♪ >> hello and welcome. i'm damien mcguinness, and this is "focus on europe," showing you the people behind the headlines. they are the stories you don't usually see from every corner of the continent. i'm really pleased you could join us. on the program today, the tragedy of migration. stolen children in spain. football fans in turkey under pressure from the authorities. and in italy, a clean slate for rome's piazzolla's -- piazzas.

europeans are struggling to cope with a growing influx of migrants, desperate to escape war and poverty, and many undertake perilous and often deadly journeys to get here. the numbers of people trying to flee to europe have hit record levels -- around 130 thousand migrants have already arrived here by see this year. that's more than double last year's figure. this is, of course, big this is for human traffickers. our reporters have discovered that traffickers are now finding gruesome ways of using children to increase their profits still further. >> this girl, whom we'll call it via letter -- violetta, though that's not her real name came from africa two years ago. she was just five when she got into it wrote packed with refugees along with a man who claimed to be her mother's boyfriend.

>> i remember that i was in a boat. then i went to sleep. after that, i don't know where i was anymore. >> the boat ended up stranded in a spanish enclave on the north african coast. the man disappeared. she was taken to an orphanage, and the spanish department of children and youth affairs took over. children like her often end up in the hands of strangers. it's not clear what the human traffickers planned to do with them. >> it's a good guess that they intend to sell the children. or maybe they intend to do something else with them that's also illegal. >> even unaccompanied babies are

still sometimes stranded on the spanish coast. some refugees bring children because they hope if they are caught, the spanish authorities will be more lenient if a child is with them. often, the children are little more than ponds. some of them lose their lives. >> once, a child on an arriving boat fell in the water and drowned. we were able to recover the body, but none of the refugees on board reacted. it was a terrible humanitarian situation. a child falls in the sea and drowns, and nobody speaks up or claims it as their own. >> this is become a landing point for illegal immigrants seeking to enter the eu. the enclave borders on morocco. women and children usually try

to enter by see, crossing the fences on the land border is too dangerous. david rodriguez fit all -- david rodriguez vidal knows the routes the refugees take and the human traffickers who prey on them. he used to work for the spanish secret service as an undercover agent and the fans of secret service traffickers in africa. he says children also play a role in organized prostitution. >> the trafficker will often rent a child to accompany a woman who is being sent to europe to provide sex services. if she has got a child, the woman cannot be deported as easily, and she can also make the jump to the spanish mainland quicker from here. >> in granada in southern spain, an organization called pro-kids is trying to hinder child abduction. people who claim to be parents often have to take genetic tests to prove it. in some boats, 10 out of 12 children are not accompanied by

a blood relative. the organization hopes news of the tests will make the rounds in countries where the kids come from. >> it definitely has a preventive effect. the mafia that is trafficking in minors in order to approve the chant -- improve the chances of other refugees getting into europe has now realized that it is becoming more difficult the cause genetic testing is practically the norm. >> children are abducted all over the world, and with rising numbers of refugees entering europe, it has brought the problem closer to home. >> it's a huge problem. we don't know how many children have arrived in this way, and we also do not know where they are right now. our police can only act here. we don't know how and where the children are abducted, nor do we know what happens to them.

>> the traffickers exploit those gaps and police knowledge, often smuggling children and their mothers to differ countries. the former undercover agent says that is the system the criminals use. >> how can they force a woman to pay what she owes them if she lives in germany, for example? by holding her children in spain . the kids stay in the traffickers' hands to make sure that the mother makes her payments on time. >> violetta was lucky. her mother, who now lives in france, found her after a long search. genetic testing proved the relationship. now, she wants just one thing -- >> i want to be with my mother. i miss her so much. i want to see my brother and my sister. >> inviolate -- inviolateta --ln

granted safe passage to france, and the next ship will hopefully transport her to a safer future. >> a truly disturbing story. if you want to comment on that or any other story, please do get in touch with me on twitter. meanwhile, in turkey, there are fears that the government is clamping down on distance and trying to stamp out political opposition. over the past year, turkey has seen unprecedented levels of public protest sparked by plans to redevelop a park in istanbul, but the government has not weakened or shifted its position, but rather, seemingly, quite the opposite. in august, the prime minister became president after more than a decade as prime minister, and his critics for that.

