♪ michelle: a very warm welcome to a new edition of "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. it's an all-too-familiar scenario -- young men, on a mission to terrorize people in a european city, again with a murderous outcome, and again the product of home-grown islamist radicalization. this time, the attack took place in barcelona. shocked at the horror unleashed by the attackers, the local muslim community has taken to the streets to show solidarity with the victims and their relatives. barcelona is together, for all the world and all the races, insists this woman. it was a scene eerily reminiscent of previous outrages in nice, london, and berlin. last week in barcelona, a man

drove a van through crowds of pedestrians in one of the city's most popular tourist sites, las ramblas, to kill as many people as possible. barcelona, known for its warm and welcoming atmosphere, now mourns more than a dozen dead and more than 100 injured. now the local muslim population, known for being well-integrated, are worried about their future in the vibrant spanish city, as residents and businesses try to recover from the attack. reporter: it's back to work for rosmari lopez, but not back to normal. the terrorist who drove a car through the crowd here last week passed just a few meters wide of her flower stand. rosmari: suddenly i heard screaming. i looked up and saw two girls being run over, and a woman who

started to cross the street at the traffic light. reporter: at 10 of 5:00 in the afternoon of august 17, a delivery van plowed through the masses of people on las ramblas, barcelona's famous pedestrian avenue. 13 people died and more than 100 were injured. rosmari says it was only a matter of time before islamist terrorists struck here, too. rosmari: it was bound to happen. just look how many people are out and about here. anyone could come and run us down. i saw it coming. reporter: the mood in barcelona is bleak. tourists have returned to las ramblas, but those familiar with the normally busy boulevard say it is strangely quiet. rosmari's son, fidel-poles, has the next shift in the flower shop. he feels the difference, too. the street is barely recognizable, he says. fidel: las ramblas was always a world of its own.

things are possible here that don't happen anywhere else in town. but we've never experienced this before. i can't say how long this will preoccupy us -- a month, two days, or two weeks. reporter: since the attack, there's been little demand for juan carrasco's caricature portraits. and he doesn't really feel like drawing, anyway. he's grieving for the dead and injured, but also for his city, famed for its openness and love of freedom. juan: barcelona belongs to the whole world. people come from all over to work here. now we share this, too. reporter: not far from las ramblas is the culturally diverse raval neighborhood. it's home to a large number of muslims, alongside christians and people of other faiths. mohammad iqbal chaudry is on the board of the local islamic cultural center. he was appalled that yet another attack had been perpetrated by people in his religion's name.

he and his congregation are outraged. they pray that the attack will not foil their efforts towards social cohesion. mohammad: it doesn't matter whether i'm religious or not. we are human beings and fellow-citizens. our city was attacked -- our neighborhood, our businesses, our future. i'm not afraid, but i'm worried about our good community relations, our friendship. i'm worried people will look at us with different eyes. reporter: so where does the traditionally free-spirited city go from here? flower seller rosmari lopez wonders that, too -- not least because it's also a question she gets asked by tourists. but she's convinced that the citizens of barcelona will not let murderers kill their love of life. rosmari: things will return to normal, at least for those who haven't lost loved ones.

urn to their daily lives. reporter: an eerie calm has descended on las ramblas, as a city famous for its hustle and bustle and lust for life, for now, remains in shock. michelle: people in barcelona are only just beginning to figure out how to cope. perhaps they can learn from a man whose wife was killed in a suicide attack in brussels last year. mohamed el bachiri still grieves for his loss. but because he is a muslim from the city's molenbeek neighborhood -- often called belgium's breeding ground for terror -- he's largely gone unacknowledged as a victim. but he's used his pain and the platform it gives him to launch a manifesto for peace and unity. he calls it "jihad for love." here he shares some of his very personal views.

mohamed: i'm mohamed, and i live in molenbeek. i'm a victim, but in the eyes of many, i'm also a potential terrorist. every day is a struggle. it's tough. it feels like part of me is gone, missing. then there's the children, who rely on me, so i have to keep living for them. i want to teach them our values -- loubna's values, and mine -- our humanist values. to love all people, whatever their background or faith, whatever culture they come from. >> you were my mate, my confidante, my best friend.

she was buried in sale, the city where her father was from. mohamed: my youngest is three and still doesn't understand. it's that simple. he can't understand that his mother is no longer here. he still asks where she is. my eight-year-old is angry. how can he possibly accept that his mother was taken from him, so violently? it's almost impossible for an adult to understand, so for a child, it's very difficult.

>> the king said i was a good father and that he felt responsibility towards my children. what touched me most was that he said loubna's death had moved him and that he considered her a textbook example of integration. mohamed: it's incomprehensible to me. these were people who have the same background as me, and who were so filled with hate. i can't explain it. they killed themselves and everyone around them, to take all that beauty with them. it's incomprehensible. words fail me.

