♪ michelle: hello and welcome to "focus on europe." i'm michelle henery. child custody battles can be trying and brutal no matter where you are in the world. but here in europe, if the parents come from different countries and a dispute arises, national courts have been accused of routinely deciding solely in the interest of their citizens. a french father has succeeded in having courts in france award him full custody of his daughter. the german mother, however, is only allowed a few brief supervised visits. she says, "i feel betrayed and sold." hamar alpar-benjamin is considered a hero in his home country romania. he was one of thousands of

people who courageously opposed ceausescu's brutal communist regime during the romanian revolution in 1989. revolutionaries like him helped to bring an end to more than four decades of communism in their country. to honor their bravery, they were awarded special pensions and benefits. but because he recently worked in the office that granted these benefits, hamar alpar-benjamin discovered inconsistencies in who received them. now, a scandal surrounding those who falsely claim to have been on the right side of history threatens the reputation of some who claimed to be revolutionaries. >> military honors for the heroes of the romanian revolution. hamar alpar-benjamin is proud to have been part of the revolt against the ceausescu regime. but this ceremony also makes him angry. he says that many the supposed heroes are liars who never fought in the revolution.

>> unfortunately, the community of revolutionaries has been diluted in the last 27 years. among us are now spies and people who paid money for the status hero of the romanian revolution. i call on the authorities and on the people to help us get rid of these people. >> alpar-benjamin claims that crinisor prunas is one such fraud. he accuses prunas of having paid bribes to obtain the financial privileges that are supposed to be reserved for veterans of the revolution. he claims prunas wasn't even there. prunas, however, says he has proof that the accusations against him are false. >> during the events, i was one of the first, one of the few who were part of it from the beginning. i called for people to struggle. i demonstrated, that's how it is in street fighting.

i didn't pay anything and nothing was demanded from me either. i don't know anyone from whom money was demanded. there are rumors, but i don't know anyone who has said, i paid. maybe this is all disinformation. >> but that seems unlikely. the leadership of the government agency in question has just been arrested. they stand accused of taking bribes to grant special pensions, tax exemptions, and other benefits to fake revolutionaries. romania has already paid out 750 million euros in such benefits. now it's said that thousands of fake revolutionaries may also have profited. alpar-benjamin is entitled to the benefits. at a demonstration, the secret police shot him. >> we were at this spot when they began shooting. i threw myself to the ground.

the bullet entered here and came out here. my other leg was hit in the back. so i was hit by two bullets. they were shooting from over there. >> for years, alpar-benjamin has been working to expose fake revolutionaries and with some success. he proved that some of the supposed revolutionaries were only seven years old when ceaucescu was overthrown. others appear to have taken on the identities of revolutionaries who died. >> unfortunately, to this day, none of these frauds has been stripped of their special status. none of my charges have received an official response. even those who have been proven to have been informants for the communist secret police have kept their special pension. that's against the law. >> alpar-benjamin has a video from 1989 that shows him wounded

in the hospital. he has been disabled ever since, a high price to pay for fighting for a free romania. historians agree that romania was one of the most brutal communist regimes in eastern europe. it took courage to stand up against ceausescu, his military, and the securitate, or secret police. but now, this history is being overshadowed by a corruption scandal. >> it's unfortunate that this has become part of history. it's a stain on what were very noble actions. these were honest people who put themselves in danger by taking to the streets to express their disagreement. they didn't do that to be portrayed as heroes of the revolution. >> at the memorial celebration, the two camps face off. the mood worsens between the guests. >> yes. that man is one of those liars.

