>> hello and a very warm welcome to european journal coming to you from dw studios in brussles. it's very good to have you with us. here's what we have. why people from the russian minority are joining the defense forces. netherlands why fishing from flamplet is a good idea. >> and turkey how a woman from germany became the mayor. ever since russia annesmed

crimea, countries with russian-speaking minorities are feeling threatened. they will called on their nato allies for help. air patrols have been stepped up and now there's talk of more foreign soldiers being deployed in the east. in latvia many people have vivid memories of the times their country was under soviet occupation after the second world war. and instead of waiting from help from abroad many are signing up with local defense units. >> latvia's military conducts exercises designed to maintain its readiness to defend the country. taking part in the maneuvers, both ethnic russians and both volunteers in latvia's national guard. his wife is also pitching in. the conflicts in ukraine and russia's posturing have got the couple worried.

>> here we're learning to stand together with our latvaen conrads in arms and we're doing these exercises in order to be prepared for a surprise military attack from abroad. >> by abroad, they mean from neighboring russia. they don't really believe moscow will invade latvia but better safe than sorry. >> russia is not really interested in latvia. our country's much too small. and we don't have any mineral resources. i'm hoping there won't be any fighting like in the crimea or eastern ukraine. i just want to live in peace and raise my boy. >> even at peacetime he is separated from his song for long peesheds.

he can't support his family so every two months he heads off to france to drive a taxi. >> we could breed pigs here like in the old days and sell them to russia. it's an enormous market virtually limitless. we could sell anything there. having russia as our neighbor is a huge plus. >> his friend from the national guard runs a motel on the highway to russia. >> it's family-owned and does good business with truck drivers from russia. so he has no interest whatsoever in either military conflict or economic sanctions against moscow. >> the highway is like a life line for us. the trucks carry the bulk of our goods into russia.

any military action would put a stop to all that. it would not only hurt my business. but all the businesses around us. and the whole country would lose tax revenues. >> nearly one in three latvaens is ethnic russians. many of them still feel loyal to russia. he's shocked that they would volunteer to serve in the latva en armed forces and fire on russian soldiers. >> if moscow were to annesm latvia, russia's such a huge country they would do whatever they want anyway. let them come in and replace the government with a russian one. what's the difference? >> and then russian soldiers would come into your house and

say we live here now and they would throw you out. what would you do then? put your tail between your legs like a dog and live in the forest? >> they say it would be the end of latvia. they want to be ready to defend the country. their russian origins are not a factor. ever since russia crossed the line in the crimea they've been preparing for the worst case scenario. >> i don't care if they're russians or any other troops who violate our borders. we're in the latvaen armed forces and we'll defend this country against all enemies. >> if the russians attack us we'll shoot back to protect ourselves, our families and our homelands. >> nato troops are also taking part in this year's latva

maneuvers hoping to soothe their anxieties. but with one of the lowest military budgets in nato, they're very poorly equipped making the volunteer force all the more important. >> we don't ask latva's citizens to volunteer. their ethnic orge. they're patriots who want to defend it. >> he and his wife echo that sentiment. their loyalties are clearly with latvia. >> next time you go to a supermarket please take a moment and take one careful look at the products on sale and their packaging. some of it is just absurd. so many items come wrapped in

plastics. it's completely unnecessary and it adds to the horrendous amount of plastic waste that we produce every day. a lot ends up in our ocean and causes terrible damage there. we met a group of fishermen in the netherlands who have decided to tackle the problem. >> every year, 8 million tons of plastic waste are discarded into the earth's seas. these images may look bad but they're only the tip of the iceberg. only 15% of plastic waste floats on the surface of the water. the rest sinks to the bottom of the sea. >> i am out at 6:00 a.m. the captain and his crew are the equivalent of volunteer maritime garbage collectors hauling tons of decaying fish and trash from the north sea.

they find almost anything when they haul up their nets. >> these days the crew is constantly repairing the nets which get torn by the sharp ends of pieces of waste. on this trip, too, they have hauled lots of metal. although the vast majority of garbage is made of plastic. 91 fishing boats in the netherlands alone are taking part in the european project fishing for litter. the trash they haul is sorted and recycled. every year plastic in the world's oceans kills millions of sea birds. these are the contents found in the stomaches of two alba trosses. almost half of all whales and seals ingest plastic. many die painful deaths.

