>> hello and a very warm welcome to european journal, coming to you from dw studios in brussels. here's what we have for you in this edition. albania, a visit to the marijuana village. britain, should the face veil be banned? and france, the new generation of lawnmowers. albania is a country that holds several controversy over colts -- records in europe. it is among the poorest countries on the continent and it is a major hub for illegal

drug production and trafficking. police organizations estimate that one third of all drugs consumed in europe pass through albania. in the mountains and the south of the country, an entire village has specialized in marijuana production. >> the heavy scent of marijuana hangs over this village in southern albania. the drug is cultivated here. almost everyone earns their living from it. get the private growing of mayor juan is also illegal in albania. usually, the villagers keep to themselves. we are the first team that has been allowed to film since they started farming the drug. we are the guests of a family. we will call them the douche who -- dushku's.

>> it is a very hard and tiring job from march to december. we have to keep watering the plants every other day. the harvest he and trimming of the crop is also very difficult. we do it all ourselves. >> but it is a lucrative business. the dushku'as don't like to talk money, but the rewards are sizable. 300 kilos -- 300 euros for a kilo of marijuana. they earn about six times what they would at other jobs. >> we were paid very well here. my whole village is in the mountains. there is no work there.

>> without this job we would die. we would start to death. how can i explain it to you? >> the marijuana farmers have been inhaling this heady scent for the past 14 years. some look as if they have picked up the habit themselves. it seems difficult to find out why this drug business has been able to go on for so long. this reporter has had his eye on this place for years. what investigating the story is dangerous business. -- but investigating the story is dangerous business. >> there is a kind of no-go area where no one is allowed to go in. some people have tried it. they have come under fire or they did not come back. >> the douche who's -- the dushku's have been involved in

the business for almost 10 years. they were fearful at first, but when they did saw their neighbors -- when they saw their neighbors harvesting a rich crop, they wanted a piece of it. >> we could not survive without this crop. we used to be the poorest village in albania. we did not even have water. we were always badly off. under the communist regime and also afterward. >> these days however, laws arrived --lasarat seems to get a special status. there has been no arrests up to now. residents here say it is a place where the law does not apply. the authorities impounded for tons of marijuana last year, a fraction of the total amount smuggled into the eu. a success in the eyes of the police chief, who has now been sacked.

>> in comparison with previous years, we had good results fighting drug production, but we have to watch out in lasarat. not a single kilo of marijuana should leave our country. >> the neighboring villages are angry about the situation. homes that a kilometer away from lasarat have been frequently hit by bullets. marijuana farmers have been fending off suspected intruders. relatives of the reporter had to move out of their bedroom. >> i was wounded on the arm by a stray bullet from lasarat. it also destroyed a date tree. i was drinking coffee with eye wife when a bullet hit her leg and my arm. >> he thinks he knows why the authorities turn a violent -- a

blind eye. he thinks they tolerate what is going on because drug barons from italy, greece, and germany are involved. there is some evidence from this. the farmers get their seeds from the mad dash for the marijuana plants exclusively from italy. to gauge the scale of the drug production in the mafia's earnings, italian tax investigators have had their surveillance lanes fly over the plantations. they estimate that the farmers in the village grow about nine tons of marijuana a year, with an approximate -- approximate market value of 4.5 billion euros. the albanian authorities and high-ranking politicians are also reputed to be profiting. many luxury hotels along the coast are allegedly drug laundering operations. the links between mafia bosses and politicians that have been under lock and key for years

under the orders of the government. many say the government is complicit in trying to hush things up. >> if the government had wanted to stop drug production, they would have done so. the state has vested interests. it is making money from it. >> zamira dushku is expecting demand to rise. she has had a bumper crop this year and like others, they are determined to defend the crop 24 hours a day with any means necessary. click to get your camera down. duck. camera down. >> things are getting too dangerous for us, hardly surprising. after all, albanians -- one of

albanians flourishing businesses is at stake. >> for women in the country [no audio] france and belgium have banned veils in public spaces am arguing it is disrespectful to cover one's face and that the authorities should be able to identify people easily in courtrooms, for example. in britain, the majority of the population also rejects full body veils. but there is no national ban. >> these women still seems strange to many britons, despite their increasing numbers. they are muslim women wearing n iqabs to cover their entire bodies except for their eyes and they are coming more and more common on british streets. tolerance has its limits. for the first time, in london judge ordered a muslim woman to tebow early lower her veil so