>> i took part in the revolution. my files confirm it. >> what revolution did he take part in? none. he changed his statements to get more money. >> you're a criminal. >> you're a fraud. you're a fraud. he paid bribes to get this status. >> hamar alpar-benjamin has no plans to give up. he fought ceaucescu's tyranny, and now, he'll fight the thousands of fake revolutionaries and corrupt bureaucrats who have cheated the state of hundreds of millions of euros. that's the best way, he says, to preserve the memory of the romanians who took to the streets for freedom and democracy 27 years ago. >> britta schluttke's daughter was taken from her five years

ago by her ex-husband. her ongoing and difficult custody battle is made all the more complicated because she is german living here in germany , and her husband is french living with their daughter in france. a family court in one country can disregard a ruling in another. for all the talk of a united, borderless europe, eu law appears to have loopholes big enough to lose a child in. >> when britta schlotcke wants to see her daughter, she must come to this designated meeting place in strasbourg. that's the decision of a french court. >> for five years, we've had supervised visits behind bars. for the last six years, i haven't been able to wish her happy birthday on the day, see her at christmas, easter, or on pentecost, only on regular business days when this is open. then, we can see each other here. >> this time, her daughter elina is even allowed to go outside, though only in the yard and only under supervision.

this is the result of a long custody battle between parents who no longer trust one another. after just two hours, it's time for the 10-year-old to bid farewell to her mother again. her french father picks her up , and her german mother returns to baden-wurttemberg. it's a 150 kilometer trip for a very short visit. >> it's awful for her. she's just got her mother back and then, when the two hours are up, she has to say goodbye again. she has to pack up her things, and then she doesn't have a mother for another two weeks. >> it's been this way for five years. britta schlotcke is only permitted one visit every other week, and only in france. the doctor can't take elina home

with her even though she has custody in germany. she finds it almost unbearable. >> i don't have any pictures on the walls anymore because i can't take it. >> how did it come to this? britta met luc when she was in her early 30's. four years later, they became parents, but they separated when elina was just one and luc returned to his homeland. elina commuted between france and germany, attending daycares in both countries. it didn't take long for problems to arise. but instead of trying to solve them together, luc sought help from a controversial self-help group for french fathers. after a vacation, he informed britta that he wouldn't be bringing elina back and went into hiding. straight away, britta schlotcke drove to strasbourg and began searching for her daughter without success. she filed a parental abduction complaint with the police.

>> my daughter had vanished without a trace along with her father. she wasn't at daycare. she wasn't at home, and her father wasn't at his workplace. the police never called, never contacted me. >> luc kept his daughter in hiding for 8 long weeks. then, britta was summoned to appear at this court in strasbourg. she had no idea what awaited her here. >> i never suspected that a child custody and residency hearing would be taking place. i only came here because i assumed that my complaint was being heard. >> instead, the court ruled that elina was to reside in france with her father. britta could only see her on weekends. the decision took its toll on mother and daughter and led to a crisis by the second visit.

>> she clung to me and didn't want me to bring her back. she cried and slumped down and said, mama, i don't want to go there. >> how did you respond? >> i kept her. i didn't bring her back. >> the conflict between the parents escalated even further. >> instead of pursuing legal action in germany, luc took the law into his own hands. >> she was on her way to the daycare when a car came racing up behind her. he pushed my mother against the fence, grabbed elina, pulled her into the car, and sped off. >> though the police launched a search right away, luc still managed to bring elina back to france, back to the country where the law is on his side.

for months, luc lived here undisturbed by the french authorities even after he was convicted of abducting a minor and coercion in germany. but the penal order changed nothing. german law seems powerless in cases like this. >> hello, we'd like to talk with to you about this. >> the situation's clear. there's been a lot of discussion and numerous court rulings. >> do you think it's right to keep her daughter from her? >> what are you talking about? you don't know the case. she's lied to you and probably only told you half the story. >> britta schlotcke has lost the right to have the case heard in a german court. without realizing it, she tacitly gave her approval for the proceedings to take place in france simply by appearing at the first hearing in strasbourg. it was a mistake no one had warned her about. >> i feel betrayed and cheated. >> it's unlikely elina will return to her anytime soon.

