♪ damien: hello and welcome to "focus on europe," bringing you the human stories behind the headlines from all over europe. i'm damien mcguinness, and i'm really pleased you could join us. on today's program -- it's "goodbye, germany," for british allied troops. why sweden may not be the promised land for refugees. and the parisian partygoers who are not keeping up with the neighbors. this week, germany celebrates its 25th birthday. well, the germany we know today anyway. that's because it was 25 years ago that communist east germany and the capitalist west were

reunified after the fall of the berlin wall. it marks the point when the country became a united, sovereign state again. after the second world war germany was of course karte occupied by the allies. and many stayed to help set up the new germany. well now, 70 years on, the last british troops are leaving their base in the north german town of bergen-hohne. reporter: lieutenant colonel john cargill has returned to the base where he was once the commanding officer. bergen-hohne garrison in lower saxony has been a british military base in germany since the end of world war ii and will continue to be for a few more months. cargill shows us where he once had his office. cargill: i remember exactly.

it was the window at the top left-hand end of the building, yes. reporter: at the time of germany's reunification, cargill commanded 850 troops of the scots guards. cargill: it's a very nostalgic time. the scots guards and before us the welsh guards spent many years in bergen-hohne, and to see it now all empty and ready to be handed back to the german federal authorities is something, which i don't think many of us expected to see in our lifetime. it's a strange feeling. reporter: during the cold war, the iron curtain between east and west germany was the front line. the scots guards were responsible for security along one stretch of the border until fall 1989, when it collapsed. some here were very worried about what german reunification might bring. cargill: i wasn't. i welcomed it. having spent most of my military career in germany and having patrolled the inner-german border as we did, and having visited east berlin and seen some of the less attractive

elements of the gdr, i welcomed the fact that unification was going to take place. reporter: at its peak, bergen-hohne was home to some 5,000 british troops. many lived in the barracks with their families. now only a small number remain. the morning report is a rather straightforward affair. after reunification, many allied troops remained in germany, helping with new assignments, such as the gulf war and afghanistan. bergen-hohne continued to be an important allied military base. >> for many of the soldiers and their families, this would've been the first place they were posted to and the only place they served, until they'd gone back to the uk. now you'll meet some people that

i know have been here for 15-20 years. that's all they've known, so germany has been their life more than the united kingdom. reporter: many of the british stationed here understood german politics better than the people back at home. liaison officer hugh pierson shows us around the old officers' mess, the site of many a political debate. margaret thatcher, the british prime minister at the time, also came in for some criticism, especially for her initial opposition to german reunification. >> she was one politician, with her own opinion. but i have no doubt that we as citizens knew that reunification had a future, and that it would be a good future.

cargill: there's a lot of history that's been written about margret thatcher's view and about the french president's view. i'm not sure that really was very clear at the time, and whether she was right -- well, you can argue. reporter: germany has become a second home to john cargill. he'd just as soon settle here for good, even after the british forces withdraw. now he's just hoping his wife will agree. damien: european political leaders have woken up to the fact that the biggest challenge facing europe is the migrant crisis. over the next few years millions of people are likely to come. but eastern europeans, are nervous, saying they're not used to migrants or that they are too poor to cope. while in britain, many just say there's no room. in sweden though, taking in refugees is seen as a humanitarian duty. but when it comes to long term integration, it's a different picture.

reporter: mahmoud bitar has been called the most famous refugee in all sweden. he often runs into fans who want to have their picture taken with him and he's only been in the country a few months. his long trek to northern europe took him a whole year. he ended up in orebro, about 200 kilometers west of stockholm. bitar: at first, i was surprised to see hardly anyone in the streets here. i come from a city of more than a million. there's always something happening in the streets, always people out and about. reporter: many aspects of life in sweden have taken some getting-used-to. so, mahmoud started making videos about his experiences and posting them online. in this one, he talks about the quiet evenings, and how different it is from back home. bitar: good lord, it's boring here!

