♪ >> hello and welcome to "focus on europe," the program that brings you the personal stories behind the headlines from every corner of the continent. i'm damien mcguinness. great you could join us on the program today. italy -- a year since the tragedy at love producer. paris -- from city of romance to city of rodents. and in norway -- is oil turning into more of a curse than a blessing? it is exactly a year since more than 300 african migrants drowned just off the coast of

the italian island of lampedusa. the tragedy was seen as a wake-up call for europe. every year, thousands of people died as they tried to crossing e mediterranean in small, overcrowded boats, but a year on, the humanitarian crisis has got worse, not better, so local people of the island of lampedusa have started using art to call on europe's leaders to act. >> this is the gate of europe. it raises southward from the italian island of lampedusa. from here, it's 300 kilometers to europe. the artwork was created in honor of the migrants who lost their lives crossing the mediterranean seeking european shores. at the port, there's a graveyard for their boats. after having discharged their human cargo on the island, they are now rotting on the shores of lampedusa.

up the road from the port, there's this house -- owners have decorated the facade with colorful planks from ships, another tribute to the migrants, and here, a man has collected possessions from aboard the migrant ships -- there are photos, baby bottles, and cigarettes. he built at this collection over several years. he found the object both inside the ships and on the dumping grounds of lampedusa. he wants to help preserve the memory of those who arrived here . >> we're not doing them justice by calling the migrants or, worse, it illegal's. they are not defined by being migrants. you see, they eat, listen to music, brush their teeth, wear perfume.

>> politicians have chosen to deal with migrants coming from a place where there's persecution in this way. they've never tried to regulate migrants' journeys here. it is the system that ensures that these people continue to arrive illegally. >> migrants still brave that journey, but fewer now arrive in lampedusa, due to the italian navy's operation called "the sea is ours. sailors pickup migrants off the libyan coast and take them directly to the italian mainland. but locals will never forget what happened in the past off the shores of the island. >> when they started the rescue, they found very few were still afloat. i remember the first day, there were 111 bodies that were lined

up here along this gangway. it was truly horrifying. >> on october 3, 2013, a ship with 500 migrants on board capsized off lampedusa. most were from eritrea, but there were also somalians and people from other african countries on board. 366 people drowned. >> i've never seen anything of that magnitude, 366 dead. the scene filled me with rage. they had almost made it here. you could imagine them gazing out of the island and thinking about arriving, but they did not make it here -- buy a few meters. >> the doctor has set up an art exhibition here, a year after the tragedy. the disaster was a shock for locals, and it ruined leopard's opossum reputation. for many europeans, the island will always be associated with migrants drowning at sea.

many on the island think it's time to move on. the head of lampedusa up a hotel association prefers to show visitors the other side of the mediterranean island. >> the sea is gorgeous here. it hosts every type of fish from great white sharks to whales, dolphins, and sea turtles. so this is the other side, and island with so many resources, so much potential, you could rebuild the archipelago's brand on that. >> for now, blue seas and golden sand are not enough to lower the tourists -- two lunar -- to lure the tourists. the industry blames the migrant crisis for that, even if it is now playing out far beyond the cliffs of lampedusa. these visitors are not here for tourism. they are survivors of the disaster year ago. they have come from sweden and

norway where they now live. >> i remember all sounds, cries, shouts. >> these people's story has defined an island had has come to symbolize europe's migration crisis. a year on, hope and despair still mixed together in the waters off limpet is a -- lampedusa. >> in ukraine, meanwhile, fighting continues, and there's an increasingly bizarre disparity between what is happening and what those involved say is happening. one of the less confusing elements is moscow says russia is not involved in the conflicts, but russian soldiers are being sent back from ukraine in coffins, and mothers of those

dead soldiers are starting to demand answers from their government. >> the priests are performing last rites today. his young wife had just married him, and without saying goodbye, he left her for eastern ukraine. before he went there, the 28-year-old put in a request for leave. anatoly's widow and family cannot believe he is gone. >> it's a shame that these young people die, but we are proud of the people from the provinces who follow their hearts and fight there. >> here is another soldier's funeral, televised on russian state television. the announcer explains the man was on holiday when he died in the battle for donetsk airport. russian soldiers are dying in ukraine, and the government can no longer cover it up, so it

says they have chosen to go there. this activist tells me via skype that soldiers' funerals are now being broadcast on television in russia. mothers and wives of soldiers right to her on her facebook page to find out where their missing sons and husbands are. >> after we published the letters, strange things started happening. a couple of days later, the mothers would call less and ask us to delete the letters because someone had visited them at home to threaten them. >> she herself has received death threats and has gone into hiding. she is scared of meeting us, so we skype instead. her facebook page tells the story of a country at war. the secret services have seized power to control everything.

