michelle: a very warm welcome to "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. glad you could join us. across europe, all eyes are on the small northeast region of spain. in the wake of the recent catalonian referendum, deemed illegal by the spanish government, catalonian separatists hope to split from the rest of spain. in parliament, catalans president carles puigdemont said he wanted independence, but only after negotiatons with the spanish government. a message that was welcomed by his followers. freedom and independence, these are fundamental european values. proudly written into many constitutions. this freedom, however, also has limitations. sometimes the price of freedom can be hotly disputed.

consider spain. not every catalan believes that freedom means independence. as a result, many communities, where some residents call for unity, while others insist on independence, are being torn apart, like in the village of montblanc. narrator: his olives are nearly ripe. pep andreu is hoping the catalonian independence movement will also soon bear fruit. here in montblanc they've been fighting to split from the rest of spain for a long time. they believe catalonia shouldn't have to keep paying for the economic failure of other regions. >> we're always the ones who pay. it's not right. financial plans need to be fairer. if someone produces more, they should see more returns. narrator: most people in the small town of montblanc favor catalonian independence, even though the king bears the title duke of montblanc. the city government wants to revoke that title. pedro navarro's parents are

andalusian, and even though he identifies as catalan, he's not in favor of independence. he has a machinery and spare parts business, and deals with a lot of international partners. so, the prospect of an isolated catalonia worries him. >> of course i'm worried that we might become independent and split from spain. it makes me nervous that we don't know where we're headed and what will become of us. but i know who i am and where i live -- catalonia. narrator: catalans are divided. some want to split from spain. others want to stay and are concerned about the economic fallout of a potential split. big companies with headquarters in catalonia are considering moving. that is making

even diehard supporters of independence nervous, such as guillem campdepadros. >> the damage being done to the catalan people -- this divide -- is the fault of the politicians. they've stirred people up. narrator: in montblanc, too, politicians have stirred up pro-independence sentiment. at the town hall, the spanish flag was taken down long ago. the mayor, josep andreu, is a resolute separatist. >> we've been nurturing our entrepreneurial spirit since the industrial revolution. let us go our own way. then we'll see, within two or three years we'll have become one of europe's leading economic hubs. narrator: machinery dealer pedro navarro doesn't agree. he believes too much is at stake. not just the future of his own company, but his identity, too. >> it's painful. my parents came here to work 50 years ago. everything i am, i owe to them,

and to all the andalusians who came to catalonia to help build it. narrator: as far as olive farmer pep andreu is concerned, people like pedro aren't real catalans. especially if they don't support the separatist movement. he's convinced that catalonia needs to become independent. >> it has to happen now. or it will take another 300 years. my sons and grandsons wouldn't live to see it. narrator: it can't all be for nothing, says pep andreu -- the demonstrations, the referendum and the fight for a catalan , republic, independent of the kingdom of spain. michelle: but at what cost? a resolution can be found only if all sides agree. for some time now, we have reported on how hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants made dangerous journeys to reach greece and italy's coastlines. but this summer has been different. because of tighter restrictions

and increased patrols there, a new route was inevitably discovered across the black sea to romania. the country has seen a sudden uptick in new arrivals. coastguards warn the route could prove deadlier than others. narrator: at the mercy of the black sea. crammed onto a far too tiny boat heading towards romania. this is also how ivan and rekav bayzani came here two weeks ago with their children. they are still shook up from their dangerous passage from istanbul. >> we were afraid to set off after seeing what shape the boat was in. i got mad at my husband. we watched parts of the boat fall off, but it was too late. the waves were very high and water entered the boat. we were so scared. narrator: for several weeks, the romanian coast guard has been

encountering overcrowded, smuggling boats day and night. within a month, nearly 500 people from iraq, iran and syria have fled across the black sea to romania. the coast guard is concerned a new so-called black sea route could emerge from turkey to romania. captain catalin paraschiv has been on several operations rescuing refugee boats. >> turkey has a very long coastline, much longer than ours. it is very difficult to continuously guard the entire coast. human traffickers profit from this and manage to send boats over. narrator: the bayzanis are glad they survived. they hadn't been aware of the danger. all that mattered was to leave turkey, towards europe, they tell us. the black sea route is an inside tip. >> we came through turkey because it's easy to start from there, and because many human traffickers are there.

the turkish police don't do anything about it. they're bribed by the smugglers. narrator: having arrived in romania, the human traffickers are arrested, their boats confiscated by the romanian coast guard. held together by nothing more than rust, numbers of decommissioned turkish fishing and tourist boats are rising. they're now arriving at the ports of constanta as a result of european refugee politics, according to refugee expert adrian herta. desperate people always find a way. >> the fact that we have these ships on the black sea shows that the typical routes are shut down and are no longer an option. narrator: that's why an increasing number of refugees are landing in constanta. and many romanians are skeptical. >> the state should keep these people away from us. they shouldn't come to us like they did to germany. tragedies keep happening there.

