michelle: welcome to "focus europe." i'm michelle henery. i'm glad that you could join us. on today's program we meet a few fearless europeans who are fighting for freedom. like these young ravers in kiev. by using music as a demonstration of democracy, they hope to break free of restrictions and tear down the power of oligarchs. >> if there are spaces where everything is forbidden, we fight here for freedom. michelle: freedom in turkey is being fought for in our first report. our reporter gunnar koehne introduces us to members of the country's press who are fighting for both their personal liberty and the freedom to do their jobs.

since july's failed military coup about 170 newspapers, magazines and tv stations have been shut down. gunnar, who has lived and worked in istanbul for many years, takes us to meet aydin engin a fellow journalist and longtime friend who was caught up in a recent wave of arrests. he is a veteran columnist at one of the last remaining newspapers critical of the government. at the age of 75 he's lived through several coups and arrests and continues to live by the courage of his convictions. reporter: they came for him in the early hours of the morning. aydin engin was led from his home by the police. he's not the first turkish journalist to be arrested in this way. aydin abi, as the 75-year-old newspaperman is respectfully called, is a good friend and conversaton partner for us german journalists in istanbul. i'm very worried about him. he has never tired of explaining and commenting on turkish

politics for us, like he did this july after the failed coup. and always with a touch of humor. aydin engin: this is the first coup that hasn't landed me in jail. on november 1st aydin engin's column in the turkish daily newspaper cumhuriyet, a, was blank. the public prosecutor claims that engin's writings support terrorism. we've only ever heard him call for peace and reconciliation in turkey. i encounter an angry crowd in front of cumhuriyet's building. engin was one of 13 leading journalists for the paper who were arrested. >> every day, innocent people are thrown in jail. enough is enough. reporter: cumhuriyet is one of the last turkish newspapers that criticizes erdogan's government. supporters guard the entrance, day and night, to discourage the police from arresting even more

of the staff. this is the office where engin writes his columns. he has been writing for cumhuriyet for 25 years -- though there have been interuptions. the remaining editorial staff is working on a new edition in the next room. the mood is glum, and the police are waiting outside. not far away, i meet up with engin's wife, oya baydar and we wonder what we can do for him. baydar is known beyond turkey's boundaries as an author. her novels have been translated into german and english. we browse through bookshelves. >> i'm currently working on a novel. but so preoccupied with worry that i can't write a single line.

reporter: the couple has braved hard times together. after the military coup of 1980, baydar and engin had to flee turkey. they lived in exile in germany for 12 years. engin drove a taxi to support the family. now the political situation in turkey is similar to the way it was back then. baydar: i have german as well as turkish citizenship. but to go into exile again? at our age, we'd rather go to prison. reporter: life on the streets of istanbul goes on as usual. but the country is being put to the test. engin has repeatedly warned against the danger of civil war. that angered the erdogan government. even after three days, none of us is permitted to speak to him. this is the independent news portal t24. two million people visit this website every day. the internet is a last refuge for journalists who have lost their jobs, like dogan akin.

he tells me about aydin engin's contribution. akin: he is a perfectionist when it comes to language. he double-checks everything before it's published. we've all learned a lot from him. i've never met anyone with such firm convictions. that will give him the strength to get through this arrest. reporter: this is the notorious police headquarters of istanbul. engin and his colleagues are being held here in the anti-terrorism section. finally, after five days, we get good news -- engin is being released under restrictions due to his age and the state of his health. engin: i was treated decently, but i've never seen such a trumped up indictment. we will not bow to this pressure. [applause] reporter: i meet with engin at

cumhuriyet's office the next morning. he has to stand in for editor-in-chief murat sabuncu, who is still in jail. engin: i'm doing okay, but my heart is with my colleagues who are still in prison. we don't know whether cumhuriyet will survive. but i told my young colleagues: don't ask what tomorrow brings, produce a good paper today. it's our newspaper. reporter: that's all the time he has for me. he has to go back to planning tomorrow's edition. which may be the last issue of cumhuriyet. >> since our brother aydin has returned, we feel stronger again. we're happy. now we'll produce a good newspaper. reporter: aydin engin once said that, in 50 years, he has survived three coups and three prison stays.