reporter: his videos have collected more than a million hits in all. there's also one with a dog. bitar: you see this dog? even he's got a proper european passport. reporter but for asylum-seekers : like mahmoud, it can take several years to get a 'proper european passport', even in relatively welcoming sweden. that's frustrating to many immigrants here. but the red tape isn't the only problem -- the language is another. every immigrant to sweden can go to a state language school. learning swedish is one of the most important steps toward integration. almost every town offers classes like this one. mokhtar fedaie from afghanistan is in an advanced course. he dreams of a better future here. but even after four years, language is still a barrier. fedaie: my first year in sweden, i thought, how can anyone understand this language? will i ever learn swedish? it was very hard. i couldn't imagine ever being

able to speak swedish. reporter: for many immigrants, learning swedish is a major obstacle. so they stay among themselves, and don't mingle much with locals. and it isn't always easy to make contact with swedes, as the swedish teacher herself admits. >> we native swedes need to be willing to get to know the new swedes. that's one of the sticking points. we have to make better use of opportunities to interact with the new swedes. >> at first, sweden seemed like a cold and off-putting country. locals often avoid direct contact with refugees, and that's a problem. reporter: immigrants who are taking swedish classes receive a 450 euros a month in benefits, for two years. it's part of a program to help them integrate into swedish society.

but often, that process doesn't go as smoothly as planned. almost every town has neighborhoods like orebro's vivalla. most of the residents in this subsidized housing are immigrants. the mosque is the main hub for social life. most of the immigrants are originally from the middle east and africa. mokhtar likes to spend his free time downtown, where the shops and cafes remind him of his dream of a better life. he says he had a hard time finding a job. when mokhtar isn't attending his classes, he works on a local farm. fedaie: if you used to work in a shop, for example, and you think you'll get the same kind of job here, that's not realistic. so you just have to try out other jobs. reporter only 27 percent of : immigrants who were granted asylum last year have found steady work.

mokhtar fedaie is one of them, and he takes pride in that achievement. fedaie: over and over, i've seen people arrive here with very unrealistic expectations. they think they'll get a certain model of car. or they'll get a big house and a lot of money. reporter for many immigrants, : their disappointment ends up a source of ongoing frustration. even after ten years here, immigrants earn only half of the swedish average. mahmoud, the video maker, has to wait another eight months before he'll be able to register. there's a huge backlog of applications. then he'll finally be eligible for language classes. so for now, he mainly stays within the immigrant community. he still has big dreams for life in his adopted home, but for now they're on hold

damien: europe's reaction to the migrant crisis is controversial, and it's certainly got you talking. kenneth from the us emailed to say that "focus on europe" was taking a left-wing view of the crisis, presumably because we tend to focus on the plight of individual refugees. ian from massachusetts on the other hand wrote to say that not taking in refugees would be mean-spirited. do join the discussion and let me know what you think about that or any of the stories on the show. a decade and a half ago, when i first moved to berlin, the cool place to live and party was a district called prenzlauer berg in eastern berlin. rents were cheap. and there were plenty of clubs. today i still live there. but the party has definitely moved on, mainly because of rising property prices. in paris prices have risen even more. but in one area, the party is still very much there, whether locals like it or not.

reporter night after night, : thousands of young people flock to the canal saint-martin in central paris -- to meet friends, have a drink or two and hang out. the picturesque canal, which leads to the seine, has turned into party central. >> the atmosphere's great and it's peaceful. >> here we're free and don't have to pay any entrance fees. the police don't bother you if you smoke a joint. >> i like to sit by the water in paris. here you can chat in peace and relax. but talking isn't enough for many of the young people who flock here. at midnight the party is only getting started and folks are getting g y. >> he's a friend. actually, he's the little brother of a friend. we just met him. his brother left and he's spending the evening with us. reporter: the leftovers from the nightly parties are left on the

embankment or tossed in the canal. it's an unattractive sight in what's otherwise an increasingly attractive neighborhood. tourists now come in droves to the canal saint-martin. and many parisians who work in the media, fashion or advertising are buying apartments here. they're paying upwards of 9,000 euros per square meter, so some flats can cost a million euros. for their money, residents expect peace and quiet, at least at night. bertrand lukacs heads a citizen's initiative that wants to put an end to the non-stop partying. >> some residents simply can't take it anymore. they want to set up citizen patrols to police the streets at night. reporter at city hall, they're : aware of the problem. they've put up posters asking people not to ruin the canal they find so inspiring. so far they've had little effect, but the district mayor is hesitant to take stronger action.

