>> hello and welcome to focus on europe. thanks so much for joining us. we've got a great show lined up for you today taking all the main themes are europeans are talking about. belgium's fight against extremism integrating muslims. germany's anti-islam much is ruining the image. charlie chap plan's home in switzerland opening up for visitors. but first to belgium where three men have just been arrested suspected of having links to islamist militants.

reportedly they provide more jihadist fighters to syria than any other european country, leaving belgium as one of the greatest security risks. these fighters are now coming back possibly to carry out terror attacks in europe. how did things get this bad? to find out we've been to meet young belgium muslims, the men extremists are trying to win over. >> these teenagers mostly come from muslim families north of brussells they feel united as a group and it's on a football pitch that they feel at home. >> hey stop talking to the journalist. they only make us look bad. >> stop filming right now. >> but eventually some of them did speak to us. they told us how their group feels torn apart as recently nearly 30 teenagers left for syria, enlisted by extremists.

>> that's terrible. i know some of them. it's really sad. they could come back dead. >> i'm against them going to syria. that's my opinion. >> one knows almost all the guys who went to syria. he was able to resist the false prophets. his parents, faithful muslims, taught them there cannot be a holy war. >> the guys really believed that they had to fight. for them jihads an ideal and they wanted to follow it. >> the mosques have lost a lot of influence with teenagers in the suburbs. by using the internet, they now want to offer good yans and prevent hate preachers from enticing today's youth.

>> we're active on facebook. our teachers of the koran ask the teachers to talk to students who have been radicalized to counter their arguments and to show them that islam is a religion of peace and love. >> fanatical muslims on the other hand don't argue or debate. to lure teenagers one group uses a wildly doubtful prophecy that they will be the administrators of an islamist state in belgium. almost 40 members of this group are on trial. one of the plaintiffs, his son, was enlisted by the group and wept to syria. risking his own life, his father managed to get him back home. it's a story with a happy ending. but he recents how little help

he got from the authorities. >> of course we ask help by the authority s, by the police, by youth organizations, and as it was they couldn't do something because there was freedom of organization. there was freedom of speech, there was freedom of religion. you know they were laughing at me, you know what they said to me? that it's not even my business to know where is my son. i said excuse me i'm a father. >> this criticism seems to be justified. for decades the country has been preoccupied with its own unity issue. the one scientist says the job of integrating other cultures has been more difficult for belgium than for other european countries. >> for the last 20 years belgium hasn't done enough to fight radical islam and now it's a huge problem. one reason is because belgium is split between the french and flemish that form their strong

communities. it's a particularly good environment to spread radical islam. >> since the failed terrorist attack a few weeks ago the security forces are on high alert. police are present everywhere. but this is just the first step for the mayor. >> here we need more schools and more facilities for young people. we need more sports grounds. because i'm certain that sport can contribute to integration. >> there are reasons behind the radical zation. teenagers didn't just wake up one morning and think let's just go to syria. time and again they felt rejected by the society.

>> there is a chance to escape the hate preachers. most of the guys know that. many of them just dream of acknowledgement, a chance to become part of belgium society. >> at the end of the 1980's, eastern germany was the site of brave anti-communist protests. every monday east germans demonstrated, chanting we are the people, helping to bring down the berlin wall in 1989. over the past few months however, dress den in eastern germany has been getting a name for itself as the birth place of a very different type of protest movement, calling it the patriotic europeans against the west. every monday mimicing the anti-communist movement, tens of thousands of people march. but rather than being freedom fighters they are cused of racism. so mainstream german society and politicians from every party are

now making their voices heard, calling instead for tolerance. >> we are the people, they chant, but do they represent german society? these demonstrators reject islam. they are also very vocal about immigration. >> the asylum policies in general, we feel like we're being overrun. that's why we're here. >> since october, supporters have marched in dresden nearly every monday. they are not only against islam, they are against the press, politicians and america. they say germany is an occupied country. so who's occupying germany? >> the americans. >> it sounds like a return to the cold war. the divisions between east and west germany 25 years after the