they rule this country according to the rules of the secret police. they do not get that this is about peoples rights, too. >> still, she believes her facebook page has undercut the kremlin's virtual monopoly on information. because the loved ones rarely get an answer when they ask authorities what has happened to their sons and husbands, in st. petersburg, activists are trying to get into a hospital where wounded soldiers are being treated. inside, the wounded are prevented from talking with them. >> there were a few injured soldiers who fought in ukraine, and they have been ordered not to talk. the doctors were also put under pressure so nothing gets out. >> here in this st. petersburg office, the activists are trying to help a mother whose son is dead. afterwards, she spoke to soldiers from his unit, and they told her he had perished in ukraine. >> the death certificate is

strange -- it does not list the place of death, and there was no investigation, so his mother is not recognized as the victim, and she will not receive a military survivors pension. how can she prove he died in war , even though his remains clearly indicate this? >> russian special forces are based in the city. the army is a big employer here, so people are scared to talk to us. we visit a journalist who wrote about foreign russian soldiers in ukraine. he was attacked in front of his house. >> what happened to me is the revenge of those who sent the russian soldiers to ukraine. they are trying to cover-up that russian -- regular russian units are fighting in this war. the story is always the same. the soldiers are taken to the border. then they are told they are to

be sent on a special mission. they are told they have to act illegally, and they cannot say no. or they are treated like deserters. >> the article was intended to wake russians up to the truth. journalists cannot tolerate silence about the country's dead soldiers. too many have died for the official taboo to hold. >> that seems to be just one of the ways in which the ukraine conflict is also a war of information and disinformation. if you have opinions on that or any other story, please do get in touch with me on twitter. france has a reputation as a country in love with eating, but it seems that not only people are enjoying the food, museum gardens are a popular spot for picnics, but all that food around has encouraged another

type of visitor. it looks like the mona lisa has some new and rather unwelcome furry flatmates. >> they were supposed to take photos of flatmates -- a rat, and it was not alone. there are hundreds of them living here. >> people were napping and eating with rats next to them. it was really strange. some of the children were even playing with the rats. i could not believe it. >> the rats are on the move in paris, lord by trash that people

leave behind and driven out of their previous homes by construction work on the seine. just a few meters away, da vinci's mona lisa hangs inside the new -- the louvre, but it's not even safe inside the building. there's no doubt that at night rats nibble on objects, though they refused to comment any further. they would prefer to see rats exterminated. >> we spot more and more rats when we are out on calls. we get more and more people coming to the store who have problems with the rats. there are many titles in paris and ever more food scraps left lying around. that's the kind of thing rats love. the exterminator cannot seem to catch a break these days.

he uses traps and poison to catch the rats. most of the furry pests live underground from where they slip into houses, but he knows all their tricks. >> look -- the rats can get in easily at the edge. i can almost sick my whole hand through. paris is pretty old, and there are a lot of old sellers in poor shape, so i always say that paris is as full of holes as a swiss cheese. there are lots of holes rats can use to get into buildings. >> researcher this researcher -- this researcher has researched why rats are so hard to get rid of. rat poison only kills the individual that eats it first. the rest of the colony then avoids it. exterminator's now use odorless molecules that dehydrate the animals from within, but the

numerous scientist knows it will not be easy to bid paris of its rats. >> for the rats, we are more food providers than enemies, thanks to our garbage. we are much bigger than they are, so they keep their distance and do not leap into our arms. >> there's no risk in putting lab rats, but the professor says it's better to keep your hands off the wild rats in the parks. they can transmit pathogens like salmonella, though they are not any dirtier than pigeons. not everyone hates rats. fans of the animated film "ratatouille," about a very special parisian rat think they are cute. the movie has improved the public image of these rodents. >> ratatouille less to cook, even though his father is against it, but that just made him want to be a chef even more.

ratatouille is funny and a little bit clumsy, except when he cooks, of course. >> but photographers -- but this photographer remains unconvinced. >> before i took those photos, i liked coming here for picnics. i was one of the people who liked to lie on the grass in the evening after work and relax, but that has changed. i have not been here to relax since i took those photos. >> the louvre rats are gone or now. concerned about its image, the museum deployed twice as many exterminators as usual this past summer and has the park cleared of trash each day, but soon, the world will not be looking so mostly, and the rats may slip out of their hiding holes again. >> now to greece, just over a year ago, greece's state broadcaster was suddenly shut down.

