q■q■ >> welme to "global 3000." sustainable living. the netherlands is driving change in urban development. island queens. how women in guinea bissau are keeping peace in their community. and, missing without a trace, why young girls in northern vietnam live in fear of losing their freedom.

♪ >> happy childhood. access to education, and control over one's own future. the u.n. is clear, these are all basic human rights. but for many young people, they remain distant dreams. the international labour organisation estimates that as many as 50 million people are victims of modern slavery. 28 million of them are pushed into forced labour earning little or nothing. 22 million, mainly women and girls, are victims of forced marriage. most are under 16. their number has risen dramatically in recent years , a result of the coronavirus pandemic. it's often family members who force the girls into early marriage. poverty also plays a big role. either way, it can be incredibly hard to escape. she still remembers the sunday when her mother simply didn't come back from the market, gone, just like that.

her story is one of many here in the of north vietnam. she later heard from an uncle that her mother was in china. he promised to help the then 14-year-old. it's only a few kilometers from her village to the chinese border. >> it was already night when my uncle took me to china. the woman was waiting there. she promised to take me to her mother, that when we got to the other side of the red river, my mother was not there. >> instead of meeting her mother, she was sold as a bride to a chinese family. the teenager was now to be of service as a wife, illegally, and without a marriage certificate. after months, she was somehow able to flee. lan doesn't like to talk about the details of her time in china. >> i was very desperate. and just sad.

i had lost all hope. i'd lost the will to live. >> the influence of china, vietman's giant neighbour, is everywhere. on the other side of the red river there are at least 30 million men who can't find a wife. that's why some are hoping to find a bride in poorer neighbouring countries like vietnam. most of the girls come from very poor families, like cuc. a friend had promised her a well-paid job so she followed her over the border. instead she became a bride against her will. between 2012 and 2017 alone, there were 3000 recorded cases. the actual number is thought to be many times higher. >> they threatened me and told me that i should never speak to anyone. i should always just nod or shake my head when someone spoke to me.

no one was to find out that i am vietnamese. they threatened me that otherwise, the police would put me in jail. >> the women's refuge of the organization "pacific links" in northern vietnam. girls and young women who have somehow managed to run away come here. only very few make it. ahn was sold at age 15 by a friend of her brother who had promised her a day trip. suddenly she was in china. ahn's chinese father-in-law said he'd spent the equivalent of 5,000 euros for her. >> i felt like an object, like a product on the market. i wasn't a person anymore. men came by and checked me out like i was something to pick off the shelf. i was indescribably scared. at markets like this one in bac ha, young women are often approached or drugged by men.

they've mostly got to know them beforehand on social media. [chatter] many are extremely trusting and don't see the danger, according to social worker loan luong. she believes china's decades-long one-child policy is the cause of bridal trafficking. sons were preferred, girls often aborted. >> until now, the need of a child in the family. that is why the chinese men try to find some vietnamese girls to have a baby. >> in high school number one, the boys and girls are assembled here to hear a campaign from the national government. this woman from the ministry of social affairs warns that women and children make up 90% of human trafficking.

even a cousin or uncle could try to sell you. the families of these teenagers often earn just half of vietnam's average income. poverty turns them into victims, or perpetrators. >> what some of the girls and women have to go through in china is brutal. they must fulfill not only their husband's sexual needs, but sometimes also those of family members. if they refuse, they risk being hit or given nothing to eat. > she says she has also been approached by men who apparently just wanted to buy her a drink. most everyone here knows stories like that. >> just a week ago, there was a girl about 15 years old. she had been disappeared for two days, and she has gone without her boyfriend. luckily, we found her.

so i think it is a case of human trafficking, but the girl was fortunate. >> vietnam's border with china is 1,300 kilometres long. the fences here have only been erected recently. but jungle-like mountain terrain is difficult to patrol, says trong ha of the border police. there has, however, been more cooperation with china, such as a hotline. >> in the last few years china has really helped to save many victims. >> back with lan. her father smokes a lot. they avoid the difficult topic and don't show their emotions. there's been a lot of gossip about her in the village. the victims are branded "china girls." lan is now an apprentice chef in the city. her mother is likely still somewhere in china. she hasn't heard from her.

>> sometimes i miss her so much. always when i think of home, i think of my mother. always. when i am tired, i just want to go to her. >> sometimes her life feels numb, but lan has never given up hope of seeing her mother again. ♪ >> too many women around the world still do not "own their own bodies." that's according to the united nations. it says in 57 countries worldwide, 45% of women are in this position. they don't have the power to make choices over their health care, contraception, or sex lives, and it is often down to outdated, patriarchal traditions. meanwhile, residents of a group of islands off the coast of guinea bissau prove that such traditions do not have to dominate.