fall of the berlin wall. 6 but is this really the face of dresden? no, a many citizens here. we met with some of them. >> i'm a researcher and i help as a volunteer. i feel good here in dresden in germany. >> my favorite part of dresden is -- >> i'm a tour guide and we're here in the heart of dresden. >> tourists from all over the world come to dresden to see the historic city center. but ever since the weekly anti-islam protests became a talking point in international media tourists have started asking different questions. >> i do a lot of tours in english. the foreign visitors often ask me if it's safe to walk the streets at night or on mondays,

especially people who look like they could be foreign. they don't feel safe to go out at night. you can see that as a tourist guide when you get asked these questions. >> the tourist sector has seen a downturn. one person says bookings have dropped for the summer. she's worried about the damage to the image of her hometown. she hopes that dresden will wake up. >> it's a good opportunity to discuss these topics. the city has to take a stand and say how they're going to treat people who come here. are we just here for the tourists that bring money into the city? or are we also here for the people that work here, that want to call this their home? all people who have ended up here by fate. >> a small mosque is a popular spot these days for media. sometimes there are more journaists than muslims who

come to pray. there are very few muslims in dresden and the anti-islam movement has made them insecure. >> none of the foreigners go out alone on mondays where it's dark, or the suburbs of dresden. we've heard that a lot of refugees want to leave the city. >> he's a volunteer. his main job is as a research project manager for semi conductors. he and his family feel at home in dresden. he's surprised there have been so many attacks against foreigners. >> maybe it's because people don't have much contact with foreigners and muslims. they watch the news and see what the extremists are doing. and then they also think foreigners and muslims are equally dangerous.

>> he's been taking photographs here in the district for 35 years. this is the cool area of the city. this is where you'll find artists, musicians, galleries and small cafes away from the crowds. he loves this district with its diversity and openness but it is also an issue even here. >> i have relatives who are with it. you can't talk to them sensibly about anything. and i don't need to discuss it with my friends because they have exactly the same opinion as i do. >> he can see why some demonstrators are unhappy by some decisions made by the government but that doesn't have anything to do with islam.

they saw first hand the peaceful revolution in 1989 that brought down the berlin wall. he says it has absolutely nothing to do with it. >> as long as you can't talk to them and as long as the things that are really wrong and bad are not gotten rid of there will always be people who are unhappy. the question is where is it going? and i think we're heading towards violence, not a peaceful dialogue. >> the latest demonstration attracted 15,000 people, which is fewer than in past weeks. because the media is here in such high numbers, he feels safe coming here. annette also takes a look. >> it's veryhere and see the peg to all these dumb slogans and these generalizations and then all these battle cries.

>> they both hope the anti-islam movement will soon fizzle out, and that dresden will become a more open and friendly city once again. >> what's ironic is that this anti-islam movement is only really taken off in areas where very few muslims actually live. it's a very controversial topic so i'd love to hear you opinion. do get in touch. but now to serbia, a country which has been through a lot. communist repression in the 20th century, brutal war in the 1990's, and today high levels of poverty and unemployment, all of these social problems have hit people hard. which might explain why serbia now has one of the highest suicide rates in europe. the one very order restaurant owner has become a serbian superman, single handedly saving dozens of people who have tried to kill themselves. >> this is his pride and joy, his wooden boat.

he's a third generation fisherman on the river danube. almost every day he heads to the bridge in belgrade. this is where a simple fisherman often becomes a here. the danube is 17 meters wide. the water is 12 meters deep. many people come to the bridge to kill themselves. >> you can't mistake the sound when a person hits the water. it's a thudding sound. it's bigger and livelier than anything else. it's loud at this bridge, but the sound of a person falling into the water is different to all other sounds. >> in the middle of belgrade's heavy traffic on this dull steel and concrete bridge, people come to end their lives.

in recent years numerous people have leapt into the danube. but he has saved many of them, 27 in all. >> most people think the jump will be the end. but as soon as the cold water wakes them from their inner delirium, as soon as they realize what's happening they try to stay alive. some scream for help, others silently watch and wait for help. but they all want to be saved. >> one of the people he rescued from the danube is this 16-year-old. now she comes to his small riverside fish restaurant every few weeks. to this day she still doesn't really know why she jumped. lovesickness, family problems, struggles with puberty. it all came together, and all became too much. she doesn't want to talk about it in front of the camera. her mother is just happy that he was there to save her.

