host: this week, global 3000 heads to mumbai in india. the megacity is expanding at an uncontrolled rate. will that be the end of mangrove forests and the flamingos? in egypt, the police force seems to operate according to its own rule, leaving many citizens traumatized. but first, a rare glimpse into life in north korea. more and more people are successfully escaping the world's most isolated country. we hear one young woman's story. it's been almost 70 years since the korean peninsula was split in half. since then, north korea has been ruled by a communist dictatorship. life in the two countries could hardly be more different.

the average life expectancy in north korea is 70 years. whereas in south korea, it's 80. in north korea, 24 out of every 1000 children die before the age of five, a result of poor medical care and nutrition. in the north, adults weigh just 52.6 kilos on averge. that's 12 kilos less than in the south. hardly anyone in north korea has internet access. the country is virtually shut off from the rest of the world. and yet, despite the odds, some north koreans do manage to escape. >> chanyang ju wanted very simple things -- enough to eat every day, a chance to spend time with her family, a boyfriend. >> my name is chanyang ju. i am 25 years old. >> her incredible story begins here in north korea, where she

was born and grew up in the midst of a famine. according to estimates, 2 million people in the people's republic have died of malnutrition since the 1990s. >> north korea followed communist ideology with a planned economy. we had a food distribution system, but it wasn't working. in order to fill our stomachs, our mother and father would gather small grains and mix them with lots of dried vegetable leaves. we couldn't even imagine having rice. corn was our main source of food, and even that was hard to get. >> north korea has asia's second-largest army. the country isolated itself from the rest of the world in 1953. resistance to the kim dictatorship is forbidden. the ju family listened to foreign radio in secret.

>> when we heard all the information from outside, we began to feel that we'd been deceived. so my father decided that he could not let his children live in a place like that. >> he decided to flee the country, but that meant risking death. north korea's borders are secured with watchtowers and barbed wire. >> my father escaped first, and then the rest of my family left. i stayed behind. i was 18. i thought if i stayed behind like a hostage, my family would be able to escape safely. the authorities expected my father to return home because he had a daughter there. they were always monitoring me. >> if the police had known about her plan to escape, she'd have ended up in a so-called re-education camp. drawings by former inmates depict torture and brutality.

marzuki darusman from indonesia, currently un special rapporteur on north korea, collects such evidence. >> for the moment, we do have to recognize that the democratic people's republic of korea continues to pose a challenge to the international community in terms of its continuing practice of totalitarian repression of its people. we do have satellite imagery that clearly corroborates the existence of these camps. between 180,000 to 200,000 inmates are being incarcerated. crimes against humanity took place and continue to take place in that country. >> mr. darusman presents his findings to various un commissions at regular intervals. and just as regularly,

objections are raised by north korea's un representatives. >> we would like to once again categorically reject the special reporter and his report on the human rights situation in the dprk. this special reporter and his report constitute extreme manifestation of politicization, selectivity, and double standards and have no relevance whatsoever with genuine human rights. >> chanyang ju had to wait for three years until her family had enough money to make her escape possible. first, she went to china, a risky move because the chinese tend to promptly turn over escapees to north korea. >> i swam across the river. a north korean soldier who was a border guard helped me cross the river because my father had bribed him. when i crossed the du-man river, i was in china.

>> she crossed through thailand before reuniting with her family in south korea. >> the morning after my arrival, after i'd seen my family again, i didn't dare open my eyes. i could hear my mother cooking in the kitchen. i could hear my father's voice and my younger brother and sister. i didn't want to open my eyes because it felt like a dream. i was afraid i would wake up from the dream if i opened my eyes. >> nothing compares to the pain of leaving your child behind. when we arrived here, people would invite us to big korean feasts. but we couldn't enjoy them because our daughter wasn't with us. even when i went to sleep, i was restless and i'd get lost in nightmares. >> at first it wasn't easy for chanyang to find her bearings in her new surroundings. >> when i started going to the gigantic supermarkets here, i

didn't know how to use the trolleys, so people would look at me strangely. i learned how to use the subway cards from my younger siblings. now i can scan my bag like you saw me do today. >> chanyang has since become quite well-known in her new home of south korea. >> are you nervous? >> a little bit exciting. >> she often appears on television, to tell her story. and in doing so, she has one aim, above all. >> when i was in north korea, i risked my life to listen to the radio from the outside world. i had to do it in strict secrecy. i believe there are other people there who are also listening just the way i did.

