thanks very much for joining us. i'm damien mcguinness. and today, as an anti-migrant party look set to do well in upcoming dutch elections, we're looking at the fears of immigrant communities there. now, moroccans have been in the netherlands for generations, and they feel dutch. but populist leader gert wilders is using them as scapegoats in his election campaign. he calls them scum. but more of that later. deniz yuecel has found himself in the middle of a diplomatic row between germany and turkey. he's a german-turkish journalist who's now in jail in istanbul, simply because of his critical reporting, say his supporters. such as muervet -- she's also

from germany's turkish community, and she is campaigning here in germany for his release. but she's increasingly worried that the conflicts we see in turkey right now are tipping over into germany. that's because turkish ministers are campaigning here for a referendum that would grant the turkish president more powers. that would undermine turkey's democracy, says muervet. the activist and green party politician murvet ozturk is hoping to convince the turkish-german community in her hometown of wetzlar to vote against a constitutional amendment which would give the president more power. ms. ozturk: if people are worried about freely expressing an opinion 3000 kilometers away from turkey, as an elected democrat, i can't look away. i'm getting involved because i want to support people here who'd rather vote no.

damien: ozturk was born in germany. her parents came here almost 50 years ago to escape poverty and the lack of freedom in turkey. today, she's worried that turkey is headed in the wrong direction. and she worries that people in germany's turkish community can no longer express opposition without fear. ms. ozturk: it would be terrible if people were to take revenge after the referendum. in the sense of, they voted no, so let's get them. that would be very dangerous. >> let's give the taxi driver a flyer. can i give you this? >> it's better if you don't. >> why? >> because you're turkey's enemies. >> we just want people to be able to express their opinion freely. >> but our ministers aren't allowed to campaign here.

>> the pkk is. damien: in this heated atmosphere, ozturk also defends the german journalist deniz yucel, who is currently jailed in turkey. >> he interviewed the head of a terror organization, so he supported him. damien: ozturk finds more support at an event to raise awareness about her "no" campaign among the local kurdish and alevi communities. they are generally more critical of turkish president recep tayyip erdogan and his plans. ozturk knows that every vote from germany will count. the referendum in turkey promises to be a close vote, even though erdogan's critics in turkey itself have largely been silenced. ms. ozturk: let's not forget deniz yucel, that he's in jail in turkey, that there's no independent judiciary anymore. one more reason to vote no. [applause]

damien: the town of florsheim is an hour away. this is where the journalist deniz yucel grew up and went to school. worried about his safety in jail, his parents are refusing to talk to the media. the same holds for most of the german-turkish community here. only one shop owner is willing to talk to us about yucel's detention. >> some people say it's right. others say it's wrong. right, because he interviewed people from a terror organization. why did he do that? that's a problem for the turkish state. but i think everyone is responsible for their own actions. damien: other locals in florsheim don't really understand why some people of turkish descent are supporting erdogan. >> they grew up here. how could they believe these things? i guess they just watch turkish

tv and think that what's being said there is the truth. it is a vocal critic anyone who opposes erdogan, and says that deniz yucel is a terrorist. the paper's german office is in frankfurt, but we received no response to our queries about its coverage of the deniz yucel case. murvet ozturk is well aware that she is on the radar of the pro-government media. as an activist and politician, traitor. like many german-turkish politicians, she's also becoming more worried about her safety. ms. ozturk: i'd prefer to live without police protection.

