>> hello and welcome to focus on europe, thanks for joining us. now on the eastern edge of europe, russia is threatening a further escalation relating to its war on ukraine, prompted by the actions of eu member state lithuania. the baltic country has been enforcing eu sanctions, refusing transit to banned russian goods headed for the russn exclave of kaliningrad. moscow calls it a blockade and

has threatened to retaliate. cement, steel, construction material just some of the sanctioned goods that lithuania is refusing to transport to kaliningrad by rail. in lithuania meanwhile, concern is running high about moscow's threats. even high school students are preparing for the worst-case scenario. >> this morning, these lithuanian students aren't heading to class - but into nature. they're students at a high-school in the coastal city of klaipeda. today's excursion isn't led by teachers. instead, lithuanian's civil defense is in charge. justina gelminauskaité and her classmates are learning first aid. they're taught how to apply military-style tourniquets. >> we need to fasten the tourniquet quickly to stop the

bleeding. that's the only way we can save lives in an emergency!" >> today's survival course has been organized by the lithuanian riflemen's union, a paramilitary organization with close ties to the army. that the pain for their own equipment and training. men like ar?nas vaiiulis are ready to help defend the country if needed. their unit needs fresh recruits. maybe these exercises will entice some students to join. >> "the students learn how to shelter from rain and cold. and what ground materials will keep them from freezing in winter, when they find themselves forced to stay in the forest overnight as riflemen and women. fir branches are good, they keep out the cold. >> time is of the essence. and the instructors are much

gruffer than ordinary teachers. >> you need to be much faster! time is up! your tent isn't pitched yet. you need to put in more work! >> 15-year-old justina and her classmates are struggling to get the tent up. but the exercises are more enjoyable than most school days. >> this isn't easy. but if things get serious, we can put these skills to good use. >> it's a fun day for the students. the atmosphere in lithuania, however, has changed since russia began attacking ukraine, says sarunas. >> i made preparations. i stashed survival packs in different locations. we have made plans where to reunite as a family in case we're attacked. there is a threat from more than one side.

there is kaliningrad exclave on one side, and belarus on the other. russia is not far away, either. people are worried. >> the border with russian-controlled kaliningrad runs through the curonian lagoon, near the town of nida. these beaches have a history that goes way back: this region once belonged to prussia. after a brief period of lithuanian independence, the nazis took over. and then, after world war ii, the red army. lithuania has been independent since 1991. since then, it's had a direct border with russian-controlled kaliningrad. alvydas kazlauskas is a local fisherman. he's been doing this job for almost 50 years. he's seen his country change over the years. back when there was still a soviet kolkhoz, he could catch fish in the entire lagoon. but these days, he can't go

further than this red buoy. >> in the past, we were allowed to put out our nets over there. but now, the border runs along there. they've cut us off from these fishing grounds. they used to be full of fish! >> today's catch: two eels and a few common rudds - not much after three hours out at sea. on the way back, alvydas passes a lithuanian coast guard vessel. they have been patrolling frequently these past weeks. but alvydas isn't worried about russian provocations, or even attacks. >> why would i be scared? we have been friends all these years. i still have many acquaintances over there in kaliningrad. >> has the war in ukraine changed anything? >> all of here used to be friends. but things turned out

differently. i guess there is nothing you can do. >> as alvydas heads back to land, the students are about to begin their final exercise: making a fire. then, all participants get a certificate. justina completed all exercises. and is eager to learn more. >> i think it's important to be prepared for crises. i now know i can pitch a tent in case of an emergency. we're brave kids. many in my generation will sign up for military service. >> lithuania scrapped compulsory military service but re-introduced it in 2015, after russian annexed crimea. once these students have finished school, many will

probably join the army. >> for decades, denmark was known for its liberal immigration policies. but recent governments have taken a hard line on migrants and asylum-seekers. syrians like sahar elrifai are also affected. sahar and her family fled the war in their homeland, reaching the safe shores of the eu. now sahar is facing possible deportation. in a break from the rest of europe, danish authorities have decided the damascus region is safe enough for refugees to return. leaving people like sahar and her family to wonder what lies ahead. >> amal, a syrian refugee, feels devastated. her daughter sahar is to be separated from her family in denmark and sent back to damascus, where she doesn't know anyone.

>> a young girl cannot live alone in damascus. it's impossible. there are rapes and kidnappings. it's not safe, at all. she just can't go there alone. >> the elrifai family, has been living in aabenraa,southern denmark for six years now.?they found safety here from the civil war?in?syria. >> when i came to denmark, i wanted to start a new life with my family here. we came to this town, and i was happy. i thought i could stay here forever. >> until one day, a letter from the immigration office arrived, saying her residence permit had been revoked. sahar appealed. >> refugee appeals board, decision on march 25th, 2022, on a complaint by syrian citizen sahar mahmoud elrifai.