the aim was to show international lenders that greece was serious about economic reforms. the station had been accused of exorbitant pay for star reporters and managers, but greek people were shocked to see the news suddenly replaced by a black screen, so the journalists decided to simply keep on broadcasting. >> radio station ert no longer exists. it was close to 15 months ago. police forced everyone out of its building in athens in november, 2013, triggering massive road test and riots, but the building remained empty. today, the new state radio station broadcasts from here with reduced staff and pro-government talk shows all day. andrea's work here for more than 20 years. now he is a radio presenter across the street at ert open. today, his program focuses on what is going on in the

socialist party. a camera man shooting footage in cases television colleagues. it is well networked, including 16 regional radio stations people have occupied. >> in reality of the 25 to 30,000 euros i'm entitled to, all i got was 7000. >> many of the radio workers are in debt. their families help them out. listeners send packages with food. the union helps them.

it's difficult, but it's a matter of an civil. >> it first became a struggle regaining back our jobs. now it is a struggle for democracy. it is a struggle for restoration of democracy in athens. >> one hour until the 10:00 p.m. news. last arrangements, are the reports finished? what else does the program need? who will take care of studio guests? everyone is flexible and does more than one job. presenter christina says the staff has become close-knit -- there are no rivalries and no divas. time is of the essence. the survey has to be edited. everyone is proud they did not

stop broadcasting. initially, they broadcast solely through the internet. they expanded by tapping into the antennas of the former state broadcasting station. >> we reconnect our signal. we have many broadcasting stations in the greek mountains. with various ways, they are accessible to us. not all the time, not every time. it's not easy. it's very difficult and very dangerous. >> every broadcast could be the last. every day, the thieves could expel them from the building. everyone hopes that will not happen soon. >> life expectancy to income equality, norway is often held up as a model to follow.

it has even avoided what is known as the curse of oil. often, when other countries have discovered oil, it's led to huge disparities in wealth, but it now seems norway's huge oil reserves may be starting to endanger its economic health after all. >> the old harvard draws tourists from around the world in the summer. norway is the country of many people's dreams. incomes are high, working hours short. but norway's affluence is gradually becoming a problem. norwegians have it good -- too good, say many. a cruise ship from italy has just docked, and the tourists along the fish market, but few of the people working here are norwegian. many of those touting seafood are asians or spaniards. not many of the people working in the nearby bars and

restaurants are norwegians, either. food service jobs are not popular. together with two partners, this 45-year-old operates a dozen restaurants. most of his 200 employees are foreigners. hard work deep into the night. not many young norwegians want that kind of job. >> it's especially difficult to find good cooks. many work on the oil platforms or in the big company canteens where they get a big salary. >> the foundation of norwegian affluence is on view at the oil refinery near bergen. the discovery of oil in the north sea turned the formerly impoverished kingdom into one of the world's richest nations. this kind of wealth has consequences. the oil boom fueled increases in wages and prices. many norwegians are working less and less.

many factories and offices closed down at 4:00 in the afternoon. people spend time with their families or engage in leisure activities. this process engineer has been working on an oil platform in the north sea for more than 30 years. it's a grueling job, but extremely well-paid. she works a total of four months and year, leaving eight months of free time at full pay, plus a 50% premium. she works for two weeks on the platform, then has four weeks off for travel and her favorite activity -- sports. >> you have to have a taste for this rhythm and the resulting unusual lifestyle. but if you have a hobby or like to travel like i do, then it's perfect. >> tomorrow, she has to return

to the platform. the ride out takes her past thousands of islands in the north sea. quite a ways out is the austerely beautiful island where fashion entrepreneur kate erickson lives, making waves with a new business idea. in her little workshop, she designs shoes and handbags made from fish skins. >> many companies use leather from pythons or crocodiles, animals that are endangered, but i use a norwegian waste product left over from the fish we all eat. i have elegant chic bags and shoes made. >> the 2015 collection has just been delivered. at first, kate had the shoes produced in norway. production costs were high, but

she would have accepted that of quality standards have been met, but the whole project flopped. the factory could not manufacture her shoes properly. that, too, resulted from the oil boom. trades and craftsmanship have declined in norway. kate erickson to the consequences and took her production abroad to portugal. in norway, it has become clear that the oil boom has brought some unintended effects -- not all of them positive. >> that's all for today. thanks very much for watching. we really appreciate it. if you use twitter, join the conversation with me online. we would love to hear from you -- positive, negative comments, everything is welcome. in the meantime, it's good i from me for now, and see you next week. -- goodbye from me for now, and

see you next week. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

xx xxxx. more anger. demonstrations in hong kong are far from over, as allegations of police beating of a protester draw people to the streets. changing times. iran shows a willingness to cooperate with western countries. we'll have a report on what's called the president's smile diplomacy. and learning from the past. japan's history of natural disasters causes communities to prepare themselves for whatever the future may bring. thanks for joining us.