i still believe i can, but of course i'll seek advice. i hope what's happening now doesn't become the norm here in germany. damien: she refuses to give up the fight for democracy in turkey. in her hometown of wetzlar, she's received either with a noncommittal shrug or sometimes outright rejection. the referendum will take place in april, and ozturk has no plans to give up. ms. ozturk: a lot will have to be done after the referendum, too. we have to establish a culture of debate, political education. we need a respectful culture of debate. we need that here, very badly. damien: in the meantime, she'll continue to call on her fellow turkish citizens in germany to vote "no" in the referendum and campaign for their right to express their opinion without fear -- something that's become

almost impossible in turkey. damien: germany will certainly be watching that referendum in turkey closely. supporters of donald trump in the u.s. describe his election win as a victory for ordinary working people, but that's not how it looks to many ordinary working people here in europe, particularly in scotland. now, trump's mother was scottish, and he has property interests there, but that's not something scots are necessarily proud of, as our reporter found out when she met some of those in scotland who say that donald trump is far from a man who defends the interests of everyday people. reporter: the dunes along scotland's east coast wander as they're driven by the winds. it's a magnificent landscape, a spectacle of nature. susie munro's view used to extend across the dunes, all the way to the sea. but now she has to make do with

watching the birds in her yard. an earthen levee blocks the view. ms. munro: i'm so annoyed about that. he just went and took sand from the dunes and started loading it up in front of the house one day. i wondered what was going on. and it was getting bigger and bigger. i thought, what the heck? and i thought, well, they'll be neighbor, donald trump. when susie munro climbs up the earthen wall, she can see his property. he had a golf course built here and sealed it off from the locals. ms. munro: where the gate is, it runs along, that's the wall there. you can see all the gorse on top of it there. and it runs right the way 'round and right the way 'round to back of my house. reporter: basically, around your

house. ms. munro: yeah, yeah. it feels like i'm in a prison. it really does. reporter: the embankment has been nicknamed "the scottish wall" in a play on trump's plan to build a wall along the u.s.-mexican border. next door, michael forbes flies the mexican flag to show his solidarity and catch the eye of golfers on the exclusive course, who enjoy a beautiful ocean view. it's a view that donald trump says is marred by michael forbes' farm and those of his neighbors. trump has complained about it on his visits, as in this interview in 2009. mr. trump: look at mr. forbes and his disgusting conditions in which he lives and that people have to look at that. it's almost like -- in fact, it is like a slum-like condition. mr. forbes is not a man that

people in scotland should be proud of. reporter: michael forbes is standing firm, and refuses to sell his land to donald trump. and he refuses to be intimidated. he maintains he's no disgrace to scotland -- trump is, especially when he invokes his scottish mother. mr. forbes: he's no scotsman. a scotsman wouldn't do what he did to me. >> in what way? mr. forbes: he's trying to bully me. tried. didn't work. [laughter] reporter: forbes himself painted this slogan on his garage. many other locals accuse trump of making promises he didn't keep, promises of hundreds of new jobs and billions of euros in investments. that's how trump persuaded the scottish government to sell him the land and ignore the warnings of local politicians like paul johnston. mr. johnston: every

recommendation from environment people, from scientists, from planners, was,o, we shouldn't do this, but the scottish government said, the overwhelming economic case was that it would bring jobs, etc., and these have not materialized. reporter: in answer to our inquiry, trump international golf wrote that they had invested 100 million pounds and created 150 jobs. and more projects are in the planning. but who will they benefit? all that local residents know for sure is -- one thing trump can do, is build walls. damien: just imagine -- you're born in a country and your family has lived there for generations, but people still call you a foreigner. that's the experience of many in europe, whose parents, or even grandparents, migrated from the middle east or africa. it's even the case in the netherlands, a country with a

liberal, tolerant reputation. now elections are being held in the netherlands, and it's possible that an anti-immigrant party could win the most votes. so how are immigrant communities feeling? well, we've been to meet some young people who know at first hand what it feels like to be excluded. reporter: apartment buildings from the 1950's. amsterdam's new-west district is rather drab. most of the people who live here are immigrants and their families. right-wing politicians say they're not welcome in the netherlands. it's a troubled neighborhood that often hits the headlines with stories of gang wars and youth crime. for fatima, samir, and said, it wasn't an easy place to grow up. as children of moroccan immigrants, they feel like second-class citizens, even here in new-west. samir: we have a big problem in this neighborhood. these old buildings, for example, are all occupied by immigrants, while native-born

