♪ michelle: hello, and welcome to "focus on europe." i'm michelle henery. it's good of you to join us. here in germany, the days are getting shorter and to pass the time during these long wintry nights, many people like to visit one of the many christmas markets that have popped up across the country. some, however, enter them with a feeling of dread. because it was one year ago that a major terrorist attack was carried out at a bustling christmas market in berlin. a truck ploughed into a crowd leaving 12 people dead and over 70 injured. one year after that horrible incident, the memory of that night remains fresh for many. especially for those who lost loved ones. while debate over how police and politicians handled the event continues to rage, many of the victims' families feel abandoned

by the system that was supposed to protect and support them. polish citizen, janina urban, lost her son. he was murdered by the assailant who hijacked his vehicle to carry out the atrocity. >> janina urban has brought fresh candles for her son's grave. truck driver lukazs urban was the first to die last year in the terrorist attack on a berlin christmas market. visiting the graveyard in banie, poland has become a sad ritual for her and her husband. >> we come here almost every other day. we need to clean up, because so many people come here, from all over poland, from all over europe. it needs to be kept tidy! >> his mother does not want to speak on-camera. she is overcome with tears and bitterness. especially now, one year after the attack. she blames the german authorities and the german

chancellor in particular. she also believes the attack could have been prevented. the family feels abandoned. they still hope to receive some personal token of sympathy, a letter of condolence, from chancellor angela merkel. she isn't the only one critical of how those left behind have been treated. many at the christmas market around berlin's historic memorial church are also dissatisfied. inside, pastor katharina stifel holds a service. one year ago, she was in here with her confirmation pupils when a truck drove into the crowd outside. >> they were quick to make public statements and hold an official service. but any personal address, asking, what do you need? how can we help? that came later. >> that's the main point the twelve victims' relatives harshly criticize. aside from flowers, words, and

wreaths, nothing much has happened. they feel abandoned by the government, which has yet to respond to the accusations. what's more, the past months have revealed a growing number of mistakes made during investigations, which has further infuriated those left behind. the police had been shadowing the attacker, anis amri, for months, and traced his movements across two federal states. yet, they still failed to arrest the radicalized islamist. one year ago, on december 19th, pastor stifel said goodbye to her confirmation pupils after a nativity play just minutes after the christmas market had become a crime scene. the attack fundamentally changed the community. >> with the attack, this church lost a bit of its symbolism of security and otherworldliness. we are part of the world, with all of its horrors. we are unprotected from them and must respond.

>> pastor stifel still feels like she's been left alone, despite the countless police officers now patrolling the christmas market don't change. the authorities' utter failure last year has broken lots of trust. back then, the community wanted to help the victims quickly. >> our letters were sent out far too late, and that was partly because the government did little to assist. that also shows we did things too slowly and weren't sure how to handle things. >> after the attack, mistakes in the investigation merely increased the suffering of victims and relatives alike. lukazs urban's cousin is also bitter. ariel zurawski owns the company for which lukazs urban drove to berlin. the last scrap from the truck used in the attack hangs in his office.

it's a valve cap the german police secured in the driver's cabin. to date, he's only been compensated for a fraction of his economic loss. >> in addition to the main loss -- that of my cousin -- there is more i didn't mention at first. all the costs i had to cover due to the attack. >> he had to get a lawyer to assert his claims. so far, germany has given him 10 thousand euros. he says the losses he suffered are ten times that. but he is more concerned by the german authorities' behavior. >> i hope the victims' families will finally be treated as they should -- humanely. germany's government squandered a lot of its trust after the berlin attack, and not only in poland. perhaps the most bitter realization is that it took a year to recognize that. the german government now has plans to set up a centralized

information center which will offer support to relatives and survivors of terrorist attacks. michelle: for the victims of the attack on berlin's breitscheidplatz, this help has come a bit late. it's estimated that turkey has taken in more than three million syrian refugees. that's more than any other country and it's a huge challenge, especially given that almost half of them are children. however, turkey is getting billions of euros from the european union to help it care for the refugees, including providing an education. but our reporter julia hahn has met one young girl in istanbul whose plight is typical for the many children who are being left out. >> the clattering of the sewing machines -- for aras, it's long been part of everyday life. aras is 11, and this istanbul dressmaking shop is where she works. the women here sew lingerie and she feeds the machines with fabric.

cutting, sorting, stacking. twelve hours a day, monday to friday. for that, she earns 50 cents an hour. >> sure, i'd rather go to school. but we have to pay so much rent. food, the water bill -- it's all expensive. so i have to work to help my family. aras is not the only child in the workshop. child labor has long been a problem in turkey, and with the arrival of so many refugees from syria, it has become even bigger. khalil from damascus is 13. he went to school in syria, then came the war and fleeing from it. now he has little time to study. the youngest child here is only six years old. the head of the sewing shop is turkish. he allowed us to film here, but we had to promise him that he wouldn't be in the report.

