>> hello and welcome to focus on europe, where we take you behind the headlines to give you insight into the lives of the ordinary people across the continent. i'm michelle henery. thank you for joining us. coming up on today's show -- shattered dreams, how france treats soccer hopefuls. fighting on, how farmers near istanbul are loosing their land and: norwegian gridlock, how sales in electric cars backfired . if the beautiful game, or soccer, as it is also known, is not your thing, you might be forgiven for not being aware that the 2016 european championship is upon us. there is an incredible amount of

excitement in the air. and it's no surprise that young boys the world over dream of becoming football stars. this made us wonder, what does it take to become one of these celebrated players with the multimillion euro contracts? our reporter went to france, a country which recruits many of its star athletes from its former colonies in africa. as we found out, not everyone's dream of making it on the pitch comes true, and for some it can be a nightmare. tieucara coulibaly from ivory coast is working hard to make -- >> tieucara coulibaly from ivory coast is working hard to make his dream come true: to become a professional soccer player. he gave up everything to pursue his ambition, his home, his family. >> if you're a young african boy and you become a soccer player, it gives your whole village hope. you become a role model for thousands of people. they see that you set yourself a goal and didn't give up. but that can feel like intense pressure.

the young athlete suffered the -- >> but that can feel like intense pressure. e young athlete suffered the same fate as many others who are recruited by clubs for a probationary period, but then dropped after just weeks later. >> i'd pinned all my hopes on it. i thought it was my big chance. i gave it my all. the co-trainer said i was good. but nothing came of it. it was a blow. reporter a blow that left him : facing a difficult dilemna. he didn't want to go home. the disappointment was too great, and not only for his parents. there were no other prospects for frahim ine. he ended up falling into the hands of shady agents who secured him a contract with a provincial club. his payment was food and board. the club promised they would sort out his immigration papers.

>> we waited and waited. but the club did nothing. my friend is still there. he knows he'll never get his papers. but what can he do? reporter: coulibaly is just one of hundreds of young soccer players from west africa who have gone to paris without papers and are waiting for their big break. some of them train at saint-denis, a club founded by kampos bilog, a former professional from cameroon. he invests a lot of energy improving their game. >> you have to remember that the competition is tough! reporter this young man was : recruited by a belgian club, which dumped him after his probationary period.

he continued to train, but then he injured his ankle. without papers or health insurance he can't go to a doctor. he wants to remain anonymous, because he doesn't want his family to see him this way. >> the club never even talked to me personally. they had my agent tell me they didn't want me. the agent told me i should go home and that they'd have me back for another go. but i didn't believe them. many of these west africans -- >> many of these west africans aren't even 18. they're out of their depth in the cut-throat soccer industry. kampos bilog lobbies the clubs to take more reponsibility . >> it's not ok, what the clubs do. what supposed to become of these young men? if it weren't for my project, they'd have nowhere to go.

they don't know anyone here. reporter: french and belgian clubs are constantly on the lookout for promising young players from the former colonies who could make them a lot of money. every now and then, they find one. a brilliant new soccer player is a potential goldmine. samuel eto'o from cameroon is now a star of international soccer. he too was once among the legions of african soccer players illegally living in france. patrick abraham has helped secure young players lucrative contracts. >> steven nzonzi came to us when he was 15. when he was 20 we sold him to blackburn for a million euros. then he was sold to stoke city for 8 million, then to sevilla for 8 million...and we always

get a percentage. we get a cut every time he switches clubs. reporter: the clubs' recruitment practices are now so controversial that most of them refuse to talk to us in front of the cameras. until a few years ago, amiens sc was among the clubs that recruit young men from west africa. >> just think how these kids feel when they're told they're not going to be taken on, how disappointed they are. it can do a lot of damage. reporter these days, amiens' : agents stick to looking for the next generation in city suburbs. coulibaly is still hoping to strike lucky. he's now a father and lives with his girlfriend's mother on the outskirts of paris. he didn't end up on the street, like so many west africans who move to france. >> when i come home in the

evenings, my family's waiting for me. they ask me how i am, how my day was. that warmth, that support, you need it. reporter coulibaly is now : training to be a sports counselor. he still hopes to become a professional soccer player one day. but in the meantime, he's found a way to earn a living. michelle do wealthy football : nations like france who recruit players from poor countries have a responsibility to provide more structure and security for the young men they bring here? let us know what you think about that or any of today's stories by getting in touch on facebook, email or twitter. after years of reconstruction, a mosque has just re-opened in the balkans. what makes the ottoman-era ferhadija mosque very special is that it is located in banja luka, capital of the bosnian serb entity, republika srpska,