dutch people live in the nicer, new buildings on this side. they live side by side but have nothing to do with each other. there are tensions. everyone stays on their side of the street and even go to separate schools. reporter: the dutch have long been famous for their openness and tolerance. but years of exclusion and mutual recriminations have left many feeling alienated. samir, fatima, and said want to break out of the mold. samir is a social worker and helps other young moroccans who are struggling to find their place here, and find work. samir: our young people can't find a job. no matter where they apply and how good their cv's look. and they know it. many others say, you're playing the victim card, maybe you're just not good enough. but it's clear -- if one cv has the name mohammad on it and

another has the name jan, it's jan who gets the interview, and it's a problem that's getting worse. said: i've never found a job through conventional methods, not even an internship. out of 50 job applications i only got two replies, and both were rejections. reporterfatima says women sufferess discrimination than men. she says she notices it daily in the way her brother is treated. fatima: he's always being asked to show his id, and he even gets stopped and searched, and he's only 16. these may be small things, but they have big impact on a young person. dutch-moroccan immigrants. gangs have been fighting each other for years in this area. more than 20 people have been

killed. one morning last year, residents found human body parts in front of a shisha-bar. stan koeman runs a snack bar in the same street. mr. koeman: you hear of things like that happening in mexico or colombia or in the middle ages. but now it's happening on our doorstep. where will it end? reporter: stan koeman says is that local residents and business owners are forced to cope with the impact of the gang war on their own. he believes the police are simply overwhelmed. mr. koeman: a short while ago some boys spat in front of my shop. i asked them if they do that kind of thing at home. they immediately felt attacked and threatened me. i managed to get out of the situation, but next time, maybe they'll smash my windows. ♪

reporter: moroccan-dutch gangster-rapper said touhami, aka salah edin, used to call the criminal underworld his home. violence, he says, used to seem like a good solution to his problems. today, he feels ashamed of that. mr. tounssi: in ten years a lot of stuff happened, and it could be that my music was also responsible for causing more trouble, or hyping up the stereotype. reporter: he tells us that today he renounces violence. in a local youth club, he uses his fame to get across his message of peace -- delivered as a rap, of course. reporter: samir, said and fatima want to be accepted as dutch

citizens. as the netherlands prepares for national elections, they worry that xenophobia is on the rise here. samir: it won't make a difference how the election ends up. there's an atmosphere in this country, in which people always look for a scapegoat, and immigrants are perfect for the role of scapegoat. change can't come from politicians, from above. it needs to come from the people. their attitudes need to change. reporter: samir knows that right-wing populists could end up being the strongest party in the dutch parliament. it's a scenario that he and his friends would rather not imagine. damien: now, i don't know about where you live, but here in northern europe, when the winter comes, so do the long, dark nights. and the further north you go of course, the longer and darker the winter nights get. but nowhere can beat the norwegian island of spitsbergen.

it's one of the most northern inhabited places in the world. so, the winter nights are not only long, they actually never end. reporter: during the winter months, the svalbarg archipelago is plunged into darkness, and the northern lights shimmer in all their glory. it's some compensation for the hardy few who brave the cold and dark here. every morning, espen andre overdahl straps on his skis and practices for his exam as a ski tour guide. mr. overdahl: being out in the polar night is a majestic feeling. the northern lights are so bright up in the mountains, they give me goose bumps. the lights make the glaciers and snow look green. reporter: staying active and turning lights on during daytime hours puts some structure into the long hours of darkness. eike stubner and her family have lived on spitsbergen for many years now. as a mother, she makes sure the

family stays on a regular schedule. ms. stubner: i go around and turn the lights on. then, at night, half an hour before we go to bed, i turn them off, just to signal day and night. i've gotten very precise about turning the daylight-lamps off before malte goes to bed, so he'll know when it's night time. reporter: everyone has their own way of adjusting to the long nights. longyearbyen has a small church where services are held three times a month for the town's 2000 or so residents. pastor leif magne helgesen's spiritual comfort is not as in demand as one might think during these dark days. mr. helgesen: some people spend their time cooking, others go hunting. then we get together at home or in pubs, so it's a very nice time, but sometimes, it can get to you a bit. you need some energy to keep going.

