>> as greece struggles with a debt mountain, we have discovered it cannot even process the tax returns and has been sent. hello and welcome to our brussels stereos. other stories in today's european journal include a belarusian journalist opposed to alexander lukashenko gets asylum in lithuania. growing resistance and spain to house repossessions and evictions by banks. and an italian village sidesteps austerity by declaring itself independent. history teaches that in the long term, dictator seldom succeed through repression, but they go on trying. a belarusian journalist was arrested for opposing alexander lukashenko's stolen election. she escaped by fleeing into russia and has found asylum in neighboring lithuania.

enjoying a stroll around town is not something natalia takes for granted. she is a journalist on the run from the security service of her native belarus and now stranded in the lithuanian capital of vilnius. but at least she feel safe here. >> they tapped my phone and call me on the street. they were always monitoring me. i was under constant surveillance by state security in belarus. here in lithuania i am suddenly free. that is great, but hard to get used to. >> the tele lechler as for russia and in the netherlands and is now found refuge in lithuania -- dinatale of left for russia -- italia.

she wrote about alexander lukashenko and his abuse of power. >> the kgb confiscated 20 computers and put huge pressure of my colleagues. i lost two teams because people were afraid to come to work. the scattered when the police beat me up. >> hear the kgb museum in vilnius, she recalls the events of december 19, 2010 in the belarusian capital of minsk where her involvement in protest against election fraud are her of being and imprisonment. >> i cannot take it. they took me to a place just like this. the cell was similar. the beds, too. but there were so many of us that had to lie on the floor. it was awful. there are still innocent in people in jail there in minsk.

one was given five years. >> minsk, where the dictator alexander lukashenko still ruled with an iron fist. natalia cher herself with irina chalip. her release is tainted with sadness. >> there was suddenly this awful certainty that natalia and the others were gone, either free or in jail, and i was left on my own. of course i am happy she is now and safety. >> her mother regularly brought her favorite cake while in jail.

she also assisted her flight out of the country. >> sen natalia fled, she has tried to call me once a week. that helped me survive without my daughter. as soon as she calls, i am relieved. >> 20 years ago, people invoke lithuanians and belarus were fighting for the same cause, independence. when lukashenko came to power, vilnius supported dissidents like natalia, but that it made a fateful error and passed on information about our jim craddick -- a regime critic. he apologized to the belarusian people for it. all the parties are opposed to dictatorship and want to see democracy in belarus. natalia had no difficulty in getting a resident lisa.

after all her ordeal, at least she was scared the red tape. >> she was granted political asylum on a resident these up for five years. >> how long will lukashenko hold on to power? what can activist due to oust him? that is practically all that attali and her colleagues think about now. >> the idea of lukashenko getting assistance from the european union is absurd. instead of issuing statements, brussels should be imposing economic sanctions that would topple the dictator within days or weeks. >> the belarusian opposition desperately needs more support. natalia wants to promote its cause in brussels and washington. until democracy arrives in her home country, her odyssey continues.

>> with the greek bailout still unconfirmed, its multi-billion euro debts are not getting any smaller, but athens could recover some 40 billion euros is owed by taxpayers, if it could process their tax returns. the tax office at athens blacks the technology, -- lacks the technology. at the tax office here, the phones are ringing off the hook. worried residents want to know what new levies they now have to pay. veteran tax official here it is kellen tries to keep calm, but she has never seen anything like this in all our 35 years of service. everyone has to work overtime. the pressure from above to enforce tax collection has become enormous. >> the government wants more money in the coffers. the finance minister would prefer to have us work day and night, and yet we are getting

one-third less pay. there is no hope of additional manpower. on the contrary, i have to fight for my best staff so they do not fall victim to the austerity measures. >> but helen actually has reason to be proud. in the last few months, her office has posted the greatest rise in collected taxes in all of greater athens. conditions here are tough. everywhere, files are stacked high on mt desk. there is no more room for documents like last year's sales tax returns. they wind up in garbage bags. >> we need the programs that help us, but we do not have these programs. >> even supermarket trolleys are being used as storage space. >> every day we have to push thousands of tax documents from

one place to another. if the government would just equip us better, we could secure even more tax revenue and close our budget gap without outside help. >> but on the other side of the glass windows, the view is somewhat different. people feel the state is harassing them. there is a new tax introduced practically every month. >> the working class people, this creates a feeling of lack of justice in this country, which has to stop some time. >> he has been waiting a year to start collecting his early retirement benefits. like everyone here, he wants taxes to be more equitable. >> to get people like hike last doctors, they are paying nothing to the state. how come?

