the absence of the right to be dick she could be a valid people to vote for over a mention on the force i'm. most missing in that its members that missed the boat on most of the families at the national dragons and which world has called to hold those reviews. on. hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm glad you could join us today we want to introduce you to extraordinary europeans regular people working to overcome hurdles to improve the lives of others take for instance paris there is no shortage of luxury in the french capital posh boutiques and hotels are abound and it's images like these that have made paris beloved the world over but what we rarely see are

the parisians whose lives are far removed from this glittering fairy tale the gap between the haves and have nots is growing bigger and not far from the shiny facades live the homeless or close as they are known there they can be seen sleeping in entrances or over subway shafts to protect themselves from the cold the homeless are visible yet invisible and some koreans choose to ignore their existence but for those living rough like. having a voice is important so he's using social media to bring awareness to homelessness . knows what it means to lead an insecure unstructured life he spent more than 3 years hanging out with this group of homeless people that's a plus sent in paris he used to have a well paying job as a sum a year but after his wife left him he started drinking and when he could no longer

pay the rent he ended up on the streets. this is one of the places i slept in. but a few weeks later they installed these typically anti homeless barriers. they're placed deliberately so no one can sleep rough here. the residents are a bit ashamed of the barriers but they're glad there are no homeless people sleeping here. to take their son they didn't bother anyone but it was dirty. i'm not sure what to think. it doesn't look nice but at least perhaps now they're living in better conditions than this entrance where there was lots of garbage. and homeless barriers have popped up all over paris after christian tweeted angrily about barriers that have been set up here where people sometimes live because there is warm air from the subway he was able to make

a change. in. the city of paris had put in iron rods to prevent access you can still see the traces. they would have stopped people from being able to sleep there in winter when it's cold. dry posted it on twitter and the next day the city authorities removed the iron rods. christian posted his 1st tweet 3 years ago after his possessions were soaked by street cleaners it was winter and he wrote this is how the homeless are treated in paris within a few months he had more than 30000 followers. i tweet in the morning to say hello to the planet and at night to talk about what was going on on the street. so i take

a picture of my sleeping bag and say good night guys then go to bed and. people would have good night see you tomorrow. i thought it was cool it's almost. with his tweets christian was able to draw attention to the main problems homeless people face in paris something his friends appreciate his friendly i know doesn't have a phone she get one he'd have to overcome too many hurdles that appear insurmountable to him. i don't even have a bank account yet i do but it's blocked. you think my papers are at the lost and found office and i have to pay a levon euro's to get them back. and on top of that they'll ask me for my papers but i don't have them. people who live on the streets often feel like pariahs but christian post has given them a voice and his activism has spread beyond paris people sent him pictures of

barricades from elsewhere in france. this one is from nerve own in the south. since it could have as will flow through it's true that the social media have a certain power that can be negative for big brands to get people to go on mock. we'll see in the next few days that he bears will say will certainly get rid of those barriers. he's busy. christian he's glad that his tweets can change things for the better his own situation has now changed for the better too he's found accommodation at least for the time being with a christian aid organization. what does it feel like to be treated like a stranger in your own home it's a reality for tens of thousands of afro turks a minority who feel invisible despite having lived in turkey for centuries few in the country are even aware of their existence and often mistaken for foreigners

almost afro turks like yelchin yannick know very little about their family history turkey is the only home he's ever known and yet he leads his life feeling like an outsider yelchin yearns to learn more about his ancestors and uncover the missing links in his family tree. on his way to work next up spy to check on the syrian refugee families in the neighborhood and ask them how they're doing and if they need anything. they call him yelchin brother yeah i'm going to be what you need is turkish but in his hometown is mir he's often himself taken for refugee specifically he's an afro 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 arab. 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 nick 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 them. 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 for them with

stood up so now we have been able to say who we are exactly of course where turks were born here but there's more to it something was always missing. in a disadvantage suburb of east near the young family sits down to breakfast. like most afro turd. they are 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 in any documents from that time can be found. through. your 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 and. i really don't like to be in crowds. a lot of problems i feel uncomfortable and

frightened while the shitter. when i was a kid it was worse it's been botching admission again i was trying to hide under a chair called. head of. the annual afro turk festival concludes with a big picnic the yonex try to get together with other effort turks more often these days. sifu 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 which would need. 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. of course we'd like to travel to africa or so. maybe someday destry more come true to goodness that it's.

