>> welcome to global 3000! this week, in eastern anatolia, we meet women who've fled domestic violence. now, they're ignoring the prejudice and doing things their way. in hong kong, we look at beijing's growing influence on the city and what this means for the those who live thehere. but first, we head to a coal mining region in south africa where air pollution is harming both the environment and the people. according to the world health organization, around 7 million people die every year from the effects of air pollution. and, as is too often the case,

it's the poorest who suffer most. they often have to cook over open fires and are rarely able to choose where they live. the enenvironmental protection o greenpeace says south africa's mpumalanga province has some of the worst air pollution levels on the planet. >> this is no place for children to be playing. but masakhane is home to many families. it's a community located in south africa's northeast, in the province of mpumalanga which is rich in coal reserves. the coal-fired duvha power station is right next door. its emissions pollute the ground water and d the air here. >> my daughter, who o is no lonr alalive, left me a granddaught. she is always coughing. she's been in hospital repeatedly, but she just isn't getting better. we don't know what's causing it. >> anna mnisi and here family

were forced to leave their h hos and relocate 20 years ago to make way for a coal mine. they were never r compensated. they can't get work at the power station, and don't even have electricity, despite all the pylons in the area. >> electricity is a big question you know. that's what we also want to know, why are they not providing them with electricity?y? becacause at the end of the dy the pollution of eskom is affecting them. also the mining companies that are right next door r are also affecting them but there's nothing that this community is getting. >> the coal-fired power station emits sulpher dioxide and nitrogen oxide, while the mines right next-door produce toxic effluent and dust. greenpeace says the province has the highest levels of nitrogen oxide pollution in the world. the power station also uses huge amounts of water in a country where water is in short supply.

, -- at the university of johannesburg, victor munnik has spent years studying the human cost of the environmental pollution from respiratory illnesses and skin rashes to lung disease and cancer. the annual death toll is appallingly high. >> we're calculating somewewhee in the region of 2,200 attributable deaths that people who died prematurely that wouldn't have died if they were not exposed to coal-based pollutioion. >> the entire province is a patchworork of power stations, with twelve huge coal-fired facilities. south africa still gets 90% of its electricity from coal. but many big corporations are now selling off their mines to smaller firms, as coal's reputation continues to worsen. >> these small companies do not have the funds to rehabilitate so we are likely to see mines being abandoned when the coal runs out. and i think it's a big problem that these multinationals are basically getting rid of their

liabilities in these sales. >> but south africa is continuing to build new coal-fired power stations like the massive kusile plant. 19 german firms are helping with the construction while a german bank is involved in the financing. the facility belongs to the state power company eskom. we wanted to ask about environmental standards at the plant, filter systems and how much water it will use. but eskom declined to speak to us. south africa's environment ministry is looking to phase out coal long-term in favour of renewables. in the meantime, the ministry wants german firms and banks to participate not only in building power plants but also in reducing the pollution those plants cause. >> i think there has to be an improvement.

if we are going to be investing, doing any assistanan at all, t e coal industry should be looking at mitigation of the problems associated with that. there has to be an improvement on that side. >> south africa is seen as a third world place where you can dump parts of your business that are not acceptable in your own country but makes financial sense for some investor or for some bank, which is unethical approach to another country. >> munnik points out that germany has closed many of its own mimines in favour of impmpd coal, thereby trtransferring te environmental burden to others. germany does indeed import up to ten percent of its coal from mines in south africa. here at this disused mine, local residents scavenge for leftover coal. bongi machangu and her daughter zinhle live right by the t&db colliery. the mine has been officially closed for decades, but is still polluting the grouound water. it's a dangerous area. parts of the mine are burning

underground as a result of spontaneous combustion. forsman is a small community not far from the mine. residents here suffer from the pollution, and also from the uncontrolled explosions inside the mine. machangu's daughter was injured in an explosion three years ago. since then, she's suffered from epilepsy. last year, machangu was herself injured in an explosion. >> it was on june 5th. i was making lunch for the children at around 1:30. then i suddenly heard this huge explosion, and i hit the ground. someone dragged me outside. then half the house collapsed. and a friend took me to the hospital. >>

since then, bongi machangu has not been able to move her arm properly. but she's received no compensation. even though they themselves are dependent on coal to cook and to heat their homes in winter, people in communities like forsman or masakhane will continue to suffer from the impact of the coal industry. >> according to a united nations study, 50,000 women n worldwie were killed in 2017 by their partner or members of their family. that's 137 women every single day. and that estimate is conservative. the number is likely much higher, as many murders are made to look like suicides or accidents. more than a third of all women are subjected to assaults, attacks, and abuse in the course of their lives. in turkey, violence towards women is widespread. almost 15,000 cases are recorded there every month.