>> they say i was rejected. my residence permit won't be renewed. my mother and younger brother can stay. i'm the only one being expelled. >> 21-year-old sahar attends the aabenraa secondary school. she's a good student and has been studying hard for her exams. >> i have lots of friends here. i'm learning languages, and i've got a dream. i want to be an engineer. my school is actually my second home. >> once the danish government declared her home city damascus a safe area, everything changed. sahar is one of 400, syrians,

being told to leave denmark. the immigration office did not grant us an interview. migration experts suspect a policy of deterrence. >> the syrian refugees having their residence permits withdrawn is part of branding denmark as a more restrictive country when it comes to asylum and immigration policy. but denmark doesn't actually have a return agreement with syria, meaning that we withdraw residence permits, but there is no way of forcibly returning syrian refugees to syria. >> and so, sahar could be facing confinement in a deportation camp in denmark, like this one in ellebk. 21-year-old, syrian, rahima abdullah is an activist and?a youth representative on the danish refugee council. she's familiar with cases like sahar's?and wants to help. >> it started at school where i had a friend called aya. one day, she came to me and said she was very scared

because her residence permit had not been extended - because denmark had declared damascus safe for return. so, we went to the media. that was our only chance. you can't tell someone who's integrated here that she has to go back to damascus. the city's not safe. >> in aya's case, the public effort finally met with success last year. she got permission to stay. since that time, as many as five syrians contact rahima per day, most of them women. young men are not expelled because they face conscription in bashir assad's armed forces. >> sometimes, i can't sleep at night because i see such terrible cases, and i take them to heart. when i posted sahar's case on facebook, a parliamentarian contacted me who wanted to write about it.

>> he might be able to help. sahar's memories of her own home country are mainly of war. >> when i was in syria there were battles and bombs. here, i feel much safer. i have my family here, and this is where i grew up. i'm a part of danish society. >> but now, it appears that counts for very little in the eyes of danish law. >> visitors to uru-enya won't find any snackbars or souvenir shops here. the picturesque village in the heart of spain's castile region is a sleepy place, with just around 100 residents. but uru-enya isn't one of spain's dying villages - in fact it's something of a magnet. much to the delight of booksellers like víctor

lópez-bachiller, who's glad for all the visitors who flock to the village that has more bookshops than bars and restaurants. >> old typewriters are his passion and especially the books that were still written with them. víctor lópez-bachiller runs an antiquarian bookshop in urueña, spain. for the 47-year-old, this store is a dream come true. >> browsing bookstores has always fascinated me, searching for little treasures. the fact that i'm now professionally involved, surrounded by books, is a real gift. >> a gift that comes with compromises. in rural urueña, there is no longer a baker or a butcher. the small medieval village with just a hundred inhabitants

boasts eight book stores. urueña is the village of books. >> normally, you would only expect to find bookstores like this in larger cities. but urueña, the book village, is an experiment. a project that tries to get the book trade out of the big city in order to create a very special cultural and touristic offering. >> fifteen years ago, the local council launched the book village project to curb the widespread rural exodus. the booksellers only pay ten euros a month in rent. like fidel raso and tamara crespo. she's a journalist, he's a photographer the couple has been traveling the world and have brought back impressions of the iraq war, refugee crises, and the fall of the

berlin wall. from here, they now sell books on journalism and travel to customers around the world. >> this small bookstore in a tiny town, surrounded by fields, in the sparsely populated spanish countryside is literally connected to the world via the ternet. i work using social networks. so i'm not just sitting here waiting for someone to come and physically buy books. >> he is the head of the project. luis enrique valdés only recently took over responsibility for the book village. he hopes for fresh momentum, more tourists, and more gastronomy in order to finally breathe new life into the community. >> if you visit a village with your girlfriend and struggle to find a coffee, a beer, or a bathroom, you'll think twice about coming back even if there were 37 bookstores here.

>> in addition to the current eight stores, there is also a bookbindery. rosa de miguel and fernando gutiérrez are commissioned by libraries, archives and notaries. they sell handmade volumes to tourists as a seasonal side-business. they are skeptical whether more tourism will actually make the book village more successful. >> tourism is one of those things. often it's not good to attract too many tourists. more visitors doesn't always lead to better service, nor does it mean we sell more. >> gentle tourism in the spanish countryside a true balancing act. after all, people like víctor

should not be driven away. >> i found a place where i feel comfortable, where i'm surrounded by books, a village where i can do what i want, where i can work in a relaxed way. that's a privilege these days. but no longer an exclusive one. urueña has got competition: a second book village, near barcelona, of all places, where víctor comes from. but that doesn't change his plan. víctor is here to stay. >> it's a shocking statistic. europe is home to at least 600,000 women and girls who are victims of female genital mutilation, or fgm. that's according to a report by the eu commission. behind this estimate lies a terrible reality that french gynecologist ghada hatem

encounters every day. she works for a hospital in paris that specializes in treating the victims. in france like in all of the eu, fgm is illegal. and yet the practice shows little signs of abating. >> go on over to the side - there, for instance. place the scissors like this: a little farther. >> this is the fourth operation this morning for ghada hatem. she specializes in female victims of genital mutilation. they come to the saint-denis women's shelter in a poor neighborhood of north paris. most of them have had their clitorises circumcised as little girls. some experience pain during intercourse, and others complain that they feel no pleasure. >> they seek help from gynecologist ghada hatem. they suffer both physically and psychologically from the effects of the traditional ritual mutilation, she says.