which is part bosnia and herzegovina. during the 1992 bosnian war, serb forces destroyed all of the city's mosques in an attempt to strip the city of all traces of its muslim heritage. the diminished number of muslims who remain hope that the reopening symbolizes an acceptance of the region's islamic past. reporter kemal gunic gets : together with his friends at their favorite cafe right on the river through banja luka. all they can talk about is the ferhadija mosque's re-opening. for years, gunic has been helping to organize its reconstruction and collecting donations. now the re-opening may well help restore muslims' faith in the peace process. very few have returned so far. >> when i cross the street in banja luka, i hardly ever see anyone i can say hello to.

the more people return, the greater the chances i'll see someone i know. reporter many bosniaks live in : this valley just outside the downtown area, as a minority in the predominantly ethnic serb republika srpska, an autonomous entity in the bosnia-herzegovina federation. twenty years after the civil war, they still experience hostility and ostracism and have little political say. gunic's house is here, too. he shares it with his wife, their three children moved away long ago. one son lives in sweden. before he fled the civil war, he worked as a foreman in a shoe factory. afterwards, he started several companies and achieved a measure of prosperity. 25-year-old sandro hergic drops by for a visit. gunic tells him what exactly happened at the laying of the ferhadija mosque's cornerstone in 2001.

>> we hadn't had any problems with the serb administration till then. they'd actually been friendly and cooperative. there wasn't the slightest hint anything could happen. but then, after the bosniaks from every part of the country had come together here, we suddenly noticed the police had blocked off all our escape routes. reporter 300 bosniaks had : gathered for the ceremony. some 1000 serb extremists attacked them. >> from the window, i saw them attack a man, his name was murat badic. i could only watch as they stoned him to death. i couldn't help him. to be honest, i was far too scared to do anything. there were lots of police there, but they made no attempt to stop the attack. they just watched. reporter this time some ten : thousand people came from all over bosnia herzegovina for the

ceremony. a massive police and military presence effectively prevented any incidents. the government wasn't taking any chances. kemal gunic was excited. he'd worked for so long to bring this day about. >> i can't put into words how i feel. reporter the ferhadija or ferhat : pasha mosque is well known throughout bosnia. its official re-opening by clerical and political dignitaries was broadcast live on national television. ♪ the ceremony went peacefully. gunic is relieved. >> i think, now we've given a signal, and more bosniaks will have the confidence to return to

bosnia. now they can assume their traditional place in this society and live together with the others in peace. reporter gunic intends to do : even more to encourage the bosniaks to return to banja luka. with the re-opening of the ferhadija mosque, they have a common home to come back to. michelle turkey's president : erdogan has a dream of greatness for his country. the landscape of turkey has transformed profoundly in the years he has been in power. from roads, shopping malls and power plants to plans for creating the world's largest airport, the new istanbul mega hub. but local farmers had to give up art of their land without compensation. many of them have given up, but mustafa bozkurt is still fighting for his rights. reporter thirty cows and about a : dozen sheep are mustafa bozkurt's entire livelihood. every morning, he heads out to the pastures to see how they're doing. he says: the more tlc the cows get the more milk they give.

only a few meters away, the old turkey ends and the new turkey begins. istanbul's new airport, its third, is under construction right next to bozkurt's village. it's supposed to become the world's largest. an oak forest once stood on this site. >> the airport field will come to within 300 meters of our village. that'll be the end of agriculture here. over two thirds of our lands have been taken away from us without any compensation. the government justifies the expropriations by citing the common good, the good of the nation. -- reporter the government : justifies the expropriations by citing the common good, the good of the nation. with six runways planned, the mega-airport was conceived to become the principal hub between east and west, between europe and asia.

the first construction phase is scheduled for completion in two years. many turks see the new airport as a symbol for a developed, progressive turkey. it's also a symbol of president recep tayyip erdogan's expanding power. every now and then, president erdogan heads out to see how construction is progressing. the airport will eventually bear his name. environmentalists are protesting the loss of vast swaths of forest. the airport consortium brushes it off as an attempt to block progress. >> we acquired this area as fallow land. it as an ugly sight. and we're turning it into something by developing it. so from that perspective, we are the true environmentalists. reporter the access highways cut : straight through the largest continuous stretch of forest around istanbul.