child labor is illegal in turkey. he knows that but, as he says, without work, families would be even worse off. we meet ekrem imamoglu, a district mayor of istanbul. he admits that child labor is a massive problem in turkey. >> our options are limited. are we trying to get the children into our schools? give them books, pencils, satchels? of course we're trying to. but we don't always reach them all. often more help is needed than we can give. >> after work, aras takes us to her family. she has two sisters. her mother hasn't gone back to work since becoming pregnant. her father does have a job, but even combined with aras's

income, the family can hardly make ends meet. they don't receive any financial support from the state. >> i was the only one to work in syria and my salary was enough for all of us, even for my parents. but here it's different. the rent, the costs for the kids. i just can't do it alone. >> we have to send aras to work, there's no other way. every morning she cries and says, "i want to go to school." and it breaks my heart. i know that she is too young and many people won't give her a job because she is still a child. but i know the owner of the sewing shop. he said he wanted to help us. because she has to work during the week, aras can only go to school on weekends. in their neighborhood, syrian teachers offer lessons. turkish, arabic, math -- the

basics, at least. >> but to really help the children, the families have to get out of poverty, says the teacher. >> if the turkish state wants to help the refugees, it should provide financial support for families who send their children to school with rent subsidies or social assistance. i don't think anyone would let their kids work in that case. >> only a few hours of lessons on weekends. for aras, these are the best moments of the week -- when the sewing machines are no longer rattling and she's allowed to just be a child. the turkish government has announced that by 2020 it will guarantee every syrian refugee child a place in school. michelle: let's turn our attention now to spain, where the government has called for elections in catalonia. ever since separatists held a referendum in october, declared

illegal by madrid, catalonia has been in a state of emergency and the country, deeply divided. our reporter travelled through this part of northeast spain to gage the mood. >> a sea of spanish and catalan flags. llucia bou's come here on spain's constitution day to express his support for national unity and oppose the catalan separatists who held an illegal independence referendum in october. the crowd wants them jailed. llucia is glad to be with like-minded protesters. back in his hometown vic, such a protest would be unthinkable. the town is fiercely in favor of catalan independence. >> things are different there. it's the birthplace of the independence movement. the mood in vic is stanchly pro-independence.

along the market square, posters call for the release of political prisoners. and locals still consider carles puigdemont, who fled to belgium, to be their president. one of them is raimon casals. he wants independence from spain. many like him have pinned notes calling for secession to this wishing tree. >> i've spotted many notes that are concerned with the country's future. people want independence and a free, democratic country. >> raimon thinks spain is un-democratic. he works for omnium, a cultural organization that promotes the catalan language and catalan independence. casals co-organized vic's solidarity jail. citizens let themselves get locked up on vic's market square for two hours to express solidarity with incarcerated separatists. more than 500 citizens have already participated, and there's a long waiting list. with the catalan regional elections nearing, they want to mobilize pro-independence voters. >> we will organise more events to achieve a great election

result so that our independence movement can grow even larger than it is now. >> llucia, a coffee entrepreneur, thinks this is unlikely, since opposition to catalan independence is becoming increasingly vocal. some are even speaking out in the pro-independence bastion of vic, like these farmers. they explain how the conflict has divided their family. >> we had a family party on november 1st. fifteen people sat at this table. after dinner, the two of us were the only ones still sitting here. the others were over there, talking politics. without us. >> catalonia has changed over the past months, llucia says. the political climate has become tense. >> i stopped going to a bar for a coffee or a beer half a year ago. we can vote for the left, the centre, or the right. all that matters is that the party supports the constitution. >> raimon casals, meanwhile,

wants to mobilize as many voters as possible because the separatist fervor after october's referendum has waned. >> i'm hoping for a catalan republic. that would be my ideal of course. but it's very unlikely. >> so no matter who wins the upcoming regional elections, catalan society remains deeply divided. michelle: sometimes it's the brave actions of just a single individual that can benefit so many. in slovakia, roma people face segregation, large scale unemployment and discrimination by police. despite being the second largest ethnic group in the country, they live in the margins of society with little chance of integrating. but ever since being elected the mayor of a small village in eastern slovakia, vladimir ledecky decided to change things.

>> of vladimir is the hands-on type of mayor and is making changes in his village. big changes. >> after my election as mayor, i quickly realized that you have to actively tackle the problems in the village. it was clear that something had to change that we have to get the roma into a settled lifestyle with the possibility of finding a job. so we set up a company for roma who otherwise would not have had a chance on the free labor market. >> the roma were initially hesitant, then more and more gradually joined the scheme and took up jobs. earning a wage gave them money, which they used to build new houses. ivan kacura also recently moved into his new home with his wife and four children. it has gas, a sewage system and running water. it was a big change.

>> we used to carry the water into the house in buckets. now all the apartments have their own water closet. you don't have to walk around the yard at minus 20 degrees celsius in winter. that's good for the children alone. >> ivan shows his children videos on the internet telling how the roma in the village used to live, and how most of them in slovakia still do. he wants them to learn from them. >> my children are shocked by it. just one example. i have a wooden crate for our firewood. other roma actually live in a crate like that. >> his wife is very happy that the family is doing better now. martina kacurova also works for the community. >> people who have work feel better. they can create something, they can build something for their

children. >> thanks to a joint initiative by the mayor and the school director, things have also been changing for the roma children. >> both groups, the roma and the other children from the village, must feel that they are equal and equally welcome. after two or three years, it's borne fruit. we're on the right track. >> the neighboring village of batizovce is a good example of how the roma usually live in the country. around one third of its 2,200 inhabitants are roma. they live in a simple settlement of huts on the edge of the village. most of them don't have a job, and don't have any chance to work, they say. they feel excluded. >> we mustn't leave the weakest behind. it's about cohesion, and there's no such thing if we fail to take part of our society into account. we must give the roma a chance at long last.

