xçñ# >> hello and welcome to "focus on europe." and the eyes of the world are still on the tense situation along the border between russia and ukraine, despite signs of a possible de-escalation. russia had amassed heavy weaponry and well over 100,000 soldiers close to the frontier, one of the largest military operations in decades. and a build-up that triggered a mood of deep uncertainty on the ukrainian side. the ukraine is certainly located in a tough

neighborhood, and many people in the former soviet republic look to the west and still hope their country will become a nato member state, something russia is vehemently opposed to. people like yeven liashenko have felt the brunt of the conflict for eight years: since, that is, pro-russian separatist forces took control of eastern parts of the donbas region. yeven sought shelter and safety by fleeing the occupied territories to live in a village called chervone. but who knows what tomorrow will bring? ♪ >> the village of chervone lies just 30 kilometers from the front line in ukraine's donbas region. it's an oasis of tranquillity in the middle of a crisis zone. yevhen lyashenko has lived here for eight years. but the cottage is poorly insulated and cold. after all, this was supposed to be temporary.

the lyashenkos' real home is elsewhere -- in occupied territory. yevhen lyashenko was a protestant pastor. when pro-russian separatists appeared, he did not hide his pro-ukrainian views. in his sermons, he often said that he would gladly give a free ticket to russia to anyone who didn't support ukraine. >> you could be shot for saying things like that at the time. they could take your life, toss you into a basement somewhere. those were terrible times. we weren't prepared, and could hardly believe what was happening. >> the lyashenkos got the warning in time. they were able to flee and have been living here in chervone ever since. the village is situated between crimea and the occupied donbas region, in an area some expect to be the first target of any russian invasion.

>> sometimes, you hear the war. when there's fighting, you hear the noise across the sea. but after what we experienced, there's no escaping the subject of war. the entire country is at risk of attack, not just here. the♪ >> we head towards theject frontline. there are checkpoints on every road in the area. and the closer we get to the demarcation line with the separatist forces, the more frequent they become. >> a ceasefire has been in place since 2015. the frontline has not shifted, but the fighting continues. hranitne is one of the last villages on ukrainian-controlled territory. soldiers are everywhere, but

life goes on. locals have been following the build-up of russian troops on the border very closely. >> the situation is terrifying. we're scared. really scared. we're not so young anymore. >> the ukrainian military's foremost position is on the outskirts of the village, just in front of the demilitarized zone. a footbridge leads to no-man's land. it's off limits to soldiers and reporters. but people cross it every day , the villagers of staromarivka, which lies right tween the two fronts. ery day, svetlana, a teacher, crosses over to hranitne. she doesn't want to reveal her real name. for people here, maintaining good relations with both sides is key to survival. her village has often been caught in the crossfire.

>> i have a job, so i go to school every day. living here is hard, dangerous even. very dangerous. but stopping now and just running away? noi can't do that. i just can't. >> there aren't any children at the school right now. but that's not due to the fighting, but because of coronavirus measures. the children are doing remote learning. the teachers come to school for its better internet connection. the school is just 500 meters from the military post. >> we go to work every day and the ildren normally go to school. but we never know what's going to happen in five or 10 minutes or the next night. we're always nervous, always scared. ♪

>> back in chervon yevhen lyashenko has decided to build a new, bigger and better-insulated house. he wants to live there with his children and grandchildren. the longer the conflict drags on, the less likely the family will ever go home. >> lots of people can't decide what to do. but we've decided to build. life has to go on. >> even though russian troops might one day stand on his doorstep here, too, he doesn't believe he'll have to flee again. >> it's not 2014 anymore. people won't just throw their hands in the air and let the attackers walk right in, this time. today, people here are ready to defend their land.

>> eight years into the conflict, the people here have no choice but to live with the situation. >> nell, here in germany it is still midwinter, and nighttime temperatures often plunge to below freezing point. all the more distressing for the large number of people in cities across the country who live in shelters, temporary accommodation, or directly on the streets. so-called winter buses try to offer some comfort. on board are people like kathy kaiser, a remarkable women, who has for over a decade now been giving some of the hardest-hit what warmth she can. >> hi there. are you ok? no? it's so cold, please come with us. would you like to come with us? >> for the past 12 years, kathy kaiser has worked for the cold aid program run by berlin's

stadtmission, a church-funded charity. today she and her colleague found a man lying in the freezing cold here on the sidewalk in downtown berlin. just in time, it seems. >> he's really freezing. all his clothes are wet. ok, we'll get going and get you a new pair of trousers! and a hot shower! >> the man's belongings have an unpleasant smell. kathy kaiser hides her reaction. she doesn't want to make the man uncomfortable. >> hi there, are you guys full? we just found a man who's really freezing. he wet and soiled himself. he absolutely needs a shower and clean clothes. i can't leave him outside. he'll freeze.