and society's response is often to simply look the other way. >> this crate of apples weighs over 15 kilos, but fatma is used to carrying heavy loads. she's a single mother of three, and she e needs to make a livi. at least it's sunny and dry today. >> how the day begins makes all the difference. if it's raining or snowing, i really struggle to leave the warmth of my home. but when the sun's shining, then i start the day inin a good mo. >> fatma works at a very particular kind of market. all the stands here are tended by women. many of them are former victims of domestic violence, including fatma. her ex-husband used to beat her. four years ago, she mustered the courage to leave him. working at the weekly market has helped her become financially independent and that's the whole point, explains hassan tunch. she set up the women's market a

few years ago. >> we tell each other our stories while we work, and talk about how we responded. we draw strength from that. and ththe women hehere are str. ifif they wereren't, they woult be here at this market in the middle of winter, taking care of their families. >> like in many other parts of turkey, in diyarbakr it's relatively unusual to see women working. especially in sectors that are traditionally male domains, and in eastern turkey, those most definitelyly include marketplac. the women say y that some locl vendors are far from happy about the female competition. >> can i do housework as well as a woman can? no, i can't, and women can't do men's work. they can't climb up onto trucks. and they can't recognise quality produce.

>> here in eastern turkey, we men don't generally think women should work. it's up to men to earn the money, and it's up to women to look after the household. >> fatma does both. she gets up at 5:00 in the morning, when her three daughters are still in bed. they live in a 1-bedroom apartment. it's the best fatma can afford. but it's an improvement on her previous life. her ex-husband lives in another town. she still worries that he could show up on her doorstep. >> eventually i stopped being afraid that he'd hit me. the worst bit was when he took his anger out on the children. there were times when they'd crawl into a corner and actually tremble with fear. eventually i'd had it. i knew we couldn't go on like that. what i regret most is that i didn't get us out of the situtuation earlier. >> today, fatma is visiting a wholesale market to buy fresh

produce. she doesn't enjoy these trips. it's a men-only zone, and they don't mince their words. some of the vendors were initially reluctant to do business with a woman or charged higher prices than they charged men. >> they'd ask us what we were doing therere, they'd tell us o go home and look after our children. but we just told ourselves, women can go wherever they want. we can do whatever work we want to do. >> at first, we didn't think it was right. this is a place where men work. how many women do you see here? the customers are men, too. but then we started to see it from their point of view. all the women have a history, they all have families they need to take care of. >> thihis wholesaler says that most of the men have got used to

seeing women working here. he also praises fatma. she's a good person, he says, and she can haggle almost as well as a man. the market where fatma workskss popular with locals, and more anand more men are now buying their groceries from the female vendors. it seems male customers have far fewer reservations than the male vendors. >> it's all very clean. it's a nice market and, above all, it's quiet. the female vendors treat us very respectfully. i have to say, they're much nicer than male vendors. >> fatma doubts she would have got back on her feet as soon as she did withthout the job her. spending time with other women means a lot to her. and the work is demanding enough to distract her from dwelling on the past too much. >> i love my work. it's exhausting, but i'd never

give it up. and you know what, i feel free here. i can say, this is my market stand. no one is telling me what to do. no one is interfering. >> as the day draws to a close, fatma has a second wind, promising bargain prices to attract a few last customers. >> july 1, 1997, marked the end of hong kong's 150 year history as a british colony, and the beginning of china's governance of the city. since then, hong kong has retained its status as a special administrative region. t china has slowly tightened its controrol. and that's b brought protetess ononto t streetsts. like in the summmmer of f 2014,n tens of thousandnds of people

gathered to campaign against limits being put on their voting rights. many fear that those and other supposedly guaranteed rights are gradually being taken away. >> professor is worried about his beloved hong kong. he wants to show us how the city has changed over the last few years. in his view, for the worst. he has been teaching sociology at hong kong's technical university for nearly 30 years. he points out the station ining to the m mainlan. itit is huge invnvestment, c cug the journey to 45 minutes. >> it has become a symbol to the hong kong people that the

administrative structure, power, and development of mainland china is extending to hong kong, and hong kong is further integrating into china. >> the station is controversial. one section effectively came under national chinese control in september. mainlandnd police carrrry ot passport checks, enforcing authoritarian chinese rule in supposedlyly automous s hong ko. and beijing's influencnce is growowing. on the s surface, evererything s thsameme. but many are wororried that beijing wants to turn the troublesome territory of freewheeling hong kong into just another chinese city. part of the drama is playing out at the courthouse in west kowloon, where leaders of the 2014 umbrella protests are on trial. a few protestors gather outside. human rights groups including amnesty international claim the trial is having a negative impact o on social freedoms in hong kong.

the umbrella protests four years ago saw saw tens of thousands take to the streets for weeks on end, demanding free elections. beijing was outraged. the organisers have been charged with disrupting public order. chan kin-man is among the accused. he takes a gloomy view of the outlook for hong kong. >> xi jinping is still the presidident of the couountr. he is now shshing the cocountryo more authoritarian directions and hong kong is feeling the effect of it. our government needs to defend our values and institutions, but i don't see this. >> chan and his fellow defendants are facing up to seven years in jail. and the umbrella protest trial is not the only example. hong kong foreign correspondents

