annonocer: opportunity. prosririty. optimismsm. where cut flowers are a flourishing business, but one that's taking its toll on the environmnment. inin turkey, freedom of speech seems a thing of the past. how can thousands of sidelined academics ththere rebuild ther lives? then on to hong kong, where living space is a luxury. we head to the city where many

live in desperately cramped conditions. urbanization is an unstoppable trend worldwide. more and more people are deserting rural areas for life in cities looking for jobs, educational opportunities, and inspiration. all want a decent place to live -- and that's the problem. good locations are in high demand, and prices are steep. germany's most expensive city is munich. apartments in the center fetch over 9200 euros a square meter. and in other countries, prices are even higher. in new york, for example, apartments can cost a whopping 11,000 a square meter. the three most expensive cities are london, at over 15,000 euros a square meter. singapore, which is even pricier. and hong kong tops the list. flats there can cost an

astronomical 21,700 euros per square meter, which leads to harsh living conditions for the poor. reporter: their home is a cage -- seven men live in a single room in bitter poverty. they often don't have enough money for three meals a day. mr. leung shows us where he's been living for years. he gets about 500 euros in welfare every month -- nearly half of which hehe spends on hs caged bed and electricity. mr. leung: we are expendable, like trash. we have been cast out. society has given up on us. reporter: their only ray of hope is lai shan. she visits them regularly and asks how they're doing, what they need, and brings them extra money for food. she works for an aid organization that looks after people living in m miserable conditions in hong kong. lai: i think it's very sad and

it's also very s shameful, becae inin hong g kong, we have huge resources -- and people there are so rich h in hong kong. and the government has huge resources. so i think actually the government should have the capacity, the resources, to help these people. but we just allow this to happen. reporter: living s space in hog kong is more expensive than almost anywhere else in the world. there's very little room for the more than seven million residents. but ththere are plenenty of bus for luxury apartments -- a profitable business for real estate companies. buying an apartment is barely affordable even for the middle class -- it's long been the norm for them to spend half their income on rent or a mortgage. for many, hong kong is a housing nightmare. because of her efforts to help, today she's visiting the home of 13-year-old chak ming. owners here have subdivided many of the apartments into

mini-lodgings, known as shoeboxes. with just a part-time job and welfare, all this mother and child can afford are about two-and-a-half square meters, with a bunk bed and a small table. the mother cries a lot, and wishes she could provide something better for her son. >> our apartment should really be big enough so that my son and i can move around freely. here, it's so small ththat we n only enter the room one at a time. reporter: chak ming won't tell his s classmatesowow he lives - he's t too ashshamed. most people here work, but t ty do not earn enenough for an apartment t of theirwn.. so, seseveral people are forcedo share a grubby kitchen and a single bathroom. their only hope is a statate-subsidized apartntnt. but the waiting list is several years lolong. lai shan gives advice, helps people deal with bureaucracy,

and puts pressure on officials where she can. lai: peoe e who veve in thesee kinds of spaces, they feel very frustrated, feel hopeless and helpless. when it's hot here in the summer, it's very hot, and some people cannot fall asleep. then besides that, t there are o many people, and hygiene is not good. reporter: about 30% of hong kong's residents live in subsidized housing. but there's not nearly enough to go around. the hunt for an affordable living space even drives people to live in corrugated-iron huts on the roofs of factories -- with little in the way of safety features. it's illegal and it's dangerous. but where else are people supposed to go?

children are especially vulnerable. lai shan herself grew up in poverty and knows how they feel. many don't even have enough space at home to do their homework. the aid organizationon has othr volunteers who help them, too. and here they are taught not to be ashamed of being poor. lai: their self-image is low because they feel they're inferior to others. or sometimes at t the beginnin, they're not feeling bad, but because the other people look down on them. for example, we have some children, theieir classmates kw they are living g in this kindf small space, and then they tease them. reporter: lai shan is calling for more subsidized housing from the local government. she says too much land goes to ththe powerful r real estate compananies. she has already helped thousands of residents to move from their shoebox dwellings to subsidized housing. sometimes it took years, such as with ms. tai.