>> it is her first time to the united states. please give her a cheer. >> she was even invited to the us by an ngo. >> chanyang is a great example of the value and the role that north korean refugees can play because she's helping south korean and even international audiences understand a lot more than we used to about north korea. >> chanyang ju has begun a new life. she hopes the two koreas will come together one day, like she and her boyfriend, a south korean. the two plan to marry in a few months. host: north korea is far from the only country to repress its citizens. the human rights organization amnesty international has analyzed data from 160 countries. findings reveal repeated state-sanctioned abuse in 122 of them. many regimes deliberately employ

physical and psychological force, with the aim of procuring information or coercing confessions, quashing resistance and intimidating people, or as a drastic form of punishment. in egypt, too, state control frequently is enforced with violence and abuse. people live in fear of the police, who, for years, have been operating outside of the law. >> egypt and its police force -- it's a story of power, humiliation and fear. it's also a story that safwat nessim knows all too well. he lived in germany for a long time, but returned to egypt to take care of his ailing mother. last september, he and his son found themselves thrown in jail. it soon became clear that someone had made a false accusation. despite that, the police detained them for six days.

>> they put us in cells with 70, 80, sometimes even 120 people. i had to bribe guards to be able to sleep near the door just to get a little air. they beat my son right in front of me. they only hit me twice. >> hearing this upsets his mother. safwat is diabetic, and needs his medication daily. the police didn't allow him to take it in jail. >> who's not scared of the police? police chiefs, maybe, or army officers, or perhaps government officials aren't afraid of them. but ordinary people have to be scared. >> having to pay money to sleep near the door, that would be corruption. six days in jail for no reason, arbitrary cruelty. but even worse is the physical violence. an online cairo newspaper by young journalists is critical of the regime.

they've been demanding more democracy since the revolution in 2011. one of the journalists reported about a demonstration. he was arrested and kept in jail for six months. a second was held by the police for 72 days, accused of starting a forbidden organization. >> there were three or four police officers. during the interrogation, they beat us for two hours solid until they were exhausted. then they took a break and we had to stand the whole time on one leg with our arms raised. >> one police officer held his gun to my head while interrogating me. i got the order from above to kill you now, he said. i prayed the islamic prayer of the faithful. i thought he was going to kill me. then he pulled the trigger three times.

>> egypt is not a police state. the state is part of the police force. that's closer to the truth. the police, the secret police, the army -- that's the real state. we're just a small part of the whole. >> police violence is nothing new. before the revolution, the police filmed their own actions. they weren't afraid. not much has changed since then. >> we still have these problems, of course. they haven't been solved yet. there are still police attacks and corruption. >> mohammed used to be a police officer. after the revolution, he tried to reform the police force from within. he was made to retire early at age 50. he assures his son that there are some honest police officers. but they don't stand a chance against the network of corrupt

police, officials, and politicians left over from the mubarak era. >> every free person should speak out if someone is humiliated or treated unfairly. i'm against police brutality. the victim could very well be my father or brother or even me. >> these doctors are on strike. they are protesting against being victimized by the police. they say that a police officer who was not satisfied with his treatment beat up two doctors and waved his pistol around the hospital. when the doctors filed a complaint, they were laughed out of the building. >> they said to us, we are your masters. you do what we say and keep your mouth shut. >> every day, the doctors treat patients who are brought in from a local police station. this patient is not one of them. but patients are brought in from the police station badly injured. a lot happens in the cells.

it seems the police are not interested in preventing violence between inmates. >> they are always deep wounds from being stabbed or cut, not light injuries like being burned with a lighter. they're real wounds. someone may come in, holding his cut-off ear in his hand, or his severed nose. >> human rights activists say torture is systemic in egypt's police force. safwat nessim says the police are a law unto themselves. his problems started with this house. he bought some apartments here and got into a dispute with the builders over unfinished work. nothing out of the ordinary in egypt. one construction worker accused safwat of beating him. although the charges were withdrawn shortly thereafter, five police officers came to put safwat nessim in jail for six days.

nessim says egyptian president adbdul fatah al-sisi should come to the aid of ordinary citizens to protect them from the police. >> i hope president al-sisi is keeping an eye on the police. they're worse than during mubarak's time. they're meaner and tougher. they have no respect for people or human rights. they just do whatever they want to. >> we asked the interior ministry to respond to these accusations, but our requests went unanswered. host: and now for our "global ideas" series, where we report on people working to protect biodiversity. today, our focus is on the mangrove forests, sensitive ecosystems found on many coastal areas around the world. but they also grow near cities like mumbai in india.