that the jury might see her face during her testimony. the judge's decision is meant to set a precedent and was greeted unanimously by the british justice system. after all, the face veil is not, in fact, prescribed by the quran. it is more of a cultural practice. most british woman except the ruling, however they are not welcoming any more rulings about what they should where and when. just a few days ago, this college in birmingham had to backtrack on the ban against me, -- against niqabs, signed by primarily students. >> it was right and it demonstrates democracy. it was right to repeal that decision. >> there are many voices in this debate who do argue on the side of women not observing the full

veil. i just say that dictating to a woman that's what she can and cannot wear goes against the idea of banning the veil to protect a woman's choice. it is my choice to cover myself and i should be allowed to do so. >> no one wants anything forced upon an individual against their will. france is forcing women who freely want to wear the burqa to not wear burqa. that is one of the things i find probably more disturbing in many ways. >> a ban on that scale is not in the cards. the british prime minister, david cameron, was reluctant to give a statement. in fact, most parties are shying away from the topic. in most of britain's cities, muslims are no longer a minority. they make up a significant proportion of voters. and more and more with perdition why people are convert -- more

and more white british people are converting. she converted 10 years ago. she chose to wear niqab as a way to mark her new beginning. she feels completely comfortable in her new veil. >> it become something you don't even know you are wearing anymore. it is like a second skin. >> there are discovered islam when she did -- she accompanied a friend to a mosque. she has become used to the hostel looks she gets. >> it always makes people anxious. being invaded here in england. we are multicultural. it is diverse. we have to do to know one another and live together in peace and harmony. that is what islam is. >> sarah lives in a modest house in birmingham. she is not yet wearing a face

veil, but she might one day. >> i look and i think, oh, i wish i was strong enough to wear it now. as women, i know how much i love my husband. to go home for him and just let him see me. obviously people don't understand. we can dress ourselves up and make ourselves beautiful. i don't like when i walked down the road that people are jeering at me and i'll in the over. >> her mother and her friends agree. they also know that some women are under pressure to wear a veil, but they have not yet experienced that in their community. >> i would do my best to counselor and say and show her, sister, this is not for islam. if you acknowledge that you are being oppressed -- if you do not acknowledge that you are being oppressed, then you become the oppressor of yourself. that is what should liberate her. >> the oppression, i thought,

that was the oppression. this is the liberation, now, on me. i'm not trying to impress anybody. i'm not sitting and waiting to be accepted. >> sarah thinks that one day the outside world might come to understand that many muslim woman are making a conscious decision that the niqab is not a threat and they are real women with real stories. >> that building is a high-rise that could house thousand. city planners in europe are beginning to rethink the strategy. the goal now is to make cities greener and give people places to relax. the green party was the first to introduce those ideas in france.

and in the capital of paris where they formed part of the municipal government, they are trying to bring animals back to town. >> for environmentally friendly lawnmowers and work for the city of paris. they keep the grass short on undeveloped plots of land without endangering the small animals living there. the sheep are currently grazing on the lawn of the city archives. the high -- the head of the archives, herself an animal lover, brought them here. she hopes the sheep will prove to be more than insect friendly lawn groomers. >> people don't know us. we are back from the street and the way is not well sign posted. it was designed that way for

security reasons. the sheep couples to show people, look, here is some ring space, perfect for a picnic. and if you are a little curious, you can take a peek at our conference room. >> naturally, these are not run- of-the-mill domestic sheep. next to choice cows and pigs, they are bred here by the city of paris. this breed of sheep was once virtually extinct. >> these sheep stay small. you can forget using them for meat. but they have other benefits. they are robust and almost never get sick. and they eat everything imaginable, even plants with little protein. >> until now, cars i'm a not animals, were the priority in paris. even the banks of the river seine where paved for the flow

of traffic. conditions became so bad that parisians decided to take action. many voted for the green party in the last local elections come a far more than usually do in france. -- last local elections, far more than usually do in france. they began cultivating green spaces in the city. now they are basking in their success. >> paris is a special case. the city is -- has even become a refuge for various animals pcs. -- animal species. they are so contaminated with pesticides -- with pesticides in the countryside that the animals preferred to come to paris. >> foxes in particular often seen in the city. and species like this that that was once rare in paris am a friend capital increasingly attractive. even the timetable of

construction work has been altered on their account. at this construction site they work day and night for months to be finished for winter set in. our round 500 of the little bats and hibernate here, undisturbed by the vibrations of the construction equipment. few parisians ever come face to face with this breed of that. this formalist nursed back -- this one was nursed back to health by a parisian students after he broke its ruling -- broke its wing. but for animal rights activists, they say protections don't go far enough. they say some animals are getting a rough deal. >> the city council does not like stray cats. a few years ago, there were lots of untagged cats in my district. but then the city sent out ammo -- animal catchers and from one day to the next, the cats were