i don't know whether to laugh or cry. >> protests to save the park last may triggered a wave of civil unrest across tkey. hundreds of thousands called for the prime minister's government to step down. fans of istanbul's three major soccer clubs went out on the streets together. the fans are accused of major involvement in the protests and of wanting to topple the government with violence. human rights activists say the government is taking its revenge on the democracy movement in turkey. >> more than 5000 people who participated in the protests had some kind of legal proceeding against them. we saw the organizers of the tax him solidarity platform charged with forming a criminal gang, but now we see the most

ludicrous case of all, which is football fans charged with a coup attempt. >> the stadium is currently being renovated. the district is known for its relaxed, western lifestyle. the public consumption of alcohol is a part of everyday life. a book about the soccer club, which was founded in 1903, was written. the author says the fans have always been in conflict with those in power. >> in this district in the last elections, about 80% voted for left-wing parties. fans have always been on the side of social critics. for example, protesting against the government's nuclear power

plans or fighting for the rights of christian minorities. that did not please earlier governments either. >> the fan spokesman does not deny having taken part in the protests. he says it was about saving the park, and he says there's no evidence to back the charges against them. he has the support of the locals. >> our boys went to the square to help, nothing else. >> that's what's great -- it's anchored in the people, not only belonging to the functionaries and players. all around here, ordinary people live in two-room flats. you never feel lonely out here. >> the fans can only watch the game on tv because the

authorities have for bid in them from entering the stadium. instead, they met for a friend's wedding. they are sticking together during these difficult times. >> a few years ago, we would have been facing the death penalty. now, we could get life sentences, but we are trying to keep our spirits up. the people who put us on trial will have to answer to their conscience one day. >> that's little consolation. but the show must go on. the groom says "i do" and wedding celebrations get under way, ahead of the less joyful trial in mid-december. >> were many of us, visiting rome means two things -- architecture and food. until now, it has been possible to enjoy both at the same time.

now, the authorities have decided to change that. not everyone is convinced that such a good idea. >> this is one of the most beautiful squares in rome. the architecture is stunning. lately, the piazzas and it's cafes have been looking unusually needed tidy. the narrow streets around the square have been tidied up as well. many cafes had tables outside for which they did not have a license. that will no longer be tolerated. >> from one day to the next, i don't have any more tables. this spells our ruin. room without tables is like a ghost town. >> he shows us how he shows us how it used to be. >> the tables are gone, and so

are the tourists. they walk right past. people want to eat outdoors. room is so nice with all the tables. >> the municipality says it had to intervene because of the piazza's historical and architectural importance. >> at first, they spread out a little way, but then further and further into the piazzolla -- into the piazza. it was a question of what was fair to all. >> what to the tourists think? >> it's a pity. the square is less lively this way. it's nice to be able to sit down and have a rest after exploring a city. otherwise, you end up standing around once you have reached the square. >> it makes the whole thing a lot more open, i would say, so people could mill around, and

it's probably going to how it was a few years ago as opposed to being too touristy. >> it is certainly looking more glorious than ever. >> now, back here to germany, which this year is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. that event was the culmination of months of peaceful protests and marked the end of communist rule in central and eastern europe. the internet and social media may not have been around back then, but as protest group, people still managed to get the word out to the rest of the world. as part of our continued series about unsung heroes who helped bring down communism, our reporters have been delighted to discover how the west even found out that a peaceful resolution -- revolution with happening on the other side of the iron curtain. >> back then, as eq's to break

out in a sweat on the stairs, too, climbing 189 steps in the dark with the east german secret police on his heels. he was used to playing cat and mouse with the stasi, then jumping across rooftops. he had filmed secretly for west german tv for some time. from this church tower, he witnessed the city's peaceful resolution -- revolution. >> it was really impressive. i would guess some 70,000 people passed by. and they were all peaceful. we were afraid of here. it was just as windy back then, and it was raining, too. down below, the streets were so full of people, they could hardly move. the whole situation really gave us goosebumps. >> the demonstration on monday, october 9, 1980 nine, attracted huge crowds. it was history in the making.