>> he gave us a second chance, a chance to start from scratch. to learn from our failures and to make amends for what we did wrong. he is definitely my hero. we all need people like him. he's an angel. he has become a second father to the whole family. her father died in a car accident a few years ago. >> it has enriched my life in so many ways. i have three boys and two grandchildren. with her i have a new child, a daughter, something i've always wished for. it's really wonderful. >> but not every story has such a happy ending. serbia has one of the highest suicide rates? europe. psychology students work on the help line for people with suicidal tendencies in the city.

it is the only help line of its kind in all of serbia. last year they received almost 3,000 calls and more than 600 emails. >> people keep mentioning the big changes in our society. many people came here as refugees during the wars in the 1990's. they had everything before they came, families, work. then suddenly they had nothing. and they had to struggle to feed their families. >> back to him, he has collected all the articles about his heroic deeds and put them on the walls of his restaurant. he's especially proud of an award recognizing his good deeds and the golden medal of belgrade. he's now famous across serbia and many people come to his restaurant, the hut, to meet him. they want to hear first hand

about his dramatic experiences. but despite the fame and accolades, he remains a fisherman at heart. it doesn't matter if he pulls people out of the water or catches fish in his nets, he says humbly. life is too beautiful to throw it all away. >> at if moment, europe's political leaders are looking nervously to greece, the radical left party has just won elections there promising to end unpopular austerity. not so fast say other european leaders. they want athens to stick to the promises made when greece was bailed out, namely to reform rather than spend. but after six years of recession, life for order people is as bad as ever with middle class greeks now slipping boo poverty. >> kenneth has never been one of athens wealth districts but

since the start of the economic crisis many order families slipping here -- living here have slipped into pove poverty. now it's opening its doors to alexandra and about 200 other families. the 39-year-old is looking for clothes for herself and her husband who lost his job at the start of the crisis. alexandra is most worried about her child who has a heart defect. > i have to remain optimistic. i owe that to my child. but it's very difficult. one doctor asked me to pay an extra 2,000 euros in cash. what do you do in that situation? >> alexandra had a job as a secretary, but after three years of struggling to make ends meet in the crisis, she had a nervous breakdown and lost her job. there's no welfare state provision here in greece. poverty is seen as something to be concealed. alexandra is ashamed to show us

her home. we visit a primary school close to the church. the greek rescue plan seems to have spared little thought for the country's children. the teachers tell us they've watched their pupils growing thinner by the week. they're often unconcentrated and sometimes even aggressive. >> the crisis began here five years ago. the parents of more and more of our children lost their jobs. children became depressed. some of them came to school without even a sandwich, and we had to do something for them. >> the mayor is backing the teachers and parents private initiative for the children. the state is providing no assistance. what counts here is self help and optimism. this is hand made soap that they're going to sell. the proceeds will be used to buy meat for the children's

families. >> we don't want them to end up on the street cavs cavs advantaging through rubbish. we have all laughed and partied together but europe has forgotten us. >> and if you deprive the children of a decent education and health care, then the crisis will also effect the generation to come. >> finally to switzerland where the famous actor charlie chaplan spent the last 25 years of his life. he left the u.s. in the 1950's, fleeing the mccarthy era witch hunts and accusations of being a communist. he settled eventually in a swiss villa which chaplan's children have now decided to turn into a museum devoted to his life and work. to find out more, our reporters met up with charlie chaplan's son who took them on a tour as the little tramp's last home. >> in the year 1952, charlie chaplan set off to look for a