the conflict is too entrenched for that. but britta schlotcke intends to keep fighting for her daughter. michelle: he says he escaped one hell only to enter another. abdullah fled the violence and unrest of his native syria for europe in the hope of a new life. instead, he is stuck in an overcrowded, unsanitary, and unsafe refugee camp on the greek island of chios. to escape living in such shocking conditions, many refugees have secretly left the camp and made their way illegally to mainland europe. unfortunately, their acts of desperation have threatened the vital eu-turkey deal which was intended to stem the flow of refugees into europe. >> souda, the refugee camp on chios, is now home to many people who hoped to reach mainland europe. abdullah arrived on last march. he's been waiting ever since.

he says the island is a prison, and he'll leave as soon as he can. >> i know many of them. many of my friends are now in sweden or germany. i tried to hide in a truck, but they caught me. they hit me and take me out and sent me to the camp. >> the greek government says there are about 4,300 refugees on the island. the un refugee agency says the number is 2,000. but some aid organizations say that official figures are too high. claiming that at least 2,500 people have left the island illegally since last spring. the government has removed several thousand more. so have thousands of refugees just vanished? gerald knaus devised the agreement on refugees between the eu and turkey. he says only those granted asylum should be allowed on the european mainland.

>> bringing refugees to the mainland undercuts the agreement between the eu and turkey. it's the signal that the traffickers on the turkish side of the aegean are waiting for, the islands are not the end of the line. >> the prospect of remaining in a camp like this instead of continuing onward was supposed to act as a deterrent. but conditions in the camp are so bad that the greek government and the unhcr are bringing people from chios to the mainland, including those whose asylum applications are still being processed. >> the average for the last 4 or five months has been, for departures, has been around 600, i believe. that's official departures from the island. it's never easy to live in a tent all winter. so we're doing everything we can. >> the unhcr now has to put up new tents. some of the old ones were destroyed in fires.

rightwing radicals staged arson attacks on the camp and its residents. since then, the refugees have lived in fear of a repeat attack. >> i was here. they burned down the big tent . others threw big stones from up there down here. others threw molotov cocktails . >> frightened refugees, angry citizens, a dangerous mix, says the mayor of chios. manolis vournous says the eu-turkey agreement doesn't require the refugees to remain on the islands. that's just how it's being interpreted. he says there's a lack of transparency. >> there's in general a lack of information of what is previewed by the turkey statement and how it is being implemented. we have written everything about that again and again to the

greek government and the european commission, but we haven't had the support which should have been there, and i think that someone must apologize. >> many island residents are angry. the tourism industry is in ruins. so they feel relieved when refugees leave the island, legally or illegally. the people smuggling business is booming. >> i have watched about 30 people jumping in a lorry like this. they went in. there was somebody guiding them what to do. then i asked some friends which were here sitting outside of their house to tell me what is happening. they told me that every evening they have seen, the past few evenings they have seen refugees jumping in the lorries and escaping from here. >> there are controls on the ferry, but no one looks in the back of the trucks carrying the refugees.

>> if the numbers reaching the mainland this way increase, then it's clear that the greek authorities are turning a blind eye to it. >> the refugees don't care about the eu-turkey deal. like many others, abdullah and his friend mohammed want just one thing, to leave this misery for europe. in the time they've been here, they say more than 2,500 have left illegally. >> i think from here go 4000 or 5000. >> mohammed doesn't have enough money to leave illegally. but if he can come up with the money, he'll leave, too. smugglers charge a thousand euros for transportation to athens. that's a large sum to come up with. or they'll try to reach the mainland on their own. michelle: the traffickers profit

from this desperate situation. one of our reporters is following their illegal routes through serbia. be sure to tune in for his report in the coming weeks. the impending arrival of brexit, britain's separation from the european union, is making many britons nostalgic for the nation's colonial past. some people see the public vote to leave the eu as a sign that the once lost empire and therefore the country's standing in the world will rise again. but for briton's like howard gayle, who has not forgotten that much of the empire was built on acts of oppression, after all, his family is from one of the colonies that made up the british empire, he hopes for a different kind of future for britain. >> in april 1981, howard gayle was substituted in for what was just his second game as a professional footballer in the second leg of liverpool's european cup semi-final against bayern munich. the german side fancied themselves as favorites, needing