the apartments here are bigger, the rents cheaper. for residents, it means a complete lifestyle change, fewer worries, and more money left over. it's a neveverending job, buta rewarding one. lalai: i feel l happy because wi help people, they're in n a difficult t situation,ctctualli feel verery sorry for that. and so i work k hard, and then they finally impmprove their situation. that makes me really happy. i don't know, becacause i thik that helping people is a kind of happiness. reporter: those living in caged beds generally pay even more rent for their space than people who live in subsidized flats. if it weren't for lai shan's help, mr. leung and the other men here might not even have warm clothing for the cooler winter nights. sometimes, when the people of hong kong come home from work, mr. leung goes to the soccer pitch. he used to work in a slaughterhousese and lived i in employee housing. now he's 70 and in poor health. he's given up hope of ever

getting a subsidized apartment, as there are almost 300,000 other people in hong kong who are also on the waiting list. host: now from hong kong, to turkey. two years ago, more than 1000 of the country's academics signed a petition criticizing president recep tayyip erdogan's policies and appealing for an end to his bloody campaign against the kurds -- a small act with major repercussions. many of them were later fired by presidential decree. the accusation -- spreading terrorist propaganda. after the attempted military coup, around 150,000 civil servants in turkey lost their jobs -- often for unexplained reasons. they've hit the streets in protest at being blackballed -- made captives in their country.

reporter: ulas bayraktar has been working behind the counter for only a few months. last spring, the political science lecturer was fired. and, like so many other civil servants, he was banned from his profession, as well as forbidden to leave the country. after that, he had to ask himself, what should i do now? ulas: we just wanted to do something here in mersin, to say that we don't leave. we will find new ways to do what we had been doing in the university. that means, what have we been doing with students, with science, with books, and with the city in general. reporter: in 2016, bayraktar signed a petition called "academics for peace" that criticized how the turkish government handled human rights issues in a kurdish part of the country. he was fired for that, and barred from government service by a state emergency decree. he will also receive neither unemployment compensation, nor a pension. bayraktar opened a cafe, together with other colleagues

they offffer workshops and readings.. they want to provide a space to share knowledge, where people can learn and discuss things and ask critical questions. this was his dream. ulas: these are the seeds and grains of hope. maybe that will be a forest, maybe that will be a desert. the support and the people, and maybe you see a a lot of messas over internet or personal messages saying that you gave us support and you gave us hope. reporter: he calls the cafe an island of hope. working here gives him strength and distracts s him from privae concncerns. his s wife works a at a univery in germany. he hasn't seen her in eight months. he is not allowed to leave the country, and if she were to return to turkey, she would face the same situation. ulas: i send her e-mails daily, like a diary. when she comes back, i want her

to know every detail of this place, every detail of our life after her departure. you saw her birds? even from germany, she contributes. i think that's the most terrible dimension of all this process. reporter: in the capital, ankara, husband and wife cem and muslume cinar also saw their professional world collapse before their eyes. they were elementary school teachers before being fired about a year ago. now they are trying to make ends meet by running a small food stand. the number 686 is on the front counter. this is the number of the law that was quoted as they lost their jobs. they are trying to keep a sense of humor. cem: we had to sell our car to open thihis shop. we have two children a and somew we have to make ends meet. reporter: today they have a visitor -- kemal inal. inal used to teach communications.

he's writing a book about those who were fired. and yes, he too was dismissed for the same reasons. he wants to tell t the stori of somef f the 40,00000 teachers d professors who lost their jobs. kemal: many people who were victims of this decree are now networking. we have the same worries and we are beginning to feel some solidarity -- a kind of resistance movement. it's not just about coming into this shop to eat. it's more important than that. it's about the exchange of political and personal ideas. reporter: but kemal has almost no contact with former colleagues at the university where he taught. the school was right-wing conservative, and he was one of the few liberal leftist teachers therere. now, he spends his days in h hs home office, working on his book. he also has financial l worrie. he has loans to repay, but now no income. he gets small monthly payments from his labor union, but it's

not enough to make ends meet. he and his wife haveegun selling homemade leather bags. kemal: we have started eating soup, instead of proper meals. and i rararely go out, so i cn save m money. i have sent out a lot of job applications, but no one is interested in employing someone who was let go due to a government decree. of course, anyone can become unemployed. but for us, it's important to come up with a survival strategy. reporter: : t it's notot just about survival -- these people want their lives back. that's what most of the fired professors and journalists are demanding at this demonstration in istanbul. ulas bayraktar is determined to remain positive. he came all the way from mersin to be here in istanbul today. ulas: it's not easy. it's not easy to insist on optimism. sometimes you need to be -- you need to see that you're not the