one thing is clear, he has no intention of giving up. michelle: gunnar told us that despite about a dozen employees at the paper being arrested, the paper defiantly declared in a headline, "we will not surrender." nazariy sovsun is someone else who does not give up. the 28 year old spent months outside in the harsh ukrainian winter during the maidan protests which began in november 2013. although the russia-friendly regime in power at the time was eventually ousted, he believes that the democratic government that he and thousands of other young people hoped for never materiliased. so now nazariy and many other young ukrainians are at the heart of a new revolution. it's being called the techno revolution. reporter: three years ago,

nazariy sovsun spent months demonstrating against ukraine's pro-russian government. president viktor yanukovich was forced out of power and many thought things would change. but the post-soviet elite has retained its influence and corruption is rampant. sovsun: still we are living in the country with the oligarchs. we can call it counter revolutionary if you want. this is bad. but this is something i was expecting. i was saying right after maidan that it's not going to be better, i was sure it is gonna be worse. reporter: three years on, maidan square. once the centre of the protest movement in kiev highlights the huge discrepancies in ukrainian soety. the wealth of the elite. and the poverty of the overwhelming majority. soldiers in uniform hang out with ordinary people.

the ukrainian army has been fighting pro-russian separatists in the east since 2014. the soldiers are either on their way back from the front or just heading off to the war zone. nazariy sovsun and others of his generation are now fighting for their revolution with very different weapons. they are techno ravers expressing their protest through their music. ♪ reporter: since the maidan protests, kiev's music scene has become highly politicised. it's free, independent and has a clear opinion. nazariy sovsun is helping to organize what he believes is kiev's most revolutionary rave, the cxema. sovsun: it's the opposite side of society. if there is a space where everything is forbidden and so on, here we are fighting for freedom.

reporter: both he and the founder of cxema, dj slava lepsheev, say this isn't about music. it's about living out western, political values and winning over other young people for a different kind of society. lepsheev: before the maidan protests i was always thinking about leaving. i no longer do that. now i can see it makes sense to work and to live here. now there are people and initiatives here that really want to effect change. i can feel the difference. reporter: but their protest movement has itself come under pressure, particularly from ukraine's new nationalist right wing movement. on ukrainian independence day earlier this year, right-wing extremist groups made their voices heard on maidan square. this is not the ukraine that the protesters had fought for. the nationalists are not only

strong, they're also hostile towards the young pro-european activists. there are now places in kiev where nazariy sovsun no longer feels safe. sovsun: at this station right now, i avoid kontraktova plozdha, because just recently there were attacks on the ravers, there were at least two attacks. one guy was beaten really seriously. reporter: but the ravers are not giving up their vision of a democratic ukraine, no matter how long the road ahead. michelle: more about the young pro-western raves from ukraine will soon be available in an upcoming dw documentary. be sure to tune in. the financial crisis of 2008 threatened to bring local craftsmen in a rural town in sardinia to its knees. banks stopped giving out loans. without credit, small local businesses started to fold. but a group of friends, who had grown up on the island in the

mediterranean, came up with a solution. they realized that local companies still had the potential to produce goods and services. so they devised an alternative currency to support them. the sardex is now performing so well, some people wonder if it could replace the euro, at least locally. reporter: there is something circulating around that sounds like a secret weapon. it's name, sardex. for people like pier giaccomo saddi, this alternative curency is worth its weight in gold. he produces traditional sardinian knives, and since he's been a member of the sardex credit club, his business has been booming like never before. >> since i joined sardex eighteen months ago, i've earned 20,000 sardex. i spent them on a solar energy system and an air conditioner and other machines and materials.