reporter: linn, anne, and sara also believe in staying active. it may be freezing, but they're planning a picnic. as soon as they're off work, they head for the hills around town, equipped with bear-killers and flare guns. the danger of running into polar bears, the world's biggest land-based predator, is ever-present. being well-prepared is a matter of life and death. linn: you have to like the cold and dark to live here, or you couldn't handle it. we do all the same things we do in summer, you just have to dress for the cold. reporter: when it comes to brightening the long, dark winters on spitsbergen, a little imagination can go a long way. damien: and i thought berlin was dark in winter. now, if you've been to rome, you'll know it's one of europe's most beautiful cities. but locals there fear that parts of the city are not being looked after by local authorities. streets full of dirt and litter, and neighborhoods effectively in

control of the mafia. so locals have now decided to take matters into their own hands. if the government won't look after the city, then they'll just have to do it themselves. reporter: rome is more than a city -- it's a world of its own. the local authorities are battling the mafia and chronic corruption, while the city falls into wrack and ruin. right in the center of rome is the piazza vittorio. it's quite a rough area. last november, gianluca giordano got together with friends to open a cafe here. he lives in this neighborhood and decided he couldn't watch anymore while things just deteriorated. the gatsby cafe is intended as a place to hang out. the building used to be an expensive hat shop. local residents love it. mr. giordano: people came to us with tears in their eyes. they were full of praise for what we're doing, especially the

older people. they're hoping the cafe will improve life here. reporter: but the cafe alone can't solve all the problems of this neighborhood. the piazza vittorio is currently a public toilet for homeless people and a magnet for drug dealers. the local authorities have done nothing. so residents have set up an initiative to revamp the square. gianluca is impressed with the response. their first meeting takes place inside a local ice cream parlor called fassi, which is also in on the venture. other businesses have welcomed the initiative, too. mr. braghetta: i feel sad for rome as a city. no citizen of rome has ever seen the city in such a state. it's pretty run down. reporter: the idea is to bring local residents and businesses together in the initiative, and

push the city to take action. crime, dirt, and drugs are constant problems in the area around the piazza vittorio. but a few kilometers away, on the edge of rome, things are even worse. this is mafia territory. but one local school is putting up a fight. an anti-mafia association called "da sud" has set up a center here for children and young people. danilo chirico has reopened the library, which had been closed for ages. he believes prevention is key. mr. chirico: one of the biggest problems in rome is organized crime. the judiciary says the mafia are everywhere, but no one does anything about it. reporter: the activists from "da sud" are convinced that by pulling together they can push back against organized crime. mr. chirico: we want to become an important center in this city, a place where good things happen, not criminal things.

you are all living proof that beautiful things can grow. reporter: the young people have heard the message. but are they convinced? gabriele: i realized the mafia aren't a fixed group, they're everywhere. everyone needs to take responsibility. christin: this is important. we need to fight for this in the coming years. reporter: danilo hopes his club will be there for young people, particularly in difficult times or when they're tempted to get in with the wrong crowd. back at the piazza vittorio, gianluca has a meeting with architect valentina cocco. the local authorities have responded to the first ideas put forward by his initiative. the architect shows him the preliminary plan for upgrading the square, with more green areas and perhaps a cafe in the center. mr. giordano: we want to be a catalyst for this neighborhood. we want the local authorities to understand we're here to help. we say if you don't make life

difficult through bureaucracy and endless permits, we'll restore the square so that it's a nice place to be. reporter: the gatsby cafe has only been open a few months, but it's a runaway success. gianluca and his friends can hardly believe their luck. their citizens' initiative is also bearing fruit. for locals, it's a sign that investing in their neighborhood is well worth it. damien: looks like a rather a cool cafe. nice hats, too. well that's it for this week. it's goodbye from me, and the whole team here. and do join us next week for more personal stories from all over europe. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]