they have two mercedes, they have villas, and they have a declaration less than me. what can i see? >> 14 up, teophilus galianos tries to squeeze what he can from delinquent taxpayers. he admits it is not easy arguing with them. >> we are on the front line and we are facing sometimes their problems, their anger or frustration. we have to be in a position to listen to their problems and explain to them in a very simple way why they have to pay these taxes and what they have to make the sacrifices. >> in his archival old legal files, he wonders whether the huge tax hikes are just a futile exercise. >> it doesn't seem to work so far. i don't know the reasons.

i don't know why this happens, but all these measures that have been taken so far show that something is not going in the right direction. >> but there is no time for ruminating at the department heads daily meetings and civil servants. it is their job to enforce current tax law, no matter how unfair it may seem. a short coffee break is about all that livens up their bleak work day, because here, even the lunch hour has been cut. >> during the boom years, many spaniards took out mortgages they can no longer afford in the economic crisis, with austerity measures and lost jobs, banks repossessing houses were payments have fallen behind, evicting owners but leaving them in debt. now movement of young people is

fighting to prevent repossession. they argue that the bankers got bailed out by taxpayers, the banks have no right to make the taxpayers homeless. the family living here was able to avoid eviction three times, but on each occasion, friends and neighbors blocked the entrance. the family could no longer cover the mortgage payments on their apartment, yet the bailiff had to walk away empty-handed. but the fourth time, the family supporters arrived too late. department has now been emptied, and the police are just leaving. -- the apartment has now been mt. the judge had brought the eviction forward at short notice -- apartment has now been emptied. the mother is still in a state of shock. she had just enough time to take her little daughter away. more and more spaniards are

being caught up in the financial crisis. now, many are turning to peaceful protest in the hope of preventing further evictions. sander used to own an apartment, but after her husband had an accident, she had to care for him and her daughters, one of whom is disabled. >> we lost our home, too. i was in the same situation, so i can put myself in their shoes. >> sorry, i came here to support them. the same thing happen to us. -- happened to us. >> in spite of their shame, sandra and her husband show us where they are living now. the family rents a single room from an acquaintance. it is share by four people. we can only film for a short time, as there is barely enough

light. >> everyday life is very difficult now. what can i say? you can only understand this if you have experienced it yourself. what live is like for poor people living in one room. -- what life is like for for people living in one room. >> in barcelona alone, five evictions occur each day. as many as half a million people have been affected by the bursting of the spanish property bubble. as these people receive little state assistance, they rely on charities. some have lost their homes while others are still trying to pay their mortgages. this pastor says three times as many people are coming to him for help us in the year before, an increasing number them are spaniards, not just poor immigrants like in the past. the contributes 17 tons of aid

every quarter, but next year, that amount will be cut significantly, though the end of the crisis is nowhere in sight. increasingly, it is ordinary people who are coming, people from the spanish middle-class is or even higher. the crisis has cost them their jobs and then their homes. people are angry at banks. they demand repayment and leave debtors little room to maneuver. many who have lost their homes once the remaining debt to be waived. others hope to stay and pay rent to avoid being left homeless. those affected know they must assume liability for their debts, but they say the state should not just an by and do nothing. santer has come to a meeting for a mortgage victims. they say the banks need to help

people solve the problems. >> they encourage people to go into debt to buy a home. no one and forms people about the risk of high mortgages. on the contrary, they provided tax breaks, which they did not for people renting. the banks were even allowed to negotiate 40 or 50-year mortgages without any possibility of changing the terms. >> it is unlikely sanders has been will ever work again. a stroke of misfortune the family could not have foreseen. they show us their former home. repeatedly they have asked their mayor for help, so far to no avail. that is what they also tell their former neighbors. more and more people are now squatting in empty apartments out of sheer desperation. >> if they cannot give me any answers at city hall, that i will consider doing that, too.

the way we are getting right now, we don't get any help. i will think about it. >> once, sandra could never have imagined squatting, breaking the law, but she may have looked alternative. because of spain's unbending election practices, there are more and more empty homes to choose from -- she may have no alternative. >> there is opposition to austerity in italy, too. filettino is a mountain community that has been ordered to merge with the neighboring village to save on administrative costs, but it is resisting by declaring itself an independent principality. it is the latest rebellion against silvio berlusconi government. >> a filettino is not quite monte carlo. there is still some fixing up to

do. the village east of rome wants out of italy's financial crisis. the mayor has proclaimed the place a principality. that has attracted media attention, but so far, no printce. yet filettino has something to offer, a giant reservoir that supplies much of the capital. >> we are required to keep the spring functioning, but we don't see the return. that is why we are going to do everything to take to get a divorce situation. -- to take advantage of our situation. >> filettino, like the rest of italy, wants a piece of the pie. that is why folks here love the mayor's idea. the village is already benefiting from a surge in tourism. the mayor understands marketing. when he goes to the cafe, he first quarters a local concoction.