there's no way of counting the number of dead fish. and in the long term, plastic marine time waste will affect human beings as well. researchers are currently investigating the possibilities. >> for example, we don't know yet what this means for plankton in the lower tropics. no one knows that. but since plastic breaks down into miniscule particles there's no way to filter them out. they get into the food chain and are ingested by bigger animals. >> at the top of the food chain is homo sapeions the species that cause the problem to begin with. er year humans foul the sales by dumping more plastic into many thousands of fishing nets. >> they float around and trap things. and when they're full they sink to the bottom. creatures die and the bodies rot and then the nets float up to the surface again.

they catch more fish and sink to the bottom and the fish rot. waste nets are always trapping things. that's what makes them dangerous. >> back in the town there's a surprise. the captain and his crew have won a prize. the fishing for litter award. it isn't as glamorous as the oscars but it's an accolade for a job well done. for the third year in a row the men have hauled the most garbage out of the sea. >> of course i'm proud. we can harvest the garbage by ourselves but the prize will motivate the guys. >> three days later, they are back at sea battling against the elements and the maritime waste they drag up in their catch. the fishing for litter initiative is growing every year. hundreds of european fisher mep

are now collecting tons of garbage. unfortunately, it's estimated that at the current pace, it will take 79,000 years before the seas are free of plastic garbage. >> in june, 1989, exactly 25 years ago, poland took a historic step. the communist country held its first partially free parliamentary elections. and the result was a landslide victory for the anti-communist opposition. the vote is now seen as the beginning of the end of the cold war. today 25 years on poland is a member of the eu and nato and many people are taking stock, including those whose contribution was vital in bringing the communist regime and the opposition trade union movement solidarity to the negotiating table. >> the famous roundtable. even now he's overcome with reverent awe when he's touches

it. the master carpenter made it 25 years ago. today it's become the symbol of a democratic poland. >> it's a beautiful piece of furniture that i made. and it's played such an important role in history. at this table the solidarity trade unions and the communists reached an agreement. you could say the table caused a democratic breakthrough. i'm happy that i could play a role in it. >> the table became a symbol for conflict resolution. solidarity leader electric wallesa negotiated talks that threatened to collapse several times. then a miracle. they decided to hold parliamentary elections on june 4, 1989. the ruling communists were guaranteed a certain number of seats. the rest were to be occupied by freely elected opposition members. the first relatively free vote since world war ii was a disastrous defeat for the

communists. today, he heads a company remaining loyal to woodworking. it's a good fit for him. the last 25 years have been good and he's made the best of the opportunities that came his way. >> yes, of course i'm proud of myself. let's put it this way. i have developed in the right direction. i've become a boss. i have my employees. and i'm responsible for them. i think that you can call that a big success. >> but he's also experienced the toughness of the new economic system. the factory where the table was made was sold and then closed down.

there is a shopping center now where his old workshop used to be. his wife is a farmer. even if her work looks the way it used to the farm is a modern one. she says she's grateful for the democratic development. without that change there would be no subsidies. >> have you filled out all your applications? >> of course. it's done. and even filed already. everything is ok. the farm is flourishing. they continue to acquire new equipment. that wouldn't have been possible in communist times. she also heads the muneniss company council. they make a good team. success not for their neighbor. once a we woulder he quickly lost his job when his plant closed after communism fell. he collects pallets and old boards to burn as fuel.

he says you never know how bad times can become. when he visits him he knows what the topic of conversation will be. he says it's single minded and isn't adapting to the new system. >> democracy. democracy and capitalism. that's fine rich people. but this system isn't for people like me. not for poor people. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. >> his small farm barely supports itself. he hasn't even tried to apply for subsidies because he has no confidence in the system. they say they're touched by the fates of those who haven't fared well. >> we were all fascinated at first. but now the emotions have subsided. if you look at the government and what it does and the

changes they're implementing, you feel powerless to do anything. >> poles once formed the vanguard of change in umplete they had high expectations back then and overwhelming euphoria. and although hardly anyone in poland wants the old system back, the roundtable where it all began has come to represent democratic awakening but also disillusionment. >> albania's leadership was also ousted when communism collapsed in europe. but in contrast to poland albanian's transition has not been smooth. albania wants to join the european union but the eu insists the government has to tackle its problems first and step up the fight against corruption and organized crime. albania's also lagging far behind when it comes to equal rights for women. in many region, the set of traditional laws still applies

dating back to the middle ages. >> a few months ago, he came home from work later than usual. her husband accused her of cheating. she didn't believe that she had been to church and he pulled a knife. her eldest son was sent to prison for abetting his father in the assault. he's just been released. now, an organization called today for the future is coming to the aid of women like her. this is one of the driving forces of the albanian women's movement. her organization offers support to victims of domestic violence and helps them cope with its effects.

