dw. letting in shifts. how cutbacks in romania have hit the education system. compensation at last for abuse swedish foster children. and with the money in denmark. spending cuts are hardly likely to boost a politician's approval rates. daily scenes of rioting and looting. in romania, public anger forced the prime minister to resign. his austere measures won him the praise of the international monetary fund and the european union, but not of his own people, so were many as new head of government is off to a tricky start, but all he needs to do is to unlock hard cash from the e you instead of mere praise and make sure that the money reaches the people who need it. >> life is pretty good for barney christoph.

he gets along well with his parents, and he does not have a long walk to school. it is located in his home town. he is lucky. many romanians schools have been closed down. but there are some things about barney's school that he does not like. it is pretty run down, and above all, it is much too small. without enough classrooms, the children have to go to school in two shifts. this week, barney's class starts school in the afternoon. >> it is hard for the children to come one week in the morning and one week in the afternoon. they are distracted and tired. it affects me as a teacher as well. everything gets all mixed up. >> the school principal wants to expand the school, adding 10 new classrooms.

the european union is supposed to fund the expansion, and the school hired a private company to take care of the complicated paperwork demanded from brussels. it worked. the you made funds available, but the school is still waiting for the 1.6 million euros. >> there is a great need for eu funding here in our region. our community has put in numerous bits, but we still have not seen any money. do not ask me where, but somewhere, there is a bottleneck. >> the consulting firm is hardly surprised by the delay. it says eu funding that actually arrives in romania is the exception rather than the rule. >> politics determines how money coming to romania is distributed. if you have no ties to a governing party or the ministries involved, you do not have a chance.

>> that is bad news for barney. when he gets home late from school, his mother barely has time to help him with his homework. she works nights at a bakery. >> it pains me that i can no longer help my son with his schoolwork. you really see it in his grades. he is having a hard time concentrating. but i have to work. otherwise we could not survive. >> it would be easier if she could help. after doing his homework, barney helps out his father, who runs the farm. the farmer has also tried his luck with eu subsidies. he wanted to buy a tractor and a couple of heads of cattle, but nothing came of it. >> you cannot beat the

bureaucracy. you have to put on issues with very thick soles if you want to go down that road. at some point, i had had enough and rip up all the paperwork. >> officials at the local chamber of agriculture are familiar with the farmers frustration. the region has more than 32,000 small farms, but only 400 have received the funding. >> we have to be strict with the applicants. if something is wrong with their paper work, we send people home three or four times. there are only four people working here, and it is too much for us. we often works late into the night, and sometimes even from home. >> barney's mother would be happy if some of the money from brussels ended up with her employer, the local banker. that would benefit her as well.

the outdated machines used in the bakery are falling apart and can even be dangerous. >> i'm very skeptical. to get phones, you have to contribute your own capital, and i would have to take a bank loan for that, but defeat the you again blocks funding from romania because of corruption, and left sitting on a pile of debt. this has happened to several friends of mine who went bankrupt. >> christoph finds the whole thing of certification. she had expected more from rumania's membership in the european union. >> we need someone who honestly wants to help us. someone who can explain everything to us. we are all simple people around here. but for now, barney and his

classmates can only dream of going to school each morning just like other kids. >> british iron lady margaret thatcher got the diagnosis as well as u.s. president ronald reagan, but when this former football manager made his also is conditioned public, he shocked fans. alzheimer's is still not discussed openly, but with the population in europe getting older, it is important that we learn how to deal with it. an increasing number of people are affected by alzheimer's simply because we live longer. there is still no remedy against this gradual loss of memory, but even with the diagnosis, you can live your life in dignity and even enjoy it, as our next report from the netherlands shows. >> the day begins with a loving gesture.

76-year-old hankerings his girlfriend breakfast in bed. -- 76-year-old hank brings his girlfriend breakfast in bed. they eat breakfast together. they met at the alzheimer's village. elderly care nurse peggy is happy about the older couple's young love. the paired is not need much assistance. peggy only needs to make sure their tea is not too hot and their bread is cut into small enough pieces. the alzheimer's village is tucked between two of parma blocks. at first glance, it looks like an education center, but a closer look reveals a beauty salon and sidewalks without curbstones and ample seating. hank is settled in here. he takes care of the birds. he used to live in another home, but he was unhappy there and