>> the stasi were on the roof of what is now a department store. they were watching the demonstration quite close to us. >> his main worry was getting something usable on film. he did not dare hold the camera up to high -- too high. >> i thought if we could see them, they could see us up here. >> he only ended up on the church tower by chance. a priest handed him the key. leipzig was in a state of emergency. soldiers were lined up in the side streets. 65 meters up on the tower, the chants were clearly audible. "we are the people" -- the revolution's slogan was born. >> my partner said, "if that's

broadcast on tv tomorrow, maybe around the world, it will not just change east and west germany. it will change the world." >> but first, the tape had to reach the west. it was handed over at a hotel for westerners near light sick -- leipsic -- leipzig's railway station. it changed hands in this revolving door. the man who received the secret footage was back then a correspondent in east germany for spiegel magazine. he was probably the only journalist from the west who managed to make it that night. >> when i found out what they had done, i said, "if me the tape, for heaven sake. then it will be in my possession , and if they search us, it will be my problem."

i knew if they were caught, they would have been in big trouble, and if east germany had remained, they would have spent years in prison. >> there was a second man who provided cameras, tapes, and money. officially he was unemployed. the two friends still speak on the phone once a week. sometimes, they meet up at the stasi archives in berlin. the man who is now its boss had to leave east germany in the early 1980's. >> when i got the videotapes, i copied a broadcast quality tape right away. when i saw the footage, i had tears in my eyes. i knew it was the end of east germany. >> is it tough being a hero?

>> i only filmed what the people on the streets were doing. i documented events. there were 70,000 people on the streets. those in the front rows of the demonstrations were the real heroes. after all, shots could have been fired. >> a week later, he returned, this time to join the demonstrators. the fear had gone. the stasi and the ruling communist party had lost their grip. they filmed scene after scene, and just a few weeks later, the wall came down. >> across europe, busy young professionals are increasingly using internet dating sites, particularly in central and eastern europe. many professional young women say they are finding it difficult to find male partners. that's because across the region, women seem to have coped better than men with the painful

transition from communism to capitalism, often having lower rates of unemployment, alcoholism, and suicide than their male counterparts, but in poland where the catholic church still plays an important role in community life, lonely hearts are starting to use much more spiritual approach to finding love, and even using the local parish priest as a matchmaker. >>'s late summer in the polish capital, warsaw, and love is in the air. but this 34-year-old can only watch the loved ones from the sidelines. she has never had a partner. for years, she believed mr. wright would come along someday, but he never has, and now, she's a bit of a loner.

>> you don't feel like doing anything when you are alone. you don't want to cook or go out . my life revolves around work and home. >> she consulted a counselor, who told her she had to go actively looking for a partner, so she tried online dating. she met several men, but it never lead to anything. that's despite the fact that she places few demands on a partner. >> i don't know what my prince charming should look like, how tall or the color of his hair, but i do want us to share the same values. he has to love god -- that's how i see the basis for a partnership. >> now, poland's catholic church is trying to help the lonely

hearts among its followers to find romance. three parishes in warsaw offer special church service for singles. the idea is to meet your future partner in church instead of on the internet. she has been attending church services aimed at singles in the polish capital for a year now. it's apparently filling an unmet need. the pews are full. >> we don't just pray to the holy mother but also pray to those looking for a partner. >> the church service lasts 45 minutes. the father says the singles situation poland is serious and that he wants to help.

>> there are around 5 million singles here in poland, and that's too many. if you have turned 40 and you are still single and happy about it, then either you have a psychological problem, or you are clueless. everyone wants a partner. it's natural to look for one. >> after the service, the singles can meet up for refreshments in the church cellar. slowly, people warm to one another and start to swap phone numbers. after 15 minutes, she is chatting with a 32 euro lawyer and also a lonely heart. so far, so good. they shared deep religious convictions, but although some

may have found romance here in the church, others are still struggling. >> maybe it's too late in the day. i've never met anyone here i could go to a movie with or out for a walk with, someone i could spend time with. maybe i'm the exception to the rule. >> but they appear to be getting on well. they decide to continue their chat elsewhere. for now at least, things are going well. it looks like todd might have no objection to her having a man in her life. -- like god might have no objection. >> some would say it looks a bit ironic that a celibate priest might criticize people for being single. that's it for today. feel free to join the conversation with me on twitter. thanks very much for watching. see you next time.

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

hello there and welcome to "newsline". it's tuesday, october 28th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a man arriving in japan from liberia has tested negative for the ebola virus. the man arrived on monday with a fever, and was quickly quarantined. the canadian journalist arrived at tokyo's airport on monday afternoon. he spent two months in liberia, then flew to japan via belgium and britain.

he was transferred directly from the airport to the national