only a goal at home to reach the final. >> the comments from paul breitner after the first game was that the second game was only gonna be a formality. >> but it was liverpool who progressed thanks also to an impressive performance by native son howard gayle. it would prove to be one of the highlights of his career. gayle was the club's first black player. back then, racism was a pervasive part of the game from monkey taunts by fans of rival clubs to cheap jokes from his own teammates. >> she put talcum on her breasts and she was dancing and gyrating, when she got to me she kind of stood her chest up and grab my head and pulled me in and shook me. my instinct was to close my eyes

so when i open my eyes all my eyes there were black and my face was all white with this talcum, and the players thought that this was hilarious. >> after hanging up his boots, gayle became an ambassador for the show racism the red card charity. his efforts earned him recognition in the form of a nomination for an mbe, a member of the order of the british empire. >> for me to have those three initials on the back of my name, a member of the british empire after what the empire did to my ancestors, it was an award that i was never going to accept. >> a british empire that at its peak spanned almost a quarter of the globe. it's a legacy that remains a divisive issue in britain itself. some claim that british rule brought benefits both to the

colonies and the mother country, while for others, the empire represented slavery and exploitation. >> colonial society could never be a society based on consensus. it was built on violence, on oppression, on force. >> anindita ghosh is a lecturer in modern indian history. here in britain, she sees widespread nostalgia for the supposed glory days of british colonialism. with britain now looking towards a future outside the eu, for some, the answer is clear, britain will seek renewed ties with the commonwealth. there have even been calls in parliament to bring the royal yacht britannia back into service, the yacht that once brought the queen to official visits in the colonies. these gentlemen served her majesty as policemen in what is

today zambia until the 1960's a british protectorate. they meet up once a year in london. len norman was the last british police officer to leave zambia in the late 1980's. in his eyes, he and his compatriots helped the country to develop. >> nothing to be ashamed of, i am very proud of my service both in northern rhodesia and then afterwards in zambia, and i am very proud of what we have done. >> what many here prefer to forget, these countries did not choose british colonial rule. it was imposed on them. nevertheless, many here see the independence of zambia as britain's generous gift. >> there is no giving of independence. let's not be under any shadow of doubt that independence was a gift from the british. people fought for their independence. >> for howard gayle, both sides of the empire are part of british history, the oppression, but also the multicultural

legacy for modern britain thanks to immigration from the former colonies. as a youth team coach, gayle regularly reminds his team that all people have equal value and worth. >> it's trying to educate young people on the tolerance and the diverse world we live in. there's never going to be any one culture that is going to be able to dominate the rest. >> as the world of football shows, a team that rejects outsiders is destined to lose a lesson that also applies to a country. michelle: starting next week, we launch our new series, europe's mountains conquering the peaks. some interesting and surprising sites are sure to come into view from two afghan skiers training for the olympics in switzerland to an italian village, which sits in the shadow of the

mountains and can only get sunshine thanks to a huge mirror. here is a preview. ♪ michelle: we've got some exciting stuff in store for you. if you'd like to find out more about any of today's stories, please visit our facebook page, dw stories. that's it for today. thank you for watching. in the meantime, 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]

- [voiceover] up next, it's music city roots live from the factory. in this episode, an americana festival special with shemekia copeland, white horse, and all country superstars the mavericks. that's all ahead after this. - [voiceover] national broadcast of music city roots is made possible by acceptance auto insurance. based in nashville, tennessee, acceptance offers personal automobile coverage from coast to coast. more information available at acceptance.com, you your terms accepted. - [voiceover] franklin, tennessee. inspired music, local flavor, on the edge of nashville. visit franklin.com. - [voiceover] nissan, proud sponsor of art and culture in our home state of tennessee. nissan, innovation that excites. more information is available at nissanusa.com. - [voiceover] vietti artisan chili. celebrating authenticity since 1898.