develop heart problems. his children took him out and brought him here. hank has another girlfriend, a media -- amelia. she is a beast, he jokes, but one with a golden heart and a gift for song. hank lives here with five other companions. corey's illness had reached an advanced stage, while richard is constantly looking for his cigarette lighter. there are no planned meal times here. patients eat whenever they are hungry. richard is even allowed to smoke here. there is an extra room for smoker's right next to the living room. >> i liked it here. i can help the nurses as well as those who are more sick than i

am. i can help in the kitchen, too, right, peggy? i help you, don't i? >> yes. the group here is a little bit like family, and there is no other way it could be. we have been together so long we have simply grown attached to each other. >> anyone who moves in here can look around and choose how they would like to live. hank likes things cozy. there is also an asian community within the village where residents can watch indonesian television. other living options offer the bushwa comforts of fine china and plush furniture -- plushbourgois comforts. the village also has a supermarket. hank and his companions visit here once a week.

he could not manage this kind of activity on his own. and he must not forget he has to bring richard his cigarettes. there is no need to pay here. the supermarket sends the bill to the village. hank has company. his brother and sister in law have come to visit him. >> one family comes to visit, all the residents take part. they talk with each other and drink coffee together. hank and jo have a relationship. they are a couple and both families take the other along with a go for walks or to a cafe or to a restaurant. >> tonight, there is an evening

concert at the village. 95-year-old amelia is in the audience. for many alzheimer's sufferers, music is an important key that opens up memories. amelia says her mother was an opera singer. [applause] with her fur hat and coat draped around her shoulders, amalia is something of an opera deeper herself -- diva herself. after the concert, the day is not over yet for hank and his live-in companions. richard, who was a tailor, thinks he still has work to do and wants to roll up the tablecloth.

hank asks what he is doing, and he says, "i have to roll up this fabric." hank says, "just leave it here." at some point, hankins up with his two girlfriends in front of the tv watching operetta's -- hank ends up with his two conference in front of the tv watching operettas. the dvd transports them into another world. just before bedtime. on the night watch, wilma follows noises from the rooms on a monitor. she can hear who is sleeping and was not. >> we could take even better care if we had a camera installed in the rooms, but we do not do that because it invades the privacy of our residents. >> the monitor guides a night nurse to the rooms where people

might need help. this time, it is 95-year-old amelia who cannot sleep. the night nurse gives her a cup of putting. -- pudding. we have accompanied amelia and her live-in companions for several days, but now it seems she does not recognize us any more. >> a childhood in sweden -- many of us will probably associate that with the famous tales of this swedish writer. her young heroes have a lot of fun and sometimes even help bring criminals to justice, but even lyndon -- lindgren new that there were dark side, too. in one of her books, a young boy escaped from an orphanage because he is afraid of being abused. that was a sad reality for a lot of children in sweden, and

it has taken liberal swedes a long time to finally admit now that the authorities at the time really did turn a blind eye on what was going on. >> as a child, was sexually abused in her foster family. today, she works in social services. morgan allen was beaten and abused. as an adult, he struggled to overcome feelings of abandonment and isolation. inga was locked in a dog kennel, and for many years, he told no one about the horrors of his childhood. the state wanted to protect children from harm but provided little in the way of official oversight. between 1950 and 1980, about 100,000 children were placed in orphanages and foster care. no one knows exactly how many were abused. estimates run to the thousands, but it is likely many additional cases went unreported.

in 2005, a television documentary finally brought the abuse to light. in 2006, a commission was established to investigate this history of abuse and neglect in orphanages and foster homes. for five years, it that the testimony from former foster children, more than 900 in all. >> they described horrific of use. physical abuse. some of it bordering on what i would call torture and sexual abuse. over 60% of the women told us of sexual abuse and so did 40% of the men. >> the case file is 240 pages in all. he was shuttled back and forth between his alcoholic mother and various foster homes, but the file does not tell the full story. the solitary confinement as punishment for crying. forcible restraints on his bed. in his file, it just says he was prone to fantasies.

>> one foster family locked me in a dog kennel and beat me with a cane. the memories still have a hold on me, but i will never find out more because things like this were not recorded in the case files. >> morgan alan's parents were alcoholics, and his father spent time in prison. he was beaten and passed from one home to the next. >> a neighbor told me they used to hear screaming, but what could they do? it is not ok to tell us that 35 years too late. >> morgan allen believes the system let him down. sweden's child protection laws may have looked good on paper, but in practice, everyone trusted the authorities and ignored signs of problems. >> sweden just brushed it all under the carpet. no one wanted to acknowledge what was happening or talk about it. it was like a moldy piece of bread that everyone ignored. they could smell it, but everyone just ignored it.