>> spissky hrhov shows that roma in slovakia don't have to live on the fringes of society, but can thrive right at its heart. for a life without poverty. for a life with a future. like ivan kacura and his family. michelle: i can remember when i thought that 28 was old. and now i think that 60 is rather young! wouldn't it be great to find a way to bridge that gap between old and young? to alter the perception that young people are entitled and spoiled and that the older generation is stuck in their ways. this would likely lead to more compassion, understanding and friendship between the generations. in the netherlands, such an initiative is already underway. it involves allowing dutch students living rent-free in retirement homes. a year ago, student sores duman

moved into his new home. it's not the typical kind of student accommodation one would imagine. >> hi, marty. marty weulink is 92. marty and sores have become good friends. >> they both live in a nursing home. marty moved in ten years ago. she loves old dolls. and she appreciates her young housemate sores. >> i've adopted sores as my grandson. >> yes, we get along just fine. >> that's very good. >> physically and mentally, marty is in great shape. she loves restoring historical dolls. and her housemate sores shows her how to photograph and document her work with an ipad.

when sores moved in with these senior citizens, he pitied them. but that's completely changed. in part because of marty. >> i don't view our friendship differently. we get along really well because we treat each other with respect. that makes a lot of things easier. marty inspires me. she wants to keep learning and make the best out of her life, despite her old age. that's brilliant! >> today, another student is moving in -- jolieke van der wals. she's one of six students living alongside 160 senior citizens aged between 70 and 104. >> first i thought, this is crazy. all my neighbours are seniors. but i think it could get really sociable. jolieke can't afford a 400-euro room in student accommodation.

>> a furnished room in this nursing home is free on one condition. jolieke, like all the students here, must spend 30 hours a month with the seniors. jolieke doesn't have much time to settle in. it's time for seniors and students to come together for dinner. jolieke's eager to get socialising. but first she need to learn a few things. >> want me to open that for you? no? oh, i didn't know. >> they're saying they can do that themselves. they're right, of course. i don't have to do that for them. >> it's not easy for jolieke to know exactly how to treat the seniors. sores has been living here for a year now. he's more experienced and knows what interests the seniors most. >> they're very interested in

our love lives. our sex lives. student life. the dutch city of deventer on the ijssel river has 100,000 inhabitants. >> 26,000 of them are students. the town's city centre makes clear that dutch society, just like other societies, is growing progressively older. the dutch call this trend the "grey squeeze". new approaches are needed. making retirement more enjoyable, and life in nursing homes in particular -- that is nursing home director gea sijpkes' goal. it was her idea to get students to move in. she hopes it will bring together the young and the elderly. >> our children haven been a bit brought up like princes and princesses. they are not taught enough to take care of the elderly. we need to emancipate the way we look at elderly, that they are of use and can have their own

meaningful relationships. we show it every day. >> jolieke von der wals is living the dream many in her generation harbor. she studies at the academy of music in neighboring arnheim. she dreams of a career on stage. but when classes are over, she experiences something new at the nursing home -- what it means to live among people in need of care. she has become particularly close with one resident. elli wewer is 73, and she is still mentally very fit, but her legs gave out a while ago. but jolieke has managed to break through her reserve. recently, the old lady even went with her to a student party. >> we were playing the drinking game beer pong. elli stood at one end of the table and a student stood at the

other. then, she had to throw balls into the cup. you were really good at that, weren't you? >> yes, i was good at hitting the cup. and the student standing there had to drink it up each time. it was just some schnapps, but he didn't want to drink any more. he apparently had already had too much. >> that was nice, wasn't it? >> yes! >> one annual highlight for all residents is the oranje, or orange, fest on king's day. it was the students' idea to throw a party at the nursing home. they wanted to create a more comfy and lively atmosphere, like in flat-sharing communities. and they wanted to introduce a bit of anarchy.

>> the way i see older people has changed a lot. i used to think mostly about their limitations. but now i see their possibilities and the things they can indeed do. >> jolieke has been living in the nursing home for a few weeks now. she and her housemates know -- sometimes it's the small ideas that make the biggest changes. michelle: i hope projects like this pop up in more places. check out our facebook page dw stories if you'd like to find out more about any of today's stories or better yet, send me a tweet. until next time, goodbye.

of native report, we view the infrared photography of erv schleufer. we visit the spokane, washington, american indian community center. and we attend the national congress of american indians mid year conference. we also learn something new about healthy living and hear from our elders on this edition of native report. announcer: production of native report is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community, the blandin foundation, and the duluth superior area community foundation. [music playing]