i can buy things without any problem. reporter: without sardex, michele cherchi tells us, he doesn't know if his business would have survived. the restaurant owner and cheesemonger is just one of many small and mid-size businesses, who want to invest but can't. the banks won't help them. cherchi: we asked banks for a loan. but we all know how long they take and what kind of guarantees they demand. banks only give you money if you already have some. but if i had the money, i wouldn't need to borrow any. reporter: five sardinians came up with a solution to the problem. they created the sardex. a virtual currency. an alternative to the euro, it has real value when trading goods or services. most importantly, the network offers companies loans. interest free. one sardex is equal to one euro. >> we believe in cooperation,

trust and local commerce. that's the difference. in the financial world, people think globally. there's no longer a focus on the region, like there used to be. like banks, we work together with companies. but we're basically a service provider that brings in more for members than it costs them. reporter: michele cherchi appreciates that now, thought at first he was sceptical. his brother convinced him to start using sardex. because sardex is the currency used by network members to pay for all goods and services with sardex, it has opened new opportunities. cherchi: we were able offset a 20% business loss with our sardex customers. they would never have come to us otherwise. sardex doesn't obligate anyone to buy from specific companies. some people were curious about our products and then they became loyal customers. reporter: economic growth, those

are magic words for economist annalaura ianiro. italy's companies need incentives to invest. one incentive for using sardex is that no one is charged, nor receives interest. that's why they're constantly in circulation and the market in contant motion. ianiro: it's not just about survival, it's also about growth. the sardex model doesn't only offer the exchange of goods and services. it provides contact to other companies. that generates economic growth. reporter: pier giacomo saddi would even be willing to forgo using euros altogether if he could. he likes the new currency so much, he even books his vacations through sardex companies. sardex was launched in 2010, and it's going well, according to saddi. but there is room for improvement. saddi: there are only a few

crooks among the members. i would suggest sardex set up a webpage for member reviews. then you could expose the shady ones. but there aren't that many. some are dishonest about the value of their products or they overcharge for them. reporter: at sardex headquarters, all companies are checked for their probity, and it's also where all payments are made of. 100 millionen sardex changed hands last year alone. efforts are also being made to align all of italy's regional currencies. everyone here is convinced that's possible. and everyone is united in believing. if it works on sardinia, it can work anywhere in the world. sardex is setting an example that everyone can learn from.

michelle: it was about a year ago that emile's whole life changed in a matter of moments. last november members of the islamic state killed 130 people when they launched attacks on restaurants, cafes and a concert hall in paris. at the time, the young frenchman was working in the kitchen of the bonne biere restaurant. one site that was attacked and he survived. most victims have struggled to regain a sense of normalcy ever since. many don't want to talk about what happened that night, but emile finds sharing his experience cathartic. he says that coming so close to death, has made him value life all the more. reporter: within seconds, a person's life can change forever -- or be extinguished entirely. emile witnessed that for himself on november 13th, 2015. it's also when he's truly recognized how important it is

to help others. >> now when i see someone on the street who's having problems with their bike, for instance, i'll stop and see what's happning. now i'll take the two minutes. reporter: on the evening of the paris attacks, emile was working at la bonne biere, as usual. suddenly he heard sounds -- like firecrackers, only louder. when the noise stopped, emile left the kitchen to see what was happening. emile: it was unimaginable, a scene of sheer horror. there were pools of blood and people with gunshot wounds all over. reporter: among the wounded was pauline, a young woman emile's age. emile: she'd taken a bullet in her upper arm and another in the leg. i sat down next to her and thought about what i should do. reporter: emile remained calm.