he pays in the new bills that are now printed with his likeness. >> our aim was to print -- to create something completely different, and then we had this idea for principality. we examine the issue in detail, got advice from a very good lawyer, and realized that the project was feasible. >> there was another reason, too. the village had to be safe from the government's austerity plans. recently, a town mayors protested outside the house of prime minister silvio berlusconi. inside, they were working on a plan to save money by merging small municipalities. filettino's demise was all but certain. constant revisions to the austerity package have darkened the mood in the aspiring principality.

>> i would have privatized more. that generates cash. and i would have cut spending for politicians. >> as usual, the austerity package ignores the problems of people who already have little. i don't think they will achieve their aims. >> i hope that the hike in sales tax will improve the situation. >> are you worried about it? >> we are all worried, but we have no choice. while residents debate whether to import migrants from libya to boost the population, in rome, the trade unions have taken to the streets. the rumor mill is working overtime. one day the plant is eliminated and the next day is back. restrictions on the labor market were loosened. for different cost-cutting packages were approved within one month and then abandoned. >> it is like being on a sinking ship, says one person. if italy is doing badly, then

why not leave the country? what are we supposed to do? we don't want independence from the italian state, but we want autonomy for the administration of our area. >> but not everyone can reconcile themselves to the thought of just being filipinos -- filettinos and not just a principality. >> we need someone with money. that is the important thing. it could be a king for all i care. >> the prince just has to show up, something that could be a good solution for the rest of the country as well. >> in centuries gone by, portugal's jews faced compulsory conversion to

christianity by both church and state. many agreed to be new christians while practicing their faith in secret. now some have come out in open. people are returning to their synagogue and by the export market for their increasingly popular kosher food. -- finding the export market. >> the restaurant is expecting a group of u.s. tourists later on, and the christian kitchen staff would not be permitted to serve them without the rabbi's help -- expected a group of jewish tourists later on. >> i boil the silverware and a pot so that it is cleansed in the religious sense. but first, i have to say a blessing. >> hebrew prayers were not heard in public here for over 400 years. in the 16th century, portugal's

jews were forced to convert to christianity. after that, there -- there were officially, no more jews there, only new christians. those who refused to convert faced torture and death. >> people knew that these new christians secretly stilled practicedjudaism. -- still practiced judaism. people made the distinction, he is an old question, he is a new christian. >> it was not until the end of the 1990's that those in belmonte took the step of building a synagogue. the mezuza is located on the inside of the door and is not visible from the outside. the legacy of the centuries of secrecy. antonio mendez, president of the jewish community, is still amazed that he can pray in a proper synagogue. portugal's jews had been living

covertly for so long that hiding their identity and faith had become second nature. >> being able to stand on the street today and say i am a jew means a lot to me. how do we have to carry our religion in our hearts? then the day comes when you can display it in public. that is why the synagogue is so important to us. >> then the israelis started coming. since the jewish community was officially reestablished, the town has regularly seen bus groups with tourist from israel and the u.s. antonio welcomes them, because like most of the community, he is not a fluid hebrew speaker. rabbi elijah has to interpret. the guests respond with the birthday song in honor of the

rabbi having become a grandfather. belmonte's in jewish population is manifest in throughout the town. this place produces jewish line. rabbi elijah persuaded local vintners to provide a few bottles of wine for a local jewish festival. now they have expanded the facility and sell the product to jewish communities worldwide. it set a precedent, and since then, the rabbi has been inundated with inquiries from other producers who want a kosher stamp on their cheese, sausages, and fruit juices, once he has monitored and approved production. >> it really was worth the effort. the change helped us. we can now reach markets with our products that previously we had no access to.

>> another source of satisfaction for antonio mendez is this new cemetery. there are only a couple of breaks here at present, but there is a lot of space for the future -- there are only a couple of graves here. it symbolizes the hope that jews have a future here in belmonte. >> it is always good to see people rediscovering their roots in celebrating them. i have no objection to kosher wine, or any other kind, for that matter. we'll be back next week. join us then if you can. for now, goodbye from brussels. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--