>> the excesses take place very late at night and often involve lots of people. so sending in the forces of law and order isn't likely to have only a positive effect. reporter it might only add fuel : to the fire. residents have posted photos of the canal strewn with garbage on the internet. the conflict has even become a political issue. who does the canal belong to? ordinary people or the owners of the swanky apartments overlooking it? johanna luyssen, a journalist at liberation, says the battle for the canal is a form of class conflict. luyssen: is this going to become a completely gentrified city, full of wine bars where a glass of wine costs 10 euros? that's beyond the means of many. so where should they go?

reporter but many residents are : up in arms that their neighborhood has become party central. >> they could go elsewhere, like to the parc andre citroen. it's a huge park in the 15th where they wouldn't bother anyone. but these young people by the canal don't think much of that idea. >> the real party animals come in the afternoon, but they don't bother anyone. no one's sleeping then! >> the canal is the meeting place for young people when they go out. reporter: adele and roxane are proposing a compromise -- party if you want, but keep it clean. >> we're distributing garbage bags. you have so many things here.

can i give you one? reporter adele and roxane : understand the concerns of local residents, but they plan to keep coming to the canal. >> we need to party, but that's dying out in paris. there are fewer spots to hold them, everything's so structured and monitored. >> partying is a celebration of life, so you have to party! reporter: they'll be back tomorrow. to them, paris just wouldn't be paris without its laissez faire attitude and joie de vivre. damien: when it comes to the ukraine conflict, western media usually portrays russia as the aggressor. but in some other conflicts, russia is seen very differently. that's the case in abkhazia, which used to be part of the former soviet state of georgia but broke away during a bloody civil war in the 1990's. i've reported from there quite a few times and can remember how abkhaz people would always tell me how aggressive georgians are. and how thankfully they had russia to protect them.

a very different narrative to the one you usually hear in the west. but for ordinary people in abkhazia, living in a state not recognized by most of the world means life is tough. reporter the harbor of sukhumi : is an area rich in history. this boat, the kawkaz, the caucausus in english, lies stranded. much like region itself. sukhumi was once the soviet riviera, a holiday paradise thrown into turmoil two decades ago, first by its separation from georgia, and then by war. we're travelling to the south of the country. the area is home to farmers who make a living from hazelnut plantations. dzhuliya mikiya harvests around one ton per year, which earns her the equivalent of up to 700 euros a month. she sells her nuts at the market in abkhazia or georgia.

she manages the plantation with her neighbor gunter. they tell us they do everything together. mikiya: life was easier before the war between abkhazia and georgia. but the situation is improving, slowly but surely. reporter the beachfront hotels : are also enjoying a boom. at the holiday resort of sosnovaya roscha, all 400 beds are booked out, even during off season. most rooms are now taken by russians, just as they were during the soviet era. russians can afford a holiday, and the ruble is the official currency here. >> i used to go to other places, to egypt, italy or france. >> such beautiful nature. there's nowhere else like it. it's not like this in crimea, i've never seen trees as huge as the ones here.