>> they have lost their humanity and dehumanize others. mohamed: the best way to fight terrorism and other similar ideologies is to champion openness, tolerance, and getting to know other people. that's very important. and to accept that there is no such thing as absolute truth, and that no one is permitted to impose their truth on others. our values as citizens are also very important. we need to be good citizens of the country we live in. >> i am fond of this part of the world, where i was born.

mohamed: i want the book to be a tool, and an appeal to reason. it's a call for people to talk to one another. a call for acceptance, consideration, respect. the book was a form of therapy, of course. and it's a tribute to loubna. she was my princess, and i want her to be immortal. her name, loubna, means love -- love for all humanity. that's her inheritance, for my children, for our children.

>> her name is still beside the doorbell. of course -- this is her house, even if she doesn't live here any more. michelle: last august, the picturesque italian town of amatrice was devastated by an earthquake. hundreds of people were killed and countless homes, historic buildings, and businesses destroyed. now, one year later, despite being promised aid and a rapid rebuilding program, the surviving population still live in what can only be described as a state of emergency. reporter: this used to be one of the most beautiful towns in italy. now, amatrice lies in ruins. a full year after the earthquake, there is still

practically nothing but rubble and debris. the first trucks and diggers arrived only a few days ago. on the anniversary of the disaster, the authorities want to be seen taking action. antonio scialanga lost his family home in the disaster, and some close friends. and he can't understand why the town still looks like it did a year ago. antonio: i don't think it's so difficult to remove these rocks from here and let the people work. we don't ask for money, we don't ask for help. we had a lot of help from the italians, from the germans, from the english -- from every place in the world. we are really thankful about these things. we just ask for help with our bureaucracy. clean this place and let us work. reporter: but the old town is off limits. locals need a special permit to

search the ruins for their belongings, for mementos of their old lives and their loved ones. almost 300 people died in the earthquake -- the vast majority in amatrice. thousands lost their homes. maria: my beloved sister died here where you see the diggers. across from that truck, eight people died -- two families with children, on the first and second stories. there, a woman died -- she was a nurse. over here, a woman died who worked as a cosmetician. you should make the sign of the cross when you come here, because this is hallowed ground. reporter: grief is giving way to anger that the authorities are doing nothing. antonio scialanga makes regular visits to the mayor in his provisional office. he wants to be able to finally rebuild his house. but the mayor says he can do nothing. he insists that the regional

authorities are responsible for wreckage on private property, and that the town has already done all it can. sergio: of course things could be better. there have been delays. but there is now a supermarket where people can shop. there are new restaurants -- there are many good signs. but people won't stop criticizing. reporter: instead of the ruined buildings being restored, new pre-fab bungalows are being constructed at the edge of town. but there are far too few. antonio scialanga didn't want to wait, so he helped himself. as the owner of a strawberry field, he had land where he could build a new home for himself, his wife, and soon, a baby. it cost 20,000 euros, paid out of his own pocket.

so far, he has received nothing from the state -- except endless red tape. antonio: if you are in a normal situation, this is the paper you must have. i understand this. but we are not in a normal situation. we can't spend all this time. even in this case, with a big earthquake and a lot of problems around, we can't spend 10 months, day and day and day. reporter: he takes us on a tour of the surrounding area. several dozen villages near amatrice were also destroyed by the earthquake. now they, too, are ghost towns. antonio scialanga shows us the ruins of his house in a suburb of amatrice. walking around here is dangerous. buildings could collapse at any time. antonio: the only thing we could

save is the post box. there's still post inside. it was here. reporter: for scialanga, it's hard to see the old amatrice ever being resurrected. as restaurants move into newly constructed buildings while the rest of the town is largely still rubble, scialanga has accepted that the new amatrice will be different. antonio: i hope to see everything like this, like the food area. a hope to see a new amatrice in the same place, brand-new, much better than it was, but respectful about what it was. reporter: that will take years. but time is not on amatrice's side. many of the residents have already moved away. what remains is the memory of one of italy's most picturesque towns. michelle: many citizens in turkey are troubled by the

climate of fear and intimidation that has descended on the country since last year's failed coup. while we've reported on stories about teachers, lawyers, and civil servants suffering from the subsequent crackdown on alleged critics, religious minorities are also affected. officially, president erdogan's conservative government is tolerant towards christians. but the minority syriac orthodox community says that dozens of their churches and monasteries have been seized by the authorities, and even by neighbors. as a result, they fear for their cultural survival. reporter: der qube is a village near the syrian border comprising a church and a few houses. eyup ergun grew up here. now he lives in midyat, the main town in the area, but he comes back to visit as often as possible. only three families remain. they're part of a christian minority called the syriacs.