>> not long ago, the swedish government held an official ceremony to formally apologize to the victims, but at first, the government refused to provide financial compensation to them. after a public outcry, they finally agreed to pay just under 30,000 euros to each victim. [applause] them for lost opportunities, but we want to help as best we can. >> she attended the ceremony and says it helped give her closure. she also testified before the commission. as a foster child, she was sexually abused. local authorities know about it for at least a year but did not intervene. >> when i was 9 years old, we went to this summer home. that is where it began. my foster mother's brother

molested me. >> but she does not know if she will receive financial compensation. her ordeal began in 1980, but the government compensation is only going to victims who were abused between 1920 and 1980. >> it is strange. i went through the same things as the rest. it is not fair that one person is compensated for something that happened in 1978 but another person gets nothing for what happened in 1982. that is not right. >> he is also out raised by the gap in the compensation agreement. he joined an organization called stepchildren for society to help victims get the compensation they are owed once the law is formally passed, but he is pleased that the government has finally accepted responsibility. morgan published a best-selling

memoir appear despite his difficult childhood, he has become a successful actor. he hopes his story will help others who shared his fate. >> instead of letting it turned into an addict or a criminal, i realized i could do some good and help myself in the process. >> his work was his salvation, morgan says, but he knows many others are still suffering in silence. >> rolling dunes, white sandy beaches, and blue skies. the danish island danishno -- island of bom homme becomes a tourist magnet, but how do you attract people when it gets cold? the people had an idea. they would make their little island a winter sports paradise, too. sound absurd? well, some officials in brussels did not think so and gave this ski slope the necessary financial backing, but

unfortunately, there is one thing still missing. >> it is another glorious winter morning. the baltic sea island is known for lots of sunshine. they would prefer racecars and colder temperatures. he owns the only ski slope. with no snow at an elevation of just 30 meters, that seems a daring proposition, but he is a confident man. >> it is the nicest slope in europe. in the top, you have -- you cannot get anywhere else. you have the baltic sea. just two kilometers away. and you have a little island. sometimes you can see it. it is a very, very nice place. have a very nice, but very green at the moment. surely that cannot be good for business. and how best skiing fit the image anyway?

it is a rural paradise, ad lib vacation homes, remote tiny villages, waves breaking along the rugged romantic coastline. five years ago, they had the idea of constructing a slope. rock formations on the coast are steep, but 200 meters to short for a normal ski slope. the european union granted funds amounting to 50,000 euros, but there was also criticism of the project in faraway brussels. indeed, a drive-through reveals a mainly flat landscape, but the mayor of the island has given her support to the project. >> of course the project makes sense. if you look at the criteria for

subsidies, you see they are designed to promote development in rural areas and guaranteed farmers and income that goes beyond agriculture. >> in the summertime, the island is full of tourists, but what about the winter? if fishing, but a farming, most of the hotels and restaurants are closed. the ski slope itself may not create jobs, but it has definitely changed life on the island. it is not the alps, but it is fun. the locals say contrary to what taurus may think, there usually is snow. >> it is a sunny island, but when they come down, they think

it is always like this. >> what happens when the snow stays away? then this will help. the state of the arts no cannon and the slope groomer. the technician is proud of what the machine can do. >> this is denmark's only his and police no cannon. it can really move a mass of snow. we repair and groom the slope to give people the perfect skiing conditions. >> when there is snow, that is. this year, in the administrative center of the island, the sports stores and iraq's are still hanging on their racks. even big discounts did not help. >> this year, we really did not sell very much because the weather was not good for skiing.

>> opinions about the ski slope are divided. >> it is ok. we do not have that much to do, so we think it is fine. >> it costs a lot of money. i do not know many people who use it. >> it is pretty unrealistic here. we do not have enough snow. >> but before they are undeterred. they have plans to replace the old ski lift. it is too slow and uncomfortable, and the eu commission has promised him more money for it. another 30,000 euros. >> well, that money cannot buy himself. that is all we have time for today here on "european journal." we are always interested in hearing from you, so do get in touch with us, and please remember to check out our facebook page.

from all of us here in brussels, thanks very much for watching. do tune in again next week. good bye for now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

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