club was the venue for an event in august featuring the leader of a party campaigning for independence from china. it was hosted by victor mallet, seen here on the right. after the event was over, mallet's work permit was not renewed, supposedly because he -- not renewed, presumably because he did not cancel the meeting despite pressure from beijing. it's the first documented expulsion of a foreign journalist. keith richburg, professor of journalism at hong kong university, has been following the case. this map highlights areas of press freedom. china is a media black spot. hong kong, an orange dot marking limited press freedom, at least for the time being. >> t this was always a place tt journalists would come to when they got kicked d out of china,r kicked out of indonesia, or kicked out of anywhere in southeast asia. hong kong was always this kikid of free hub. so if hong kong was now starting to kick out foreign journalists,

to me that was a real turning point. >> himself a foreign correspondent, richberg recently caused a real stir with this article, in which he predicts the demise of hong kong, and not just because of the expelleded journalist. >> i think beijing runs everything in hong kong right now. there's a place over there called the liason office, which i think is the de facto power here. if i had to guess, i would think that the local hong kong government, gary lam, they probably didn't want to do anything, but they were told you have to punish the fcc for having that event. >> professor chung takes us out of the city. he wants to show us the new bridge to zhuhai and macau. for chung, it's another symbol of beijing's power and influence. the e longest sea a crossing on earth, linking t three majoror cities on the pepearl rivever d. bubuilt with chinese money.. but t professor chchung doesn't trust china's leadership. >> one thing the beijing side should do is to give more room

for hong kong people, and to stick to the idea of one country, two systems. keepining their promise is the best way to gain the confidence and trust of hong kong people. >> but beijing has other ideas. as the mainland turns up the pressure, the sense of freedom in hong kong is gradually being eroded. >> this week in global i ideas,e asascend to the lofty heights f the andes, where deforestation of high-elevation woodland is a huge p problem. our reporterer claudia laszczk met villagers in peru who are planting tens of thousands of new trees in an effort to combat climate change. >> quena raymi is a very special festival held once a yeaear in e peruvian andes. it's a tree-planting ceremony

attended by over 200 men, women , and children from various villages in the area. once the festivities are over, they begin their hike up the mountain, carrying shovels and other tools, and provisions with them. plus infants and the saplings -- even the llamas come along. their two-hour trek takes them to an altitude of over 4000 meters above sea-level. they follow anicent paths once used by their ancestors. the incas lived in harmony with their environment. for today's population, the idea is to give back what they have taken from nature. the past few centuries have seen the area almlmost completely deforested, with no effort to replenish the devastated woodlands. these people are the first

generation to recognize that something has to change. hermogenes, one of the village leaders, is here with his family. >> it's hard to dig holes in the ground here. you might dislodge rocks, you can never rule out accidents. you have to be extremely careful. there are no trees left here and no firewood to gather. so i'm glad that we're planting new trees. my friends and neighbors have all come along to help. >> constantitino aucca is the n behind the project.

he set up an ngo called the association for andean ecosystems, or ecoan, in 2001. he and his team want to plant 25 ,000 saplings today. they have to work quickly so that the roots won't dry out. >> if there's no vegetation or trees, the water will flow straight from the mountain down into the valley, and cause landslides, before it continues on into the sea. the new trees we're planting will absorb the moisture that nature gives to us, mist and rain. the trees are the only way we have of storing the water. >> thehe tropical glglaciers are momost importantnt source of wr in the a andes. but glglobal wag is c causi them m toelt awayayt a owing pace. enre swath of mounin terrain ed to beovered wh polypis tree a speci only founin southmerica. 's

highly resilient, and can withstand extreme weather conditions. at night, temperatures here can drop to minus 20 degrees celsius in both the winter and summer. the trees at these high altitudes therefore grow very slowly. over the last 19 years, the biologists from the ngo have been observing changes in the local climate. >> people who come here expect to see huge forests with tall trees blocking out the sun. what they don't appreciate is that we're 4,400 meters above sea level. in some places, the tree line is as low as 3500 meters. but here, it's different. >> more woodland means more liquid in ththe overall wawater cycle. the hohope is that e eventuallys woululd enable thehe glacierso rereverse ththeir retreat.

>> when there is precipitation, when it rains, the trerees ense that the water does not simply disappear. instead, it is stored by the trees' roots and by the moss that grows everywhere. >> otherwise it would evaporate far more quickly, especially when the sun's shining, and be carried away by the wind. >> the slower the water makes its way down from the mountains, the longer it remains available in the villages in the valley -- all year-round. normally this would be the wet season, but rainfall has decreased, something the villagers are all too aware of. the reforestation project includes the tree nurseries managed by local people. in hermogenes' village, the saplings are nurtured for 12 months, until they're sturdy enough to be planted. their survival rate has now reached almost 90%. ecoan pays the villagers money

for the trees. the association itself is funded by private donations. some of the tree nursuries are now getting their own greenhouses, in order to provide better protection for the plants. and that also means new job opportunities. >> this kind of work is hard to get, so it's a sound opportunity for us. not just for me as a technical specialist, but also for my younger colleagues. logistically, they need a lot of people. >> and that also applies to the tree-planting enterprise, which involves villagers from many local communities. they're committed to the project, even if its fruits will only be enjoyed by the generations to come. ♪ >> that's all from global 3000 today. we're back next week and, in the meantime, send us your thoughts

and comments. write to global3000@dw.com. see you soon, take care! [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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