to ergun and the other syriacs, this region is holy land. the aramaic-speaking minority have been living here for over 1700 years. but persecution and political unrest have forced many to leave turkey. many intended to come back, but now they often find they've lost all their property. eyup: the land you see here -- the fields and gardens -- now has other owners. if a family were to return from abroad now with the intention of putting a house up on their former land, it wouldn't be possible. reporter: it was mostly kurds from neighboring villages who took possession of the land, say the people of der qube. and the state took no action to stop them. a relative of ergun's is visiting from germany. he wanted to come back and build a house, but that will remain a dream for now.

daniel: where you see the barbed wire, all that belongs to my family. but the land registry office has entered four to six other people as owners, so it doesn't currently belong to us. reporter: but it's more than just a matter of muslim neighbors taking the land of the 1800 remaining syriacs. the turkish state has set its sights on the christian minority's cultural legacy, according to the region's only syriac attorney. rudi: there was a territorial re-organization three years ago. it resulted in all our properties -- the churches, monasteries, cemeteries and estates -- being signed over either to the state or to various town councils. all we have now is permission to use them. reporter: ergun and two other syriac men head for the neighboring kurdish village, where one of the new owners of his property lives. he's obviously not as well-off

as his christian neighbors. he bids them welcome and invites them in. then, ergun comes to the point of his visit. eyup: you've never owned anything in our village. so how is it that you suddenly have an entry into some of the land registers? you've got to explain that to me. reporter: the neighbor feels he's being unfairly picked on. but to us, he makes excuses. >> the syriacs themselves gave up the land when they left. this is not squatting. they sold it. but if the other joint owners come along, i'll be happy to take this case to the land registry office and have my name taken off. it really doesn't belong to me. reporter: it's one small victory for ergun.

but the syriacs are still wary. authorities, politicians, and neighbors have broken too many agreements with them. on sunday morning, ergun calls the faithful to worship. this former abbey is more than 1500 years old. the people of der qube say their prayers and sing in the same language jesus christ once spoke. now they wonder if they have any future in turkey. eyup: we don't know what tomorrow will bring -- if we'll be driven out of here, or if we can stay and work our land. nothing is certain. but we're not going to give up hope. reporter: ergun plans to marry soon, and he'd like to build a house -- here in his village der qube, with sole ownership of his ancestral land.

michelle: while turkey's syriac community are desperate to keep their ancient traditions and symbols alive as a way of holding on to their identity, people in kiev are hoping to do away with reminders of the past and look to the future. in the wake of the 2014 maidan uprising, which saw the overthrow of ukraine's pro-russian president, there has been a growing desire to break with the visual legacy of the soviet era in the form of colorful and often politicized murals. reporter: emmanuel jarus is a street artist from canada with ukrainian roots. he's come to kiev to add a little color and variety to the city's grey residential blocks. all around ukraine's capital, the communist-era pre-fab facades are getting a new paint job. it's a very political process. and viktor and his crane are always on hand to hoist the artist up so he can work at those dizzying heights.

emmanuel: it hasn't been anything but a wall for 100 years, and then, because of open-mindedness, then, you know, now, all of a sudden, 100 years later, there's going to be a mural on it, and it's to do with that whole, like, open-minded perspective and opening the box and opening a window on the wall. so, that's the idea. reporter: he's proud to be able to do his part to modernize kiev. he feels as if he's giving the walls a new identity and a new face, and helping the city move further away from russia and their shared soviet past. emmanuel: it's really cool how soviet it is, because, like, there's a potential for it to grow in a modern way that is unlike any other city. and watching, like, that kind of fade away and people kind of embrace new, modern things -- in a way, like, having street art is really kind of a modern thing, a modern phenomenon. reporter: the murals are street art for the masses, not gallery pieces for the elite. this exhibit is out in the open for all to see. that's just what the artists'

collective wanted -- something fully in the spirit of the 2014 maidan revolution. ukrainian photographer yevgeniy nikiforov takes a different perspective -- one of looking back. he's out to document kiev's soviet legacy -- the classic mosaic murals, for instance. he travels the length and breadth of ukraine, photographing them while he still can. many are already crumbling. evgeniy: no question -- these mosaics are important. they're part of our culture and country -- even for my generation, even though we weren't born yet when these works were created. it's important to preserve this piece of our history, if not physically, then in photos. reporter: kiev's newest mural is approaching completion. it's intended to keep the spirit of the revolution alive. the symbolism of peace and change still triggers heated debate.

natalia: i think we should do away with the old communist symbols, and fast. i don't want the old stuff any more. i'm sure there's no need to look back. we've got to move forward -- only forward. reporter: while the soviet legacy cannot be denied, locals say the aggression recently shown by russia towards ukraine has further tarnished memories of that era of official brotherhood. michelle: some residents have said that after so many years of only having concrete to look at, they welcome such vibrant and inspiring images. that's it for today. thank you for watching. until next time, goodbye. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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