>> this woman is royalty, even if it doesn't appear so at first glance. ines necanam is working hard to earn money for her family. she can sell a kilo of oysters for about three euros. one day, she will be queen. but exactly when? that's a secret kept by the women of orango. >> [chatter] >> to be queen, you have to go through several rituals. but they are secret. you have to know the traditions, and know exactly how to prepare the shells for the sacred ceremonies, for example. >> it's the women who hold the power among the bijago people living on this island far off , the coast of guinea-bissau. they are the head of the family, and above them are the queens. at the moment, there are three. as dictated by tradition, they also serve as priestesses. they make all the important

decisions on the island, such as when to sow and harvest, and when to hold religious ceremonies. only women are allowed inside their round huts. every problem is discussed at length. >> we help people with their marriage problems. we know about everyone's problems here on orango. if a couple is arguing and they don't come to us, we'll hear about it from their neighbors. and then we'll help them find a solution. >> women may have the power here, but they also do most of the work. they build the houses and do the housework and they also own all the property some othe oysters that ines necanam collected this morning are being cooked for the family's lunch. the people on orango live modestly, relying on what nature has provided. the men go out to fish, but they don't do much other work.

instead, they have a lot of leisure time. yet no one questions the division of labor. the women are proud of their strong role. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i like the women on the mainland, we are independent. we don't wait for the men. we don't have to beg them for money to do our shopping, we can decide for ourselves what to spend the money on. >> some 3000 people live on orango, most of them in the village of eticoga. here, women decide who they want to marry. their parents then ask the parents of the chosen partner to agree to the marriage. the men are allowed to have several wives. they don't have a problem with living in the matriarchy, there are advantages for them.

and just like that women, they are proud of their traditions. >> ever since queen okinka pampa, we've become famous for being the island where the women have all the power. here, problems are solved before they get bigger. and we have our queens to thank for that. >> okinka pampa is revered in orango. her remains are kept here in this hut in eticoga , it has become a sacred place for people to visit. she is known for leading the resistance against the portuguese colonial powers, and for championing social reforms and women's rights, until her death in 1930. today though, there is also a village chief, caitano di pina. queen nene pays him regular visits, as his opinion is important to her. after all, the men should also

have a voice. in this way, the women ensure that no problem is ignored, and everyone feels included. the government in the capital, bissau, seems to care little for the role of the women on orango. it sends its decrees to caitano, not the queens. but no one here pays that any mind. >> the government in bissau could learn something from us. there, the politicians don't listen to the women. here on the other hand, everyone works together. and that's why everyone in our village accepts decisions that are made. >> the queens' hut is the center of power, says 80-year-old queen nene. here, the women carry on the tradition of okinka pampa. [chatter] >> we all work together, and we put a lot of effort into that. >> first, the men and women meet separately, then they meet with one another. once everything has been

discussed, we queens have the last word. >> the island may no longer be home to a pure matriarchy, but it is definitely a contrast to the patriarchal power structures on the mainland. the archipelago it's part of was never fully colonized. that has allowed its democratic traditions to be largely preserved -- making orango a place of peace. >> around 57% of the global population already lives in urban areas, and counting. by 2050, cities could be home to as many as 5.2 billion people. the climate crisis is becoming an increasingly urgent issue for urban planners, with greener, nature-friendly housing developments now a priority. but these can be complex and costly to build. one option is to get the prospective residents

themselves involved. >> sawdust fills the air at this building site around 30 kilometres from amsterdam. the crew is hard at work. where now the wind sweeps across a meadow, there will soon be a school for 60 children. every screw, every fixture is being put in by the parents themselves. one of them is floris molenbeek, whose two children will attend the school. >> we started only three weeks ago and we are already that far. >> but the clock is ticking. in two weeks the holidays are over -- and lessons are starting. the parents have overseen every detail, from the planning and financing, to construction. >> there's no government that says, ok, here's an amount of money and build your school. but yeah, we really do it by

ourselves. >> that goes not just for the school, but for nearly everything here in almere oosterwold. houses, streets, parks, playgrounds. the residents are building and developing the 43-square-kilometre area themselves. almere oosterwold is an organically growing city and a unique experiment in the netherlands. the idea is to give people more freedom to create their own living space. architect klaas hofmann started the project over 10 years ago. >> it's not only freedom, it's also a responsibility. and usually in these kind of normal urban developments, the responsibility is mostly at the developer side or the municipality side. it's kind of organized top-down. and in oosterwold this is completely put upside down. >> the plan is to have an unplanned city. there are a few rules, but otherwise people here can live as they like, whether in a house or a tent -- a situation

