who take that often lead to nepotism with children and nephews of being employed now all civil servants must pass the same entrance exam it's about individual merit which is beyond reproach. suzanne spent one whole year preparing for the entrance exam she worked hard to be admitted. to today's training session will teach her how to act if local residents protest against dispensaries for drug substitutes. do you have additional facts to analyze the situation

what do you think about such a dispensary opening even though the a no entry exam is the same for every applicant many in france feel they don't have a chance of passing it and only a few french nationals with a migrant background get admitted french yellow vest protestors want the school to be shut down but suzanne thinks the problem lies elsewhere. in a somber note has become a symbol for everything that's wrong with the french state and we need to accept this criticism but in a alone is not to blame for the situation you can only enroll when you have gone to the french school system and we need to ask ourselves how can we improve french schools that there weren't. some former in a graduates are also critical of their alma mater like. he was at the top of his class as a student and could have landed a prestigious job at the court of auditors. but instead he chose to become an

asylum judge. but was disappointed by you know when i enrolled i was full of energy and eager to improve the french states from a more or less school is like a bubble just one example. so i had expected to be taught by economists will do. print perspectives in order to be able to come up with fresh new ideas on the grid . but instead we were instructed by graduates who work for the finance ministry. said he says relocation to strasbourg has not really improved the situation and the school still maintains a small parisian campus a stone's throw from the senate suzanne meets in a graduates in the french capital to get valuable career advice as she is adamant this is not about building networks to land top jobs in politics. in france the

state plays a bigger role than in other countries that's why we are very selective about who will later play a role in managing the. president my call is assessing whether the school should be shut down but suzanne disagrees she's convinced that to continue training coming generations of a leak french decision makers. italy is the setting for what may be the greatest love story ever told shakespeare's romeo and juliet even more than 400 years after it was written this spirit of the star crossed lovers very much alive in verona and so is its protagonist juliet while millions visit the city each year to walk in the footsteps of the famous lovers a romantic pilgrimage where faiths can be sealed and hearts and be healed. christina spano prepares for her big role should be playing juliet's determined on the me for. the transformation begins when i do my hair i twist 3

braids and pin them up. i only do my hair like this as juliet. christina a young lady of verona it's really is in reality a university student. but whenever she has the opportunity she slips into the role of juliet's generally at the cost of the juliet or the house of juliet. it receives thousands of visitors a day almost all of the making a pogrom marriage of faith faith in love. basically whoever touches the breast of the juliet statue will always be lucky in love. that's for the rest they can write and ask for advice and they're taken quite seriously. every day volunteers answer the letters every

single one at the club. the voluntary secretaries of juliet among them christina spaniel give each letter personal attention letters such as this one. that i do the anti-marijuana. there's a person in my life very close to my heart we've been together for 4 years now but nothing's happening between us anymore. should i look for a new love or try to find happiness in this relationship maybe no love is left. clues help me to understand. your own a northern italy has become the city of love inseparably belle to the story of shakespeare's romeo and juliet. 2 and a half 1000000 visitors pass through annually. most of them called for the remand sick atmosphere feel some even propose to their loved one here.

year of the year the cassidy giulietta received. around 10000 letters from around the world assistance from many countries help out doing what they can to make love grow and flourish. about. christine who likes her were kids both as an assistant on a role as a breed of life juliet's the sooner she appears people start asking her to pose for a photo with them. that are annoyed it's always an honor to play juliet for these occasions and to see that the public appreciates my being here and people are happy to see a real life juliet it's even better than to be there all over the your level. even if juliet story is purely fictional it's become a living reality for the city of verona. a city where life imitates art well thanks for watching focus on europe and this rather get in touch with me

on twitter about this week's topics and that's week my colleague peter craven will be back with a special edition of focus on europe from rome and sure to join it and that's it for today by.

trying. to. enter the conflict zone with jim sebastian weeks of mass protest in hong kong showed no sign of coming to l.a. and my guest this week is ronnie tong a member of the hong kong government's top of the studio authorities now except with the new extradition laws which provoked the crisis should be scrapped now and

full cooked food washes over me for the rest of conflict so few minutes on t.w. the. whole. thing takes off. i'll keep the money and they'll keep learning my trade alison wait a 2nd we want to hold a shout out facts instead of make ideas. shift deliver us. from a measure to reality to cryptocurrency your top picks for live in an ever changing digital world let's talk to devise a short. shift. on the d w. every journey begins with the 1st step and every language the 1st word in the

coax in germany. why not tell you. it's simple online on your mobile and free. t.w.p. learning course. german made easy. where the real power resides. we i come from there are lots of people in fact more than a bit in it if it was not just democracy that's one reason why i'm passionate about people and aspirations and they can. lead to finishing the book is right here in berlin after the for the planning board and i remember thinking at the time if the battle in vulcan for what anything could happen if we could come together and unite for a while. but i do the news that often confronted difficult situations more conflicts between does something still precede despite my job to confront but t.d.'s on

policies and development to put the spotlight and issues that matter most. to security of precious national night. not chance to achieve so much more needs to be john and i think people have to be a complex illusions my name is on mcclatchy and i work in detail. as. an airstrike on a syrian hospital in the rebel stronghold of it has killed at least 6 people rescue workers known as the white helmet say the facility is now out of service fighting in syria's northwest is grinding on while the asset regime negotiates with the united nations over a possible peace process. germany's ursula on the line has made her 1st public

appearance as the nominee for president of the european commission she's too.