>> the winter months are especially dangerous for people who live on the streets. >> whenever i hear the word "cold," i immediately think of the coldest days of the month. when the cold is life-threatening. >> she and her colleague drive the berlin "cold bus" through the streets at night, offering help, a sleeping bag or a hot cup of tea to people in need. they're bringing this man to a shelter, so he needs a covid rapid-test first. there's a hotline where passers-by can call the "cold bus" when they see someone in need. but all too often, they're ignored. >> most people just have blinders on. so these people just fall through the cracks. >> though they've been doing this work for years, this man's

plight still moves them deeply. [crying] >> it's good we were here. >> oh my goodness! the man was in the middle of the sidewalk. he was in a life-threatening situation. it really gets to me. it feels like we're the only ones who will step in. kathy kaiser volunteers her time for the "cold bus." her paid job is here, at an emergency shelter. it's just opened its doors and already the number of people is pushing the facility to its limits. there are about 40 such

emergency shelters in berlin. not enough to help everyone in need. >> sasha, can you tell her she needs to do a rapid test! everyone gets tested regularly. >> anyone with covid isn't allowed in, no matter how co it is. for the staff here, it's a difficult situation. until recently, they had a quarantine facility here for people who test positive, but the contract with the city has expired. >> we don't have enough spots for people who test positive for covid. when the quarantine rooms are full, they have to go back out on the streets. >> many of the homeless people in berlin come from eastern europe. the exact number is unknown. most have mental health issues. the people who get a spot in

the shelter are the lucky ones, they'll get help and a warm bed to sleep in. >> i'll keep doing this for the rest of my life. i'll definitely ways d social work. it is what i am cut out to do. i have seen that people can make a difference. >> kathy kaiser can't imagine doing anything else but helping people in need. she knows she can make a positive impact here, and that's not an opportunity she's prepared to waste. >> life can be bitter, but it can be wonderful, too. one great way to start the day is a bowl of yoghurt topped off with tasty and healthy raspberries. no wonder then that there's a growing market for the fruit. and one place where it's widely cultivated is odemira in southern portugal. the pickers are mainly from

asia. people like manraj singh. many of them have struck a better deal for this sweet fruit. they sign on for seven years of hard labor in the fields. in return, the reward is a "raspberry passport." >> it's a back-breaking job, with pay under four euros an hour, and unrelenting ten-hour days. manraj singh left his village in india to come work here in portugal 4 years ago. >> now i'm just waiting for my passport. it's been more than two years for the passport. >> manraj singh and his brother work on this raspberry plantation. the two come from the indian state of punjab, on the border with pakistan. manpreet singh was a farmer back home in india.

they both work in the warehouse here. to produce fruit for the european market cheaply, portugal needs harvest workers. so, to attract low-cost labor from places like india, nepal, thailand, pakistan and bangladesh, the portuguese government came up with a deal -- seven years of work in exchange for citizenship. to qualify, workers must work legally for the entire period, pay taxes, social security, and speak portuguese. >> it's a deal that trades on people's hope for a better life. ♪ manraj singh wants what his brother manpreet already has: portuguese citizenship. >> i've been in portugal for seven years. two months ago, my partner and our child joined me. we all paid 10,000 euros in india to come here.

>> manpreet paid that much, too. >> we paid the money to a person in india who got the papers for our tourist visa. it's a lot of money. the family chipped in. now we're sending money to india to pay that off. >> in india, manraj singh did a master's degree in business administration. but he sees his future in europe. for him, portugal is the gateway. to get a portuguese passport, he'll take on any work he can. >> firstly i will try to run a business in portugal, if it's possible. then i'll stay here always. if not, let's see where i will go. >> one interview, and that''s it. the brothers don't want to show us more of what their life is like here. they're among the few foreigners who work directly for a berry farm. most work for subcontractors,

under precarious conditions. the agricultural companies aren't keen on publicity. only one plantation in the area allowed us to film. it's run by a company called monocle agricola. >> each worker has their own number, which they stick on their raspberry boxes. everything is recorded: how much fruit each person picked, how long it took them, and the condition of the fruit. the results determine who will still be allowed to work here, tomorrow. workers number five and six are resting. it's their lunch break. >> i'm from thailand. >> how long you been here in portugal? >> uh, six years. five, six years. >> alone or with your family? >> alone.