reporter nearly all the guests : are from russia. and the numbers are set to rise. >> i'm planning to build a large swimming pool to attract guests in spring and autumn when it's not beach season. that would boost our financial situation even more. reporter and it's not just : tourists who come here from russia. russian troops are also here, in closed-off neighborhoods and military bases. the abkhazian government sees their small, unrecognized country as a fortress in the middle of a geopolitical conflict. >> we are of course on the side of russia from a political point of view. that's why the european union, the european countries, they are in the other camp europe and they don't want to do anything which would encourage our independence. reporter some locals are talking : politics over a game of backgammon. they say independence won't happen without a guarantee of safety from russia. but some feel like big brother

is too overbearing. >> moscow has a huge influence on our politics here, no doubt about it. but it's time we learned to stand on our own two feet. >> now russia provides us military assistance which is important to not be afraid of attack from georgia. and it provides us financial assistance to restore our economy. what is bad in it i think? reporter it's estimated that : 5000 russian troops are stationed in abkhazia. many here feel grateful for the protection of russia. near the border to georgia, armored tanks are on their way to a military exercize. and it's also time for dzhuliya to head for the border. a sack like this weighs around 35 kilos. some neighborhoods here have become ghost towns. the previous residents have either fled or were expelled to georgia - the result of ethnic cleansing.

but a few thousand refugees have slowly trickled home. european funding has helped build a school for them in the gali district. they also teach georgian here as part of their flagship project. dzhuliya has arrived at the border, where she loads her trolley to continue her journey on foot. at 60 years old, she's grown tired of the border crossing. mikiya: i've spent my whole life here in abkhazia. i'll live and die here. at the border, the guards tell us to stop filming. it's a restricted area, they say, and we have to delete much of our video. we're left with one of dzhuliya heading off to market. she has to pay customs duty on

her hazelnuts. abkhazia needs both revenue and recognition. damien: i remember that border crossing well. when we were last there the only way to cross with all our camera equipment was in a horse-drawn cart. but now to turkey, which is enjoying an economic boom. one of the most visible results of which is traffic congestion as more people are able to afford a car. all the more reason for people in the town of ula to stick to their tradition of using two wheels rather than four. reporter: fahrettin civelek has been riding a bike for 70 years. he doesn't even own a car. and when he has to travel somewhere far away, he takes the bus. civelek: cycling is very pleasant. there are places you can't go with a car. my bike takes me everywhere i

want to go and it doesn't need any gas. in the old days we didn't even have rubber tires. back then we rode on the metal. and there was no asphalt, so it made lots of noise. reporter: ula lies in a valley, so the town is very flat. that makes cycling here a breeze. many of the locals still ride vintage bicycles. >> my bike is 65 years old. it's still in original condition. i've only replaced a few parts. reporter: necati soy is 79 years old. he repairs bicycles and business is booming. soy goes everywhere on his british-built bike. soy: i ride my bike to the market and i ride it through the mountains. i use it like a car. reporter: but how did the people of ula get to be such passionate cyclists? the son of an aga, who owned a

large estate, brought the first bicycle to ula from izmir in the 1930's. he died years ago and his house has fallen to wrack and ruin, but cycling is still very much alive here. bikes have a major influence on the rhythm of life in ula. ♪ >> it's a lifestyle. everyone from young to old rides a bike. reporter: civelek takes care of the shopping, often at the bazaar. elsewhere in turkey it's usually the women who bring home the groceries. in ula it's mainly the men. although here the bicycles carry most of the load. >> cycling keeps me healthy. and how else could i bring all this home?

reporter: "may allah protect you" -- cyclists in ula place their faith in divine providence. so naturally they also ride their bikes to friday prayers. fahrettin civelek may be 80, but he plans to keep cycling for a while yet. and the numbers are on his side. statistics show residents of ula live several years longer than the average turk, thanks to allah and their bikes. damien: that's good news for all of us who like cycling. well, that's it for today. thanks for watching. do get in touch anytime with your thoughts and comments. but in the meantime, it's goodbye from me and the whole team here. look forward to seeing you next time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] yy

hello, there, and welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, october 13th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >> the japan neat's government-plan to relocate a u.s. military base in okinawa suffered a major setback. the governor revoked approval for land reclaimation needed. he says that approval had legal flaws. he has notified the central government's regional outpost. the japanese and