>> this morning, a woman came to me and told me how important this operation was for her sense of identity. she wanted to feel physically whole again - to get back what was taken from her. >> ghada hatem gives them back what she can. >> which doctor? >> doctor hatem. >> many affected women from the africa community trust this doctor who immigrated from lebanon. female circumcision is prohibited in france. even so, there are unreported cases. but most of the women were circumcised in their home countries in africa. among them is 26-year-old hibo. she fled her country djibouti because of the suffering she endured as a small child. >> they woke me up. i didn't know what was going on.

they said, 'come here'. my mother held onto my hands, and another woman held my feet. this other one made several cuts. when she did, i just felt pain. i didn't take any medication to ease the pain - i just suffered. >> women in france have formed an organization to support the 60-thousand-some girls who french government figures estimate have been affected - so they won't feel left alone with the shame and the pain. they're demanding that parents stop sending girls born in france to their countries of ethnic origin to be circumcised. >> it's insane that, after five thousand years, they're still doing it, even though everybody knows it's pointless - that no

religion demands it, and it has extremely negative consequences for their health. i agree, it's surreal. >> the mutilation is often done with nothing more than this. it's up to ghada hatem to repair what she can of the damage in her operations at the shelter. >> i have to look for the remnant of the clitoris where it has retracted after the circumcision, bring it back up and suture it back in place on the body's exterior where it was before it was cut. >> medically, the procedure is not that complicated - but culturally it is, says ghada hatem. the women's families still regard female circumcision as an act of moral purity. >> it was thanks to dr. hatem's courage that she managed to create a place to deal with an issue that, to many, is still

such a taboo. her energy was crucial, but i think her success is equally due to her exceptional courage and determination. >> hibo doesn't want the operation for herself. she's afraid she'll feel the pain again. but she applied for asylum in france also to protect her daughters. >> my children can't experience what i went through - never! i know the road i've traveled, and i won't let it happen to them - because it was torture!" >> together with her patients, ghada hatem hopes to bring about a change. >> we're fighting to stop female circumcision because, obviously, prevention is better. it's good to have the operation but better never to have been cut, at all. but many still have a long road to travel. so ghada hatem plans to open more shelters like this in france that offer the operation - and a chance at a better life

for the women who have it. >> meet vladimir dimi. the croatian has been breaking the law for more than 30 years now. he plants trees in his home city of zagreb - on public land. his grassroots initiative is illegal, say the authorities. but the robin wood of zagreb is unfazed. so far he's planted more than 1000 trees and doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. >> vladimir dimic is a tree revolutionary. he plants trees in the parks of zagreb. this is not allowed, but it is his mission. he takes care of them and hopes that others will follow his example. today he is planting a ginkgo. >> i think they are beautiful. they give a lot of shade.

i have to water this one every day for the next ten days, that's very important. i prefer oaks, but they don't grow well here in zagreb. they need different soil. >> zagreb is actually a green city with many parks from habsburg times. however, the narrow streets of the old town lack greenery. >> there are trees missing here and you should consider that when planning new buildings. >> looking at something green is more natural than all of the grayness, the concrete and asphalt. it's important for people and good for the psyche. then everyone would be a little less stressed. >> 250 kilometers of tree lines, 100 kilometers of hedges and 15,000 flower beds are the responsibility of the zagreb parks department. however, in view of the increasing heat, its director is calling for even more city trees.

>> i don't want to comment on urban planning, but in some of the new neighborhoods you can see that there is too much construction and not enough green space. >> however, he doesn't quite know whether to be pleased or annoyed when vladimir dimic picks up his spade again. >> we do welcome such initiatives, but it needs to be regulated. >> vladimir dimic, meanwhile, worries about the survival of zagreb's trees, which suffer from the heat in summer and get too little water. >> i planted most of the trees here. they are my friends. i talk to them and i've given each one of them a name. >> he's already getting the next tree. his greatest wish is for everyone to plant a tree once in their life. because a tree, he says, always gives back. >> well, we coulall take a leaf out of his book! that's all for this edition of focus on europe. thanks for watching and join us again next week.

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07/21/22 07/21/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. biden: climate change is an emergency. i'm going to use the power i have as president to turn these words into a formal, official government action. amy: as heatwaves scorch the united states, europe, asia, and africa, president biden vows to take more steps to address the climate crisis but stops short of declaring a national