only maniac. you're not the only fool of the town. there are other fools, if this is stupidness. so, you just start to re-believe in yourself. you just refresh your insistence and your struggle. reporter: ulas bayraktar is going to need his strength and positivity. all of the academics who signed the peace petition have been legally charged. the first court proceedings began in december. but the prprofessor says he's t afraid -- after all, he's an eternal optimist. host: this week in our global ideas series, we take a look at a billion-dollar industry -- cut flowowers. most of f the world's supply cos fromararge-scale flower farms in just a handful of countries. it's a business worth around 44 billion euros a year. the global center of the cut flower trade is still the netherlands.

but production is on the rise in four countries in the tropics -- one of them, kenya. our reporter manuel ozcerkes headed to lake naivasha near nairobi, where dozens of flower farms have sprung up. but for other people who rely on the lake for a living, the future looks far from rosy. reporter: ththese local fifishn have fininally manageded to laa catch again. afr r hours t onon theater,, evevery boat hasas at least rerd with a fewew kilos of titilap. bubut talk is making the rouos agagain that polollutants haven found inin lake naivasasha. it t takes sson n machia bacack the environmental distster tha struck i in 2009. the lake a almost dried out ad thfishsh popation n wa decimated a all csed bybyhe flow farmsmsn the shore. samson: they almost drieouout ththe la complplety, and t the chemicals ththey were drning off affeeded the wer..

there were h hardly any fish le. at pilile of fish h over ther, that washehe harvest of f 10 boats.s. it took thehe departmef fifieries one year to regegenere ththe fishtockcks. soso people wentnt hungry. reporterer: conditions by lake naivasha are ideal for cultivating flowers. over 50 companies have set up greenhouses on its shores. the soil is fertile, temperatures mild, there's 12 hours sunshine a day, and the lake's full of water. since e the 2009 disisaster, ll fierfofolk a highlhly spiciousus of t cututlower industry - even thohoh strict regulatns for companies rere intduced d the afrmath.h. edward: theyey are sprayininge chemicals,s, and once ththey sy those chememicals, then whwhene wawater and the e rain comes i o takekes the water r to the la.

and then oe e the sh consus that, itas a sideffecto the consumumers and alsoso toe breedingng areas, becacause the farms are close to the breedgg areaeas. porter: the fler c comnies reje t the accatioions normally ty wowon'grant journanalists accessss to their greenhououses. but we've bebeen allowed i intos facilityty, accompanieied by h moora from germany's orgaganization foror internatil cooperatioion -- the giziz. ososerian flowerer farm claimss own enenronmental record is exemplarary. mish: if t there is peststicids in the lakake, maybe it t is cg from industrtries whicarare nt mamanageby a g good code off conduct keke the kenyayan flowr councicil, and that's wherere e there needs to be more f focuso all scale farming g to help farmerers understandnd the valuf ususing productsts in a respone

way, but also the impact of those prododucts, that t theye misused on nature. repoer: : osian says it only uses half ththe industry-s-stad amount o of insecticidides. the company prefers to empyy natutural lies l likthese titi beetlele which arere sprinkled over the ros to eat the pests thatarget them ruth mra is alwa looking f natutural methods s that other operators s could also u us. anton: all the water in this gutter that the plant don't us we reclele iand use it again r mamanyhings, i iis very good. . for the ecososystem, bee nonothing from t t recycled d r or d drained waterer goes to e ecososyste but a also it savess fertililizers, becse after recyclinththere arstilill fertililizers insidede, and the ususe it again a and again andnd agaiain. ruruth: i think it is s very cy to putut up this system. fofor the e small holder farm,

who are grining outse,e, it might be quiuite difficult for them to ha such a sysystem. but for ththose who haveve the capacityty, it will bebe a good solutionon, because itit cuts n on their c cos but at t the sae time it t is also good f for e enviroronment. reporter: : there don't t appeo be any t toxins leakining intoe naivashaha. but oseriaian is only onone ofy flowerer growers in n the area. and we aren't alloweinto thehe others. it's also pretty hartoto pinpointnt just where e the pollllution is comoming fro. the flower indtrtry sa smallll holdld farrs arere tblame. lilike potato fafarmer paul ki. so wt isis theolutioion the popollution? farmers s are offered d advicn sustaiainable practitices by an organization headed by kamau mbogo. he also o wants to know w whye lake is constantly being popolluted ul: the farmers within this areare u usingertililize.