ok but you know chin yannick 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. they live underground and multiplied by the millions rats are a plague in many european cities like lisbon the portuguese capital is struggling to contain rodents which are notorious for spreading diseases so how to control the

infestation pesticides traps neither option is ideal so city officials came up with a plan they're calling it a natural predator to sniff out the vermin. they proles through the streets in silent pursuit of their prey. lisbon's cats are helping sort out the city's rodent problem. some 6000000 rats live here and the feline forces are out to get them. and to watch a and her colleagues from the organization animals on the street go around picking up feral cats. then they relocate them in places where the rat plague is at its most severe. with cats being created. so the smell of the cats keeps the rats away from the surface so it's

a good thing for them to do you give them a home and in exchange they keep the rats away from your house. the lisbon authorities are keen to build up the capital that rounding up the city's feral cat colonies is anything but easy. a lot of the time this attempt fails. anna and her team make another attempt ideally they'd like to catch the entire colony. have made sense so it's usually much easier to relocate a colony if you put friends together. usually sleep together play together. brothers all sisters and then if you do it individually. lisbon is home to thousands of cat colonies. residents have mixed feelings about them some people think they're useful others can't stand them. it's a scandal there are far too many cats to have.

one of my neighbors even find a sling shot at the cats. rule and the cats help keep the city. claim they don't harm anyone but the rats they're a pest the cats aren't. for animal rights. she's one of the initiators of the rat control program. the cats when. people win and of course the rats because this is another way to control rats in the city well redskin of course be afraid of cats and they just disappear from the places where they are seen. success one cat is trapped. it panics but has no idea that this will work out well

even. before calling me he's no longer welcome where they belong. because. the neighborhood is not ok and they're facing dangers like poisoning or abuse or if the entire building where they lived is coming down for new construction they have to move. this school in central lisbon is the new home of a cat colony. cumorah she is at home here now. the tomcat has a kind of educational mission for the new arrivals. and. i think it's important for them to have to gain respect for animals and it's always good for both so we talk so much about 50 cent ship and this is also one way of

creating this awareness for for animals. and into our tastings this is desperately needed. she says the cat patrol is just a 1st step. i think this is a tip of the iceberg of more you main and green ways of solving these issues. these cats are pioneers so to speak a lot is expected from them. but they're taking it easy as the hunt begins. cats do things on their own time it was the day the music died for europe's leading instrument makers one of fierce storm tore down thousands of trees and if you please north there were fears the industry could be devastated the precious would involve the c.m.i. used for violins and pianos had practically vanished overnight but the community

couldn't let it go and embarked on a mission to salvage the wreckage now it's running a race against time to save the lumber from the wood chipper. fabio on e bay and he always enjoys working with wood particularly if it has a nice texture. the wood is smooth and even that's just the right kind for making musical instruments. but a major wind storm knocked down almost all of the trees here involved a few m. . abio has been coming to this area for 13 years to find just the right kind of wood for centuries the forest has provided wood for violence guitars and pianos the wood gives the instruments an excellent sound and resonance but now fabio is trying to save what he can.

and this trunk has are good diameter and a good texture. but this crack here shows that the tree split when it was knocked over so i can't use it. but i mean there will be the. fabio wants to save as much what is he can before it's ruined by bark beetles and other pests. i love this kind of work and i love these trees. this is my passion and fight with. me. the wood is processed at fabio small factory down in the valley this is where mountain spruce is converted into tone wood and residents would. fabio's customers include a number of major companies that produce musical instruments. this finally cut tone wood will be used to make violins it's been sorted by age and quality. more than 300 years

ago antonio stradivari crafted his violins from wood similar to this. but right now fabio is trying to recover as much wood as he normally does in 4 years and it's going to cost a lot of money to store it. so he's asked customers and private clients to pay $300.00 euros in advance per tree trunk to cover storage costs. that's why he's choosing only the best work right now. yes good job i've got to examine every trunk carefully to determine which piece of wood would be best for each instrument and how many pieces i can get out of a truck i might get out of me the only winner florrie. only top quality wood will be processed fabio keeps