>> it's not easy. >> yes. >> antónio paisana runs the company. his export business caters to central and northern europe. it's going well. but he has his worries, too. >> to pick 500 to 700 kilos a day, we need 15 to 20 workers. we're totally dependent on them to work efficiently. some pick seven kilos an hour, others only two. unfortunately, i can't pay them according to their productivity. we have to pay them by the hour. >> the berry companies rarely hire people directly. antónio paisana says he has no way of knowing if the subcontractors exploit the workers or act illegally. the companies profit from low wages, without worrying about workers' welfare. that's a responsibility left to the subcontractors. their buses pick up workers after a long day.

many of the subcontractors were once harvest workers themselves. they were exploid, and now exploit others. foreign laborers who hope that seven years of work and sacrifice will bring them a european passport. >> like the goldrush in days gone by, what they call crypto-mining is effectively a race among prospectors to locate the next profit-yielding digital seam. until recently, kosovo was a big player in this complex and murky global industry. but the giant computing systems required to produce crypto-currencies guzzle up huge amounts of energy. as a result, the people of the balkan state have been ravaged by blackouts. now, however, the kosovan authorities are trying to tackle the problem. >> his dream of easy money lasted just five days. then rrahman fetahu, or james as he calls himself, found

police at his doorstep. >> this is where my servers stood. now, it's all empty. >> customs officers confiscated his computer when he couldn't provide any proof of purchase. ♪ james fetahu was a crypto-miner. crypto-currency is mined using highly complex digital processing that requires powerful computers networked around the world. james also has an audio and video production studio. he'd hoped the servers would bring in some much-needed extra income. >> everything my family and i have made in the past 20 years, all our savings, we invested in this crypto-mining. >> but at the start of 2022, kosovo made crypto-mining illegal. it uses energy that's urgently

needed elsewhere in the country. police and customs officers go after the digital gold prospectors. >> until recently, kosovo had an estimated 4000 to crypto-currency miners. 5000 a booming business, in part due to low energy prices. even relatively modest set-ups could make up to five times the average monthly income. >> mining became like a culture here for young people. i mean, being isolated from europe, with no visas, with not a lot of work opportunities. they saw mining as a way out. >> but it left the kosovar power company keds with a big problem. every freshly minted digital coin meant the next required yet more computing power, which meant more electrici. soondemand outstripped supply. this became a major factor in repeated widespread black-outs, especially in winter.

>> the production of crypto-currencies led to huge problems because most often, they were mined illegally. we have dozens of cases of electricity theft, where people don't register with us but tap into the grid illegally. >> the power company no passes on information to the police, including locations of unusually high energy consumption. searches of private homes have become a common occurrence. often the officers find what they're looking for. >> in this private home, we seized five servers for mining crypto-currencies. the owner claims he's got the required permits, but at the moment, he can't prove it. so, we confiscated the servers. >> for many of these crypto-miners, the crackdown is

a rude awakening. >> stopping that kind of hurt a lot of people and got them angry and mad in a way, and i completely understand that, but when you take a look at the balance of it all, i still have to say that the energy issues that we have are more important, at least for now than mining is. ,>> james might not agree. his servers are gone, and he will probably face a steep fine, as well. and after that, he will have to find another source of income. >> we've been hoping and expecting tomorrow to be better for centuries now. but instead, it gets worse. i don't know what else to do. i've run out of ideas and hope for the future. ♪ >> james has had enough of crypto mining. like many in kosovo, he is thinking of trying to make a fresh start somewhere else in europe.

>> and our last report this time round on "focus on europe" is certainly not for the faint hearted. we go to arosa in switzerland, hs where each and every morning david knittel and others do something that i almost certainly wouldn't, although you might. david insists it is the best thing imaginable for body and soul. >> i have to pysch myself up for it every morning. it is never pleasant or warm. it is almost, like, when am i doing? i'm not even awake. but then i go in and my mind switches off and i feel my whole body and it's calm. it's great. ♪ >> david knittel takes a dip in these icy waters around 7:00 every morning. but first, the layer of ice that formed overnight has to be removed. untersee lake is in the village of arosa, nestled high up in

the swiss alps, 1700 meters above sea level. people can swim in the lake year-round, free of charge. today it's 1 degree celsius on the surface of the water. below, it's about 3 degrees. >> you look inwards, experience the moment, the water, the cold. you don't think about anything else. that's what's good about it. >> all the stress of daily life vanishes. you're right in the here and now. >> there's a moment of clarity, yes, a totally relaxed moment, it's amazing. >> david knittel manages the eisbadi ice-swimmers club. he's also set up a sauna in this container, which he rents out. he also holds workshops and is familiar with the effect that ice bathing has on the body.

>> it revs up your circulation, it gives your immune system a boost. meanwhile there's research that proves this. the cold makes your body releases a cocktail of hormones. happiness hormones, adrenaline, natural pain relievers, and anti-inflammatories. >> people with cardiovascular problems or diabetes should check with their doctor first. but for most people, ice bathing is pure exhilaration. all you need is a lake, and a cold winter. [cheers and applause] [laughter] >> they were smiling! well that's all we have time for , on this latest edition of the show. i hope we've given you plenty of food for thought. and if so, do join us again next time round. until then, from me and the rest of the “focus on europe” team, it's bye-bye and tschüss! ♪

♪ [captioning made possible by democracy now!] ♪ amy: from new york, this is democracy now!. >> the most tragic situation is currently now in the city of mare pol -- maripul -- marupol. it's being hit by artillery fire. amy: high level talks between russia and ukraine have failed to secure a ceasefire as the red