she only survived the attack because her younger son called the police. the results of the attack are still clear for all to see. >> my husband and my son cut off my hair with a knife. that's the law where we come from. the unpishment for unfaithful wives. i've forgiven my son. after all i'm his mother. i didn't have the strength to turn my own son away. >> she comes from the largely catslirknords of albania. even today the area is bound by traditional cannon which makes women the property of their husbands. there is no work in the northern rural villages so people are moving to cities. yet here too women's rights are violated.

she tries to find new prospects for disadvantaged women. her center today for the future helps them become financially independent. as many of the women she supports have arrived from rural areas with their families. >> violence is very prevalent in albanian families. the former swamplands are a troubled spot. our hot line gets about 35 calls a month from affected women. >> women can learn a trade at the center. they can train to be cooks or seam stresses, for example. financial independence is the goal as well. she hopes to open her own cafe. her husband earned money in greece for years. but he can't find work there

any more. she lives in the poor neighborhood. about 60,000 people live here. it sthinks of garbage and human waste. she has found simple but acceptable housing. >> 15 years ago it was a lot worse here. there was no electricity or water or even streets. now if they would just cover over the suers i would be quite happy here. but of course i hope we will find work soon. >> the women of albania often have quite modest hopes for their future. but to make even these come true they need tremendous courage. >> women's rights are also the

topic of constant intense debate in turkey. some turkish women run big companies with tens of thousands of employees. and at the same time, there are still countless cases of forced marriages. in the southeast of turkey, in the kurdish regions in particular, people still live under a patriarch al system. so this next story is all the more astonishing. a young woman has just been elected mayor in that region. she's a hair dresser by trade and she was born and brought up in germany. >> she is just 27. grew up in germany and only returned to turkey eight months ago. the city of chezzra is firmly in the hands of the kurdish which instituted a quota for women in the last election. two months ago, she became mayor in a man's world. >> it's a nice feeling. it's a huge responsibility. but it's also a chance to do

something for my people. >> home to some 100,000 people, lies in turkey's far southeast just kilometers away from syria and iraq. it's a rather faceless place without an historic center or major industry. the boom in construction and investments that's enlivend most of turkey hasn't reached here yet. the largely kurdish population is poor and unemployment runs high. the hair dresser turned politician emrit has an experienced deputy mayor at her side. >> to an extent, she is responsible for maintaining contact with citizens while i concentrate on the bureaucracy. >> mayor emrit has a lot of challenges ahead of her. the city coffers are empty.

there is no running water or parks. for a long time it was the site of fighting between kurdish guerilla and the army. the situation is still tense. her predecessor was jailed on a mere supigs that he supported the pkk and there are language issues. people here always say mr. mayor. i correct them and say it's ms. mayor not mr. they have to get used to the idea of a woman mayor. i'm the first one. there's been a mayor's office here for 106 years. but until now, it's always been a man who governed. >> she has her fath tore thank for her new career. he was not only a well-known pkk fighter. he gave his life for the kurdish cause. that has made her popular here.

still, she says she misses the city where she grew up. >> i have my friends there and spent my childhood there. i miss it. i'm flying back soon though. >> change is difficult without money. so she counts on volunteers. once a week she organizes cleanup brigades with several associations under the motto, our city can be more beautiful. >> it's not common to see so much garbage everywhere in germany. but in turkey, people don't automatically pick things up and put them in the trash bin. so we want to get people into the habit of doing that. i think we should be a little more like paying more attention to cleanliness. >> 1992,, kurdish new year, the

site of a brutal mass consider. she experienced that as a child. >> i'll never forget the people lying dead on the ground. there were so many wounded. so many tanks on the streets. so many soldiers and policemen. the air actually smelled of blood. it was a terrible time. >> there are still occasional fighting even though the bloody conflict is largely a thing of the past. a cease fire is in place. but it's tenuous. that doesn't make her job any easier. still, she says she wants to run for reelection to make a long-term difference. >> that report brings us to the end of this edition of european

journal. nfment next time, thanks for watching. bye for now.gg99ññwçça7guc

06/12/14 06/12/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! we were sitting in the house, but we heard clashes and found explosions. we did not know what happened. we can't understand what has happened. what do they want? why did the people suffer now?