a close watch on all of the tree trunks even in the sawmill here the trunks are precut along the grain this wood will be used to make sound boards for pianos. saw mill owner franco saber is sorry that so many trees were lost in the wind storm . it took those trees 11020 years to grow to maturity and then the storm ruined everything it's sad and know it will take another 120 years for the forest to grow back. customers who appreciate fabio skill and experience will support him during these tough times. i know. has an extremely important job he's the only one who can find this kind of high quality good violin makers like me couldn't do it but we're all part

of the process of creating a musical instrument so we have to trust each other. every step of that process must be spot on as fabio's tone what is made into a violin. but there's a. lot i'm happy when the client is pleased with the instrument. a lot of the manufacturers and musicians deserve a lot of credit too. but people seem to forget that it's my word that makes the instrument the way. fabio on e bay means customers certainly haven't forgotten and for the time being he'll continue to salvage as much what is he can from the vald if you have a site so that he can keep providing top quality material for world class musical instruments. or grandmothers are held in high esteem in russia unlike many other cultures

attending status is a position of great honor yet many elderly women are being abandoned as a younger family members live away the small town of star obey show is home to a unique place where young and old lived side by side they are not related by blood but do share a longing for companionship far away from russia's capital moscow the elderly and disabled have found a safe space where stigmas are left at the door. when you're making pancakes every step needs to be timed just right. that's what deonna could you have of learned from her boarding home grandmother spent long a gram of the pair found each other 12 years ago when they started living together in a unique russian residential home. my this is my family and sometimes they get pretty cheeky. it's

a special home they share diana and her surrogate grandma live together with 30 other children and over $100.00 pensioners. they're all in one big housing complex where they spend their lives together. most pensioners live here because their relatives no longer want to care for them and most young people are here because their parents are no longer allowed to care for them many were alcoholics who lost custody. as a result many of their children were born with disabilities. with no other family to rely on young and old alike would be lonely if it weren't for this haven. where you don't hear or read to you. you know. my entire family died in 1903 in a car crash it was horrible. i almost lost my mind. back then i didn't want to live

anymore. i would have preferred to die with my family. this unique home where young and old live side by side was founded 12 years ago. it's an start of a shuffle in russia's court a stunning republican appetites and it's one of a kind in the entire country. that you. actually do see some shy children are happy that they have loving care taken and live in a loving environment the kids don't need to feel ashamed if then disability they can get through life with their heads held up high yes i've seen it it's news just like other children without disabilities would get the glow will use the because that's it because it's. these residents are lucky. their home is widely acclaimed. thanks to funding by the state donors and volunteers the facilities are in great

condition. do you other russians with disabilities or special needs are as fortunate human rights activists have repeatedly reported cases of abusive caretakers corrupt directors insufficient fire safety measures and a lack of funding in other homes. but often the public is unaware of this grim reality as most homes are isolated from the outside world. the director says this is long overdue to change. i did save us still remains a huge barrier between people with and without disabilities in our society of us being parents from the soviet generation to not want their children socializing with kids that have special needs. but this home where young says and pension as live side by side shows that it is possible to store basically the same man walk

under the same sun and to ordinary people when you've got less of the health. though of course with people of all ages residing here it's not always smooth sailing. living together and caring for each other can be challenging. still everyone here is very close they are eager to share their lives rather than just co-exist. or when i see children i forget all my problems. they just vanish so you feel and all i see are the good things some of them will do that. the day of the special residential home winds down with a small dance performance. life is good because here russia's most vulnerable are not left to fend for themselves. and say you can't use your family but they are proving otherwise thanks so much for

watching focus on europe do let me know your thoughts about this week's show on twitter all the best and bye for now. the atlas.

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this is deja vu news live from berlin a deadly typhoon batters the central philippines. typhoon found a phone tore across a number of popular holiday arlen's destroying property and killing at least 16 people we'll bring you the latest on the devastation also coming up. remembering the 2004 indian ocean tsunami which killed more than $200.00.