that's barely imaginable elsewhere in the highly regulated netherlands. one of the few rules is that oosterwold has to be green. less than a third of the land can be developed, and every resident is expected to use half of their land for urban farming, to encourage biodiversity. >> we wanted to introduce a strategy to develop housing and a green environment that would kind of preserve the qualities of the green environment while still allowing people to live inside of it. >> over 1000 residential units have already sprung up in the countryside east of amsterdam. for floris molenbeek and his family, receiving the subsidy for the parcel of land was a dream come true. they could afford the house because the land was very cheap -- partly because the price didn't include a street, or gas and water connections. today they're burning wood to cook -- the oven doubles as the heating system. since the house was finished,

they've spent a lot of time organising community life, building the school and working in the vegetable garden. once a week, floris molenbeek goes into the fields and marks the plots with harvest-ready vegetables. >> we are a csa, and a community -supported agriculture. and that means that we are producing vegetables for about 50 households and they will become a member of our garden. in the beginning of the season, they pay for the rest of the season. >> if the harvest is plentiful, everyone gets more -- and they also share the risk of a bad crop. once a week, community members can pick vegetables in the garden. a message on their phones tells them how many and which ones. neighbour alex heemskerk comes by regularly. >> this is just uncomparable in terms of quality. like it doesn't have any pesticides on there.

they put a lot of love and attention and effort in it. i know them very well personally, so it makes just a big difference in the experience, but also in the quality of the food. >> community, exchange, original ideas. but there are also challenges in creating oosterwold. for example, there are frequent arguments over who pays how much for the construction of a street in front of their own house. >> you could say it's a social experiment and that people are not always used, that they have to work together. like usually it's government laying down like you can do this, you cannot do that. it is going to be like this and like that. and here people have to do it themselves. and sometimes it just takes a bit of a learning curve because people have to figure out how to do that. >> a few kilometres away in the community shop, marien aspoel and neighbour marjon van maren display the selection of home-made honey, jams and cheese -- all produced in

oosterwald. >> aspoel is one of the original settlers. hundreds of different plants in his wild-looking garden on the other side of the street grow. >> mostly the land is bare when you buy it. so if you can give the seeds to the land, then there are all kinds of native plants and trees will start to grow and that is very helpful for biodiversity and making a good ecosystem. >> aspoel collects and dries the seeds of his plants and later hands them out among the oosterwolders. a self-taught forester, he believes nature is the thing that links every resident, regardless of their chosen lifestyle. oosterwold is expected to grow over the next few years. the plan is to create space for 15 thousand houses, and 40,000 people. at first, the land was cheap. even families like the molenbeeks could afford a parcel.

but those days could soon be over. prices for new plots have multiplied. aspoel is worried that the inclusive idea that anyone could be a part of the community is in danger. >> we feel it also as a responsibility for us to realize that there will be a mixed community with also people with low salaries and starting people with young children, and they cannot afford a house, and that is>> really a problem. >>the coordinator for the city defends the price hike. he says plots of land can still be bought cheaply here, compared to other places. >> for example, in nobelhorst, an "normal" neighbourhood nearbye oosterwold, you pay 700 per square meter. here, 100 .

>> the settlement is attracting attention, not least from property developers. some have built terraced houses on plots in the middle of oosterwold, selling them at high prices, while ignoring the tradition of building your own home, with an urban garden. the introduction of more regulations from the city has also stirred resentment among residents. and yet, demand to be part of the experiment is huge. today, there are 10 times the number of applications than there are plots available. that doesn't surprise the parents on the school committee. in addition to a beautiful place to live, they've found a real community. >> that is the beauty of oosterwold, that there are a lot of equally minded people and all with a spirit to build things and build the communi. it's a really strong and powerful community. so that is also, yeah, there's one of the things i really like and love about oosterwold.

>> in two weeks, lessons for the little ones are do get underway. until then, there is a lot to do. but cooperation is second nature to the people of oosterwold. ♪ >> we have>> been on the lookout for tasty snacks again. this time, in mexico. ♪ >> in the mexican state of yucatan, lies a place called sisal. around 2000 people live in this small fishing village. ♪ this streetside vendor sells a snack that's typical for the yucatan peninsula. jose fernando eq reyes or, as his friends call him, "el tigre," is known for his "cochinita pibil," it's marinated, slow-cooked

pork served