losing a prime habitat and the megalopolis istanbul much of its green belt. mustafa bozkurt's village yenikoy on the black sea is divided over the colossal airport soon to appear next door. many local people have found work at the construction site and believe the airport will bring lasting prosperity to the area. some regard farmers like mustafa bozkurt as malcontents. >> as citizens of this country, we are proud of the new airport. it'll make us one of the developed countries at long last. other countries will envy us for it, and that's why they are trying to make it look bad. reporter mustafa bozkurt stays : away from the village cafe. he's made too many enemies. but he's fighting the nationalization of his land in the courts, and vows to take it to the european court of human rights, if necessary.

his ancestors founded this village nearly a century ago. he won't be intimidated by anyone. >> after this, they'll be asking me, 'why have you been talking to a foreign broadcaster again? that's not good. they'll throw you in prison!' that's how the neighbors talk, even though they've suffered huge injustices themselves. but they're all scared. reporter: mustafa bozkurt knows all too well that he can't win his one-man battle with the turkish government. but his house on the black sea is all he has. michelle norway proudly boasts : having the most electric cars per capita in the world. as the country strives to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, more and more incentives are being offered to the public to do away with their gas guzzlers

and invest in electric. but in an unexpected twist norway's roads are still clogged up. instead of encouraging people to switch to environmentally friendly public transport the incentives put more cars on the country's already congested roads. reporter when jane karlsen gets : behind the wheel of her bus, it should be smooth sailing. oslo has plenty of bus lanes, designed to speed up the flow of traffic for public transport. instead karlsen often finds herself stuck behind a line of cars. >> we have delays of up to thirty minutes. sometimes i spend the entire trip into the city stuck in a traffic jam. the cars that cause these

-- reporter the cars that cause : these traffic jams are no ordinary cars. they're electric cars, which run silently and without emissions. and they're permitted to travel in oslo's restricted bus lanes. norway is heavily subsidizing the sale of electric vehicles. e-cars aren't subject to the ordinary 25 percent sales tax. they're exempt from public parking fees in cities, and there are plenty of battery charging stations. meanwhile e-cars make up nearly a quarter of new car sales in norway. the incentives are part of a concept by the norwegian government to drastically reduce air pollution. traffic planner jan lund says the goal is to cut harmful emissions in half by 2030. by 2025, the plan calls for all new passenger cars to be zero-emission. >> we haven't decided to pass a ban on cars with combustion engines. we still believe we can complete this transition by 2025 if the incentives are attractive enough. it's an ambitous project that's

attracted a great deal of attention. and it's drawn many to visit oslo, including this delegation of industry experts and eu parliamentarians, who are being shown the latest in battery-charging technology. wealthy norway is investing up to 420 millon euros per year in the program, althouh the country has no domestic auto industry that will benefit from it directly. but not all norwegians favor this generous incentive program. transportation expert bard norheim says the program is putting even more cars on the road, with the unintended effect of increasing traffic congestion. >> the subsidies aren't going to the right places. they're much too broad, particularly in relation to what's going to public transportation and bicycle traffic, which are equally important. so the program is a success, but that success costs more than it's worth. but at least the additional electricity used by the e-cars

doesn't lead to more harmful emissions. -- reporter but at least the : additional electricity used by the e-cars doesn't lead to more harmful emissions. norway obtains its electricity from hydropower. bart von depontseele is pleased with his e-car. his commute to work is much faster now that he can use the bus lane. for him, buying an e-car was a worthwhile investment, even though it cost much more than a diesel. >> there are no road tolls or fuel costs, so it's much cheaper to operate. and we want to live more sustainably. that wasn't the main factor in our purchase, but it's an added bonus. reporter: but on longer stretches, von depontseele prefers to avoid the e-car, because he worries that he won't be able to find a free charging station when he needs one. so he still has a second car at home with a conventional combustion engine.