gone. except for mira, who i rescued. when there are too many of one kind of animal, people get frightened, especially city hall. >> it's part of the concept that the numbers of any single species should not get out of hand. that is why prayer grinned falcons have been brought in to drive out at peregrine falcons have been brought into drive out many of the pigeons. in -- a breed of peregrine chicks was born, a first of the city. >> if you told me a decade ago that there will be peregrine's in paris, i never would have believed it. they are birds that normally only lived in the wild. >> residents seem to appreciate the initiative, more animals in paris, albeit with certain

reservations. >> the pigeons are a nuisance, but they have been largely exterminated in paris. inks are much better now, as long as they don't make a mess -- things are much better now. as long as they don't make a mess, other animals don't bother me. >> sheep on parkland, that's good. then you don't need to mow the grass. >> the wild animals in the city? >> like squirrels. >> those kinds of animals, ok, as long as they don't hurt us. >> one of the world oldest taxidermist shops says animals are fashionable and various -- in paris. the briton dwarf sheep is still missing from their extensive collection of mounted animals, but then these woolly creatures are still needed allies elsewhere. -- alive elsewhere. >> the message that pope francis has for his priests around the world is, be more humble.

francis himself lives in a vatican guesthouse and not in the palatial quarters. in germany, he has added fuel and fire to the debate about excessive bending by catholic ships. the wealth of the catholic church has also caused controversy in poland. communism collapsed in poland more than 20 years ago as the polish state stopped oppressing the church. today, the church is supported with tax money. and now an increasing number of people want to leave the church and that is not easy. >> there is no doubt that poland is a catholic country, with an estimated 90% of the people observing its fate. sunday mass is still jampacked, despite slowly diminishing numbers. once upon a time, pope john paul ii held the church together from the vatican. now eight years and two popes

later, the pews are not as full as they used to be. more and more people are turning away from the church, something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. but the church is not prepared to let go of its members so easily. germans need only declare their withdrawal to a state authority for stop in poland, -- date authority. in poland, you must present your case to a jury as well as to witnesses and make your case as to why you want to leave. this man translates into english for a leaping -- a living. his first attempt to leave the church ended in failure. >> the priest was very aggressive. he's old and said my request to leave was not valid. i had to get a psychiatrist to get in a violation of my mental condition. until i had a certificate proving my mental stability, he would not talk with me.

i was so confused that i actually called to psychiatrists. but of course, they don't issue such certificates. >> it was not until a year later that a priest reluctantly authorized him to go, but not before calling him a lost creature. at this point, his troubles had only just begun. the model train collectors suddenly had more time for his hobby than he had counted on. >> my neighbors sat at my feet when they found out. it seems a disgrace. everyone was very aggressive. i started making much less money as a translator. my customers did not want anything more to do with someone who criticized the church. a lot happened behind my back. the boss of one company was religious, so i was let go and suddenly earned 25% less. >> it is not a unique case.

and many here are seeking to defend themselves. a citizens initiative was founded, and since the beginning of october placards like this have been erected in big cities around the nation. their mesa -- their message, atheists by design, it is designed to provoke. it is anchored in the polish constitution under article 25. priests think these placards are the work of the devil. this one is suspicious of people who describe themselves as divine. after recent gay and lesbian campaigns, our visit is a reminder of the next crisis facing the church. he says things keep getting worse. >> it is all very dangerous. these initiatives only seek to create laws that suit them. they act on a conviction that does not speak for the majority.

it is a threat to freedom. monica tends to take got -- demonic attempts to take out place for -- take god's place. >> it takes some time to locate the office, but the citizens initiative is hidden down a side street. they are responsible for the blackard campaign, but are wary about trying to much attention -- the placards campaign, but are wary about trying to much attention to themselves. >> we are afraid, but won't let fear hold us back. still, the threatening phone calls make me nervous. >> they are still continuing to fight against discrimination and toward a life without restraint on religion -- of religion. this man is fighting to keep his title as an ethics lecturer at chechen university. he claims that they terminated the rental contract for his university flat on account of

being an atheist. >> life as a catholic would be much easier. it is harder to get demoted as an atheist -- promoted as an atheist. i'm not looking to burn churches or hang priests. i just want the right to say i don't want anything to do with the church. spineless people are swines, and i don't want to be a conformist swine. >> who does? but until it is made easier for polish people to leave the catholic faith, it is unlikely that things will progress very far. the church still wields a lot of power, and a few slackers are not likely to change that -- a few placards are not likely to change that. >> that is it for today. tune in again next week for another edition of european journal. until then, goodbye for now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--