our reporter sonia phalnikar paid a visit to thane creek. she wanted to find out what the rapidly expanding megacity is doing to protect its mangroves. >> the megacity of mumbai. more than 20 million people live and work in this coastal city. space is at a premium. more than half the residents live in slums and shanty towns. but this, too, is mumbai. an incredible natural spectacle -- every year, 30,000 flamingos come to thane creek, the northern part of the estuary that forms mumbai harbor. the birds migrate from the

neighboring state of gujarat, some from as far away as the middle east. thane creek was declared a wildlife sanctuary last year. there are dense mangrove forests here, so it's only accessible by boat. marine biologist n. vasudevan heads the forest service's mangrove cell. his job is to protect mumbai's mangrove forests. >> during the ring tides, this whole area is covered by saline water. in a situation like this, other trees cannot grow. mangroves have special adaptations to grow in such areas. if the mangroves were not there, this whole place would have been barren. >> the creek's mangrove forests provide a habitat for many plants and animals. there's plenty of food for them.

the flamingos feed on algae that grow on the mudflats and are exposed at low tide. they also eat mollusks and crustaceans. mangroves are also a spawning ground for several species of fish and crabs. but this seemingly healthy ecosystem in the middle of mumbai is no paradise. in many places, the lack of toilets and sanitation means wastewater ends up unfiltered in the sea, just like plastic and other refuse. that's taking its toll on the mangroves, suffocating their roots. the fragile ecological balance has been upset. >> we are trying to bring a coordination between different stakeholders, including the

urban bodies, to address this problem seriously. i am sure it will work in the next few years. a major sewage treatment facility has to be created -- not one, but maybe many, at strategic locations. >> pollution isn't the only threat. illegal shanty towns are a major problem all over mumbai. in some places, the mangrove forests are destroyed to make room for new slums. makrand ghodke and his team are in charge of monitoring mumbai's mangroves. they use maps and satellite images to identify the location and size of mangrove ecosystems in the city. >> sometimes they resort to extreme measures. early this year, after a tough court battle, they demolished an

illegal settlement in a mangrove area. in the past four years, ghodke has had about 3000 huts pulled down, earning himself the nickname "demolition man." >> sometimes i'm asked how i can demolish people's huts. but mumbai's population is skyrocketing. mangroves that protect the city are being destroyed. how can we not take action? >> within the sanctuary, the forest service is getting a helping hand from germany. the g.i.z. development agency is building an information center and a park here. it's also supporting an initiative to persuade local businesses to make a voluntary commitment to preserving biodiversity. the initiative's organizers say some companies are cooperating but in general, it's hard to convince them.

the forest service sees healthy mangroves as the key to mumbai's survival. so it's trying to reintroduce local mangrove species that have been threatened with extinction. they've already raised 15 varieties in this nursery. seema adgaonkar regularly conducts awareness campaigns. >> the mangroves are mumbai's life insurance. they provide us with a lot of oxygen. and we're all responsible for protecting the trees. >> many mumbai residents aren't even aware of what a treasure they have here.

today, school pupils have come to see and learn about the creek's exotic wildlife. >> i was really surprised to see flamingos here. i had no idea we had any in india. i think they're amazing. >> and evidently, the flamingos aren't the only attraction for the young visitors. host: on the coast or inland, people everywhere are trying to protect their country's forests. and for the traditional clans of ethiopia, wooded areas are of particular importance. ♪ >> people need the forest. it provides us with food, and wood for our houses, and a habitat for a lot of animals.

we are all responsible for protecting forest. ♪ >> as clan leader, i ensure that no tree is felled and no grassland is cleared without my permission. my people can only remove something from the forest if i think it is necessary. ♪ >> our holy sites, the didos, are passed on from one generation to the next. that's where clans pray for rain or a good harvest.

♪ >> the forest is where the gods listen to us. ♪ >> when a sacred spot is destroyed, there are repercussions for the people living here. we'll experience droughts and floods, which will destroy the harvest. ♪ >> we feel strongly about forest conservation. i challenge the government to ensure our forest has a future. ♪

host: and that's all from global 3000 this week. next time we head to honduras, one of the world's most dangerous countries, where organized crime is a huge problem. for decades, violent interactions between gangs have been part of daily life. we meet an artist who has immersed himself in gang culture without actually becoming a member. why do so many young men join gangs and ultimately lose their lives as a result? all that and more in the next edition of global 3000. until then, don't forget you can watch us online anytime. and do write to us, too, at global3000@dw.com or on facebook. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ >> memphis, tennessee. it has been written, if music were religion, then memphis would are jerusalem and sun studio its most sacred shrine. and you are here. with patrick sweany. ♪ got miles to drive before i see ♪ ♪ three people in a rumbled suit ♪ >> i'm patrick sweany. i'm a singer, guitar writer, currently residing in nashville, tennessee. i'm joined by my awesome, awesome band, dillon napier on the drums and seth on the guitar and jason harrison on the bass.