>> the subsidies aren't reducing congestion, especially in cities. an e-car takes up just as much space as any other car. reporter next year, norway plans : a new law that will reassess subsdies for electromobility. by 2025, norway wants its public transportation fleet to be fully-electric. jane karlssen hopes that she'll soon have the bus lanes to herself again. if all the cars on the road are emission-free, they'll no longer be allowed to use the bus lanes. michelle muslims all over the : world are currently celebrating ramadan, a month of prayer and all day fasting ((and -- fasting. for the hundreds of thousands of musl refugees who fled to for europe, observing this holy time is difficult since many are stuck in makeshift border camps or hostels. here in germany, an organization called kitchen on the run is trying to remedy that. it has provided a mobile kitchen

and dining space for refugees like nadeen to cook, share food and celebrate ramadan together with the locals. reporter it's been months since : nadeen went grocery shopping for dinner. >> this smells good. it reminds me of home. i'll use it later. we use it a lot in our cuisine. reporter: nadeen hasn't been able to cook once, since she fled the war in syria for europe. it's not possible in refugee homes. jule schroder from berlin joined forces with some friends to set about changing that. they founded a project called "kitchen on the run". it gives refugees like nadeen a chance to invite friends over and cook for them. >> i haven't cooked a meal for 6 months, so i'm thrilled to have a chance to make dinner for others in our home. cooking for others is part of my

culture. reporter she'll be cooking here : in a mobile transport container on the grounds of this church in duisburg. jule and her team raised 150.000 euros to turn it into a kitchen and travel with it across europe. since it took to the road in march, 1,200 refugees and their guests have eaten dinner in it. but tonight is different, and jule schroder is excited. >> tonight is special, because it's ramadan, so the refugees and people from duisburg who join them tonight will be breaking the fast. reporter: nadeen and her friends from a nearby refugee home are in charge today. after everyone's introduced themselves, it's down to business. everyone has a job to do, from

cleaning up to chopping vegetables. language barriers aren't a problem. >> i think today will be special because lots of refugees are coming who haven't been able to cook for a long time, and they'll be able to cook their own food, and also to share it with others, share their culture with others. it means a lot to people. reporter the mobile kitchen is : crisscrossing the whole of europe. it reached duisburg after stopovers in bari, italy, and marseille, france. the next stops are in the netherlands and sweden. the tables have been set outside. dinner is ready just before sunset. it's a perfect evening to break fast. >> we're so happy we can cook for our friends.

we've been so busy with the preparations we didn't have time to feel hungry! reporter: nadeen and her fellow chefs have invited 30 guests. nadeen believes that food is the way to the heart. if that's true, jule schroder's kitchen on the run is spreading a lot of love across europe. michelle: that's it for today. be sure to tune in next week when damian returns with a special program on brexit. he travels to london to take a closer look at britain's upcoming vote on whether to stay in the european union or leave. until next time, it's goodbye from me and the whole team. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

steves: i'm meeting my florentine friend tommaso at i fratellini, a venerable hole in the wall much loved among locals for its tasty sandwiches and wine sold by the glass. -grazie. -tommaso: thank you. and when you're done, you leave it on the rack. steves: boy, it's intense in the city. tommaso: yes, it is. well, if you want to leave the tourists, let's cross the river, and let's go to where the real florentines live and work. -steves: what's that? -tommaso: the oltrarno area. steves: there's much more to this town than tourism, as you'll quickly find in the characteristic back lanes

of the oltrarno district. artisans busy at work offer a rare opportunity to see traditional craftsmanship in action. you're welcome to just drop in to little shops, but, remember, it's polite to greet the proprietor. your key phrase is, "can i take a look?" -posso guardare? -man: certo. steves: grazie. here in this great city of art, there's no shortage of treasures in need of a little tlc. this is beautiful. how old is this panting? woman: this is a 17th-century painting. steves: from florence? woman: we don't know. -maybe the area is genova. -steves: genova. each shop addresses a need with passion and expertise. fine instruments deserve the finest care. grand palaces sparkle with gold leaf, thanks to the delicate and exacting skills of craftspeople like this. a satisfying way to wrap up an oltrarno experience is to enjoy a florentine steakhouse,

which any italian meat lover knows means chianina beef. the quality is proudly on display. steaks are sold by weight and generally shared. the standard serving is about a kilo for two, meaning about a pound per person. so, both of those for four people? woman: yes. steves: the preparation is simple and well established. good luck if you want it well done. man: i am hungry, yeah. oh, look at this. ah! steves: oh, beautiful. [ laughs ] man: wow. steves: chianina beef. -woman: white beans. -steves: okay. perfect. man: and that one. steves: so, the meat is called chianina. tommaso: that's its name, because it comes from the chianti. steves: oh, from chianti. okay. and tell me about this concept of the good marriage of the food, you know? tommaso: well, when you have the chianina meat, you want to have some chianti wine, and they go together well. they marry together. we say, "si sposano bene." steves: si sposano bene. a good marriage.

in other words, the wine is from tuscany, -and the meat is from tuscany. -tommaso: exactly. you don't want to have a wine from somewhere else. that's it.