new home for himself and his family by lake geneva. chaplan fell in love with an old wine growing estate. a manor house dating back to 1830, perched above. at that time, charlie chaplan was already among the world's best known entertainers, a star of silent slapstick movies with his trademark bowler hat and mustache. ♪ >> chaplan died in 1977. in his final years things became a little quieter here. but people continue to visit his house, even to this very day. >> here's what a language that everyone could understand, his facial expressions and gestures. that's unusual. it was a magic that existed before the advent of the talkies. the fascination stems from the

fact that he expressed himself with his body. that's how he managed to be understood by everyone. >> now his house will soon reopen as a museum, canadian curator is in charge of the project. the glamour of a bygone era is very present. >> the greatest stars of the 20th century were frequent visitors. just imagine the celebrities of the past. sophia loren climbing the staircase to the salon and there she is warmy received by chaplan's wife una. >> the families belongings are being stored here while it under goes the transformation into the new sem chaplan's world. and there are attempts being

made to repurchase lost pieces of furniture. the house should look as it did during chaplan's lifetime. a separate film projection room is also planned. here his critical films, such as the great dictator, will be screened. that was his first talky, a famous parody of hitler and the nazis. >> the museum has one main. charlie chaplan will receive the visitors who come here from all over the world. they'll find out about his life, and the private person behind the film maker.

>> the scupchur was created by an english artist from chaplan's birth place, london. even the facade of two social housing blocks commemorate him. and now there will be another memorial to his life. in his villa with its large park. the museum is due to open in 2016, a reminder of the genius of charlie chaplan who was far more than just a comedian and a film producer. >> well that's all for today. thanks for watching, and remember do feel free to get in touch with any comments. but for now it's good-bye from all of us here and look forward to seeing you next time.

steves: a selection of ferries make the 50-mile crossing between helsinki and tallinn nearly hourly. because of the ease of this delightful two-hour cruise and the variety a quick trip over to estonia adds to your nordic travels, pairing helsinki and tallinn is a natural. stepping off the boat in tallinn, the capital of estonia, you feel you've traveled a long way culturally from finland.

its a mix of east and west. tallinn's nordic lutheran culture and language connect it with stockholm and helsinki, but two centuries of czarist russian rule and nearly 50 years as part of the soviet union have blended in a distinctly russian flavor. fins and estonians share a similar history. first, swedish domination, then russian. then independence after world war i. until 1940, the estonians were about as affluent as the fins, but then estonia was gobbled up by an expanding soviet empire and spent the decades after world war ii under communism. when the ussr fell, estonia regained its freedom, and in 2004, it joined the european union. tallinn has modernized at an astounding rate since the fall of the soviet union. its business district shines with the same glass and steel gleam you'll find in any modern city. yet nearby are the rugged and fully intact medieval walls,

and the town within these ramparts has a beautifully preserved old-world ambiance. among medieval cities in the north of europe, none are as well preserved as tallinn. the town hall square was a marketplace through the centuries. its fine old buildings are a reminder that tallinn was once an important medieval trading center. today it's a touristy scene, full of people just having fun. through the season, each midday, cruise-ship groups congest the center as they blitz the town in the care of local guides. like many tourist zones, tallinn's is a commercial gauntlet. here there's a hokey torture museum, strolling russian dolls, medieval theme restaurants complete with touts, and enthusiastic hawkers of ye olde taste treats. woman: [ laughs ] steves: but just a couple blocks away is, for me, the real attraction of tallinn -- workaday locals enjoying real freedom and better economic times.

still-ramshackle courtyards host inviting cafés. bistros serve organic cuisine in a chic patina of old-world-meets new. and just outside the walls, it seems there's no tourism at all. under towering ramparts, the former moat is now a park, perfect for a warm afternoon stroll.

♪ this is guijie street, beijings