>> i personally believe we should help each other. i wouldn't want to live in a country like theirs, with so much war, and nobody is there to help. narrator: ivan bayzani and his family were brought to a tourist village in mamaia along with 40 other refugees. they say they can't go back to iraq. >> i worked at the court where my brother was a judge. i had access to many secret documents. files that contained proof against influential, corrupt people. they told me to smuggle these files out and threatened to kill me if i didn't. narrator: the bayzanis are glad they've made it. but romania is only a temporary stop on their journey. they want to keep moving as soon as possible, to sweden or germany.

michelle: justine henry was an early supporter of french president emmanuel macron. we did a report on her in the run-up to the election, showing how inspired she was by the progressive political party he founded. but after five months on the job macron's controversial reforms , have caused his approval rating to dwindle. it is passionate supporters like justine who may end up saving his job for him. narrator: justine henry has been a macron supporter from day one. in the run up to the election she spent months campaigning for his party, putting her job as a veterinarian on hold. now she's once again hitting the streets of paris' montmarte district. this time, to convince her fellow citizens to support the president's unpopular workplace reforms. >> i'd be interested to know why you are unconvinced?

>> companies are built on the backs of their employees and these people will have fewer rights soon. i don't see the logic. >> why do you say that? no one is going to lose existing rights. narrator: justine is fully committed to the cause. but after the presidential election she too suffered a disappointment. her party chose not to endorse her as a parliamentary candidate, opting for a more experienced politician to run in her district. justine tries her best to come to terms with the decision. >> yes, that came as a blow. suddenly we didn't see eye to eye anymore. but these rivalries and the issue of who gets which post, they're of secondary importance.

narrator: even without a seat in parliament, justine has enough on her plate. the protests against macron are growing in number. in particular, the left wing party of jean-luc melenchon is drawing support. melenchon is fighting against macron's plan to legislate his new workplace agenda by decree, without input from parliament. >> the government has launched a full-scale attack on the french people. this affects all of our society's achievements -- the education system, the healthcare system, pensions, social law. this is their attack on us. narrator: justine finds the protests unfair. >> emmanuel macron made it clear during his election campaign

that he would reform the labor market by decree as soon as possible and macron was democratically elected. that's why i find these demonstrations unfair. narrator: nevertheless, recent polls show macron's popularity has slipped. his approval is even lower than that of his unpopular predecessor, francois hollande. political scientists, however, are taking those figures with a grain of salt. many of the votes cast in the second round were not so much for macron as against the far right candidate marine le pen. that's according to pascal perrineau. he believes it's only natural that people grumble. but macron still has a few months in which to prove his abilities. >> macron's political opponents are at odds and they don't have a clear leader. macron's strength is partly due to the weakness of his opponents. at the same time, there are signs the economy is improving.

so the french are more likely to feel optimistic about the future. narrator: the greater danger according to perrineau is that the young president's swift rise to power and newfound celebrity will distance him from his own base. justine knows that for this reason, people like her play an important role. >> the danger now is that there will be more and more tension, that aggression towards the government will pile up, and divisions will appear. that's why it's important to explain the purpose of the reforms, so that people once again can identify with these political goals. narrator: without supporters like justine touting the government's agenda, it's possible the new president's approval ratings could drop even further. michelle: what inevitably happens when youth services are cut and education and policing are starved of funding?

the austerity measures introduced in britain in the wake of the financial crisis didn't invent knife crime, but now it is thriving. major cities across the country are recording record knife attacks, last year alone. our reporter met with a youth worker in south london who fears for the future. narrator: we're on our way to croydon in south london. in the course of just 24 hours, two young people have been killed in knife attacks here. >> this is armed police. there has to be something serious for them to be cutting through the traffic. so either they've got a call that someone has a gun in the car or someone has tried to stab somebody. narrator: gwenton sloley knows what he's talking about. he's an advisor to the police and also does community outreach work with young people with violent tendencies.

they're often gang members, not even 16 years old. he is a former gang member os x time in jail himself. that was 10 years ago. times have changed. >> i think the young people have totally lost their way, and they haven't got positive role models to show them that what they're doing is wrong. they've lost their cultural identity. they don't respect anyone. because if you look, they're attacking normal citizens. in the street, on the buses. back in my day, you wouldn't be attacking someone's mum on the bus. reporter: knife attacks have become an epidemic in britain, where there were 34,000 of them last year alone. mainly in city outskirts like unemployment are rife. real life here means drugs and violence. gwenton is taking us to meet one of croydon's main gang leaders.