he wrapped a towel around pauline's wounded shoulder, which was bleeding heavily. and he kept talking to her. while they were waiting for help to arrive someone suddenly shouted that the terrorist was coming back. to g and lefpaulininininininine downstairs. still she managed to follow him, though she could barely stand up. emile: she came towards me and said. please don't leave me alone. please stay with me. and i felt really ashamed for leaving her. reporter: in that moment emile realized what it means to be there for someone else. and he knew that only one thing counted that night, making sure that pauline survived. today he's convinced that helping pauline also helped him come to grips with the terror attack. it enabled him to maintain some semblance of control and kept him from being traumatized by

the horrible scenes around him. >> it helps people to focus on things other than the horrors that are transpiring and to concentrate on a positive task like helping others. in general, that helps protect them from the traumatic effects. that's what we teach professionals who are regularly confronted with such situations, so they're not traumatized by them. reporter: but most victims of terror attacks react differently. they feel completely helpless in the situation -- like martine buisson. 20 years ago she was sitting in a commuter train on her way to work when a bomb exploded in the neighbouring carriage. she suffered both physically injuries and severe psychological trauma. yet she was determined to resume living a normal life as quickly as possible. buisson: my doctor wanted to

write me off sick, but i said, if i don't start riding the train to work i'll never get on one again. but to this day i jump whenever i hear a sound that even vaguely resembles an explosion. and it'll likely be that way for the rest of my life. reporter: emile isn't traumatized by what he experienced. but in the weeks after the attack he felt compelled to find out what had happened to pauline. emile: it was great to find her alive and in a more stable condition. reporter: the doctors were able to save pauline's arm. but she isn't prepared to talk about her experiences on camera. still she and emile have felt a connection to one another ever since those terrible hours when they both fought to save her life. today, emile tries to turn that experience into something positive. emile: now i know the value of friends and family. it makes me want to open up to

those close to me, share more things with them and enjoy our time together. reporter: the paris attacks spelled the end of a carefree youth -- for emile and hundreds of other young people in france. but maybe some of them can take a leaf out of emile's book and turn that traumatic experience into something positive. michelle: before i moved here to germany, i lived in brussels. not only does it have fantastic beer and chocolate, it is also home to 138 restaurants per square mile. when friends would come to visit, we ate well. and while i loved living and working in such a dynamic and international city, it did have its downsides. moving around town could at times be treacherous -- there were often potholes in the streets, subway stairwells were known for emitting a rather pungent odor and as we will see in today's report, these days

the city known for it's art nouveau architecture is blighted by residents' illegal dumping of garbage. reporter: it has taken some getting used to, but twice a week, people in brussels now put their garbage bags out on the street for pick-up. this is an old city with narrow streets and small buildings. when they were being constructed, no one thought about garbage containers. but the city fathers don't want a dirty, smelly brussels. so there are garbage inspectors who go out searching for incidents of illegal waste disposal. >> this isn't a residential area and there are no cameras, so some people think they can get away with leaving their garbage. reporter: but the environmental sinner hadn't reckoned with garbage inspector john reisch. like a detective, he sifts through every trash bag for evidence. his heart rejoices whenever he finds a document. and indeed, this reciept of payment bears the name of a customer.

reisch: great, we have a piece of evidence. now we can file charges against the person who left their garbage here. reporter: the evidence goes into a plastic bag -- not to preserve fingerprints, but because it's dirty. the location and content of the garbage bag are carefully recorded. the perpetrator will be presented an administrative fine of 75 euros. the fine for glass found in residual garbage is twice as much, because the garbage collectors could cut themselves while on the job. all documents are laminated to spare the office from unpleasant odors. like the police, the garbage inspectors have access to the country's registry and can collect the administrative penalty itself. an additional fine up to 62,000 euros may also be imposed, depending on the severity of the offense. >> it's good for the city. some districts are already much cleaner now. but we have to be diligent every day. reporter: spot checks are

carried out every day on 500 sacks of residual waste. if they contain plastic, cans, or glass, the person who failed to separate the items will pay the price. michelle: it seems that the belgians are taking their garbage seriously. that is it for today. thank you for watching. let me know what you think of today's stories by getting in touch on facebook or better yet, ford me a the whwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhw. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