and that cannot bevovoided beuse of e enomical status they have tomprove their haharvesevery y ason. ruth: the e is lot of f gap bebetwn the technology that is avaible inhe big fms a and what the sll scaca farmers a are doing. and alsoso the kind ofof adviy theyey get. because eveven when he h has a problem withth his potatoeoese just goes toto the chemimical e and he says,s, i have thisis problem.m. but they d don't get to o getn advice frorom the other r mets that couould be used t that aree suststainable. reporter: : kamau mbogo'ss orgaganization proromotes sustainanable pest conontro. kamau: y y use a good d pest - you can n say a friendndly peso ed on the e bad pests that are feedinon y your crop. and thisis is a technonology ths useded in e cut t flower. they h have perfecteted it. rereporter: thatat's nothing n r him. before any pesticid w were avaiailae here, the farms s used

a spececies of ant t to eradie cropop pests. but it's also o true that ththe ininsecticide ththey use now i s highly efficicient -- evenen it is expensisive. back at lake naivasha, the day tch h is aeady o on s way toto market - -- which thesese dayss several kikilometers awaway. the lake's wer level ud to reach as f as the maet. now it's s shrinking -- - alongh its fish s stocks. too o many companinies are pumg totoo much waterer from the l. it's a almost 30 degegrees ine shadade, so the fifish have te sold o off quickly.. it's a g good day for r the womf the market. theihuhusbandsrougught sackloads back with them. since a small lalapia fehess one euro a at the moment, , thel will traranslate into o a tidy profitit. for today,y, at lea.

roseline: we have this prprovemen because e there is no o fish d anymore. y yes, they wororked o. researcherers came, theyey workn the fish.. bubut you know, we are just t pe at this vevel. we couldn'n't be givenen the feedbaback. but mamaybe they solved the problem on their own. reporter: fofor now, thesese pe can only hopthe wawar stayss clean. the way itit was before e thet ower industry descended on the shoresf lalake nvasha.a. host: in this week's global snack, we check out a tasty dish from brazil. reporter: it's a sultry 27 degrees celsius in belem, the thriving metropolis at the mouth of the amazon. in the city's famous market, the mercado ver-o peso, you can find cassava flour, brazil nuts, a rainbow of tropical fruits, and

all sorts of other regional specialties. this stall sells one the market's most popular fruits -- acai berries. the somewhat sour and earthy palm tree fruit is packed with vitamins. everyone here loves them. >> before we had modern appliances, we mashed the berries by hand and pressed them through a sieveve. now with these machines, it's much easier to puree the acai. reporter: the mashed acai is traditionally eaten with fried fish. the flood of diners at lunchtime certainly keeps the owner on his toes. the acai is doled out liberally and eaten plain without salt or spices. it's said the indigenous people here began eating it this way over 400 years ago.

>> the berries h have to be wasd thoroughly, and then soaked in warm water. then they're d dropped into the blenders -- we call them manipulation machines. then of course, there's the fish. we buy it fresh every momornin. i filet them myself. we all have a particular job to do to ensure this famous dish is preparared with the same, consistent high quality. it's hard work. repoporter: the restaurant is n institution here at the market. >> it's the perfect blend of flavors. the acai is nice and thick, not thin and watery. it's freshly mashed and really delicious. you can't come to the ver-o peso market and not stop in here. >> we're all used to this here. the children learn to eat acai when they're little. reporter: it's part of local

cultural heritage. >> it's been in my family for generations. my mother's been cooking with acai for decades.. a kind of acai mania started in other regions a few years ago. lot's of people started eating it with banana, , granola, or guarana, like in rio. but we like it pure. just acai and fish. delicious. reporter: widely touted as a superfood, the berries are perfect for nutrition-conscious eaters. what did you think? let us know. send us an email and check out our facebook page -- dw global society. we're back next week. see you then. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

announcer: opportunity. prosperity. optimism.

narrator: today on "earth focus," coral reefs are home to 1/4 of all fish and marine life. but now, due to rising ocean temperatures, coral reefs are in great peril. around the world, dedicated people are working together to save thehe corals, coming up on "earth focus." coral reefs are the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. while they cover less than 2% of the ocean floor, reefs provide livelihoods, food, and shoreline protection, as well as being