he calls himself "young chapel." we're meeting in a remote corner of a park in a rival gang's territory. it's a deliberate provocation. are you always carrying a knife with you? >> yeah, everybody carry that. probably more as well. reporter: and when do you use it? for self-protection? >> self-protection, robbery, anything that comes up that is gonna threaten you. if i take out my knife and show you, to the camera, people close to me gonna know, it's a unique knife. reporter: have you been involved in stabbing? >> i can't tell you of that one. reporter: but you have seen some stabbing? >> yeah i did. reporter: he plays his cards close to his chest. carrying a knife is punishable by up to four years in jail. police have stepped up id checks

in response to knife crime. the weapons are confiscated by police, or surrendered as part of a nationwide program. knives and other blades from 40 police districts have been taken to clive knowles ironworks. >> typically the kitchen knife which obviously somebody can grab quickly to bayonets. ,there will be tens of thousands in here. it is disturbing. anybody looking at that can see there is absolutely no question of it being (a) out of control, and (b), a blight. reporter: clive is overworked. in conjunction with police forces across england, his british ironwork centre launched an incentive called "save a life, surrender your knife," which encouraged young people to surrender knives anonymously. the center sponsors steel containers, and gets to keep the contents.

some 100,000 knives, blades, swords and other weapons used in violent crime were made into the knife angel sculpture. it's a tribute to the victims. many mothers come here to mourn the sons they've lost. their names are engraved on the sculpture. >> james and conner and tom and liam, wesley. reporter: tom was her only son. he was killed 18 months ago. ambushed by a gang on his way home from a supermarket, and stabbed by a 16-year-old. >> he was eating a packet of crisps. i can't understand. i find it so very hard.

sorry. he was working so hard he was , working three jobs, he had a beautiful girlfriend, he had a potential future. it was all just snatched, just taken. reporter: rachel webb's anger is directed at the perpetrators, but also at the politicians. the government has pledged to clamp down on knife crime, but what good is new legislation if the roots of the problem go on tackled -- untac kled? >> they have cut back on youth services over the past two years, stripped it all the way back. so you have limited youth clubs. you need to do more early intervention, more proactive than reactive work. we're constantly reacting to things. reporter: once kids get involved with crime, it's hard to get out, says gwenton. it's like a marriage.

till death do them part. michelle: increasingly, many turkish people feel like strangers in their own country. particularly if they work in industries considered liberal or progressive. ever since last summer's failed coup, and the aggression shown towards anyone perceived as a critic to the government, many actors and directors now complain that the istanbul art scene is dominated by a climate of fear. this led one turkish actor to consider moving his family to berlin. moving into the unknown reporter: the kocaturks are packing up. kemal and his wife ayca, a pianist, are leaving their house in istanbul. their flight to berlin is in just a few hours. along with their two daughters damla and yasemin, they are starting a new life. >> the kids made this. but we can't take everything

with us. it makes me so sad. but that's life. you always have to leave something behind. reporter: the kocaturk family is leaving behind their house with a yard, on the edge of the city, near the black sea. after her husband had a guest performance in berlin, they decided to move to the german capital. the german consulate in istanbul granted them a six-month artist visa that allows them to seek employment in germany. ever since the failed coup, the situation has escalated dangerously. >> i was so worried about him. we see how people are simply arrested at night and locked away. i couldn't stop thinking about it. reporter: the neighbors have

come to say goodbye. they can understand the kocaturk's decision. many turks are considering leaving the country. >> let them go ahead and see what it's like. then we can visit them and see how they are doing. reporter: then, it's time to say goodbye. not only to their house and their best friends, but somehow also to their entire life as , they had known it. berlin, two weeks later. the kocaturk family was able to stay in an acquaintance's apartment at first. they have already found their own apartment and will be moving soon. but they still haven't found work. >> even before leaving i had said my opportunities would be limited here in germany. i won't be able to earn money as easily here with my turkish plays.

but the difference is, at least i can try. reporter: it's time for their appointment at the berlin immigration authority. it's about their residence permit. will the family be allowed to stay? and if so, for how long? the kocaturks hope they've gathered all the right papers certifications from theaters , that want to work with kemal, confirmations from the daughters' schools, bank statements. >> this appointment at the immigration office is making me a bit nervous. we can't speak german yet. so i don't feel comfortable at appointments like this. reporter: behind these office windows, the decision will be made if germany will give the kocaturks a chance. after an hour and a half, they come back out, happy, and

relieved. >> it went great. we were granted a two-year stay! reporter: an evening in a bar in kreuzberg. ayca and kemal kocaturk are visiting the regular turkish expat meetup for the first time. they can recognize several familiar faces among the journalists, artists and writers. and each week, new political refugees arrive from turkey. >> now i just want to enjoy this freedom. here, nobody interferes in your life. there doesn't seem to be aggression here, nobody shouting. it's so peaceful. i could live like this. reporter: tonight is kemal kocaturk's first small performance in berlin. he recites turkish poems, accompanied by of -- by a saz. the kocaturks are now part of

the turkish expat community in berlin. here, they will find help and support. yet despite all optimism, they are all united in their longing for home and worry for those left behind. michelle: since we last met with the kocaturks, they have moved into their own home, and kemal has had his first paid engagement in a small turkish theater in berlin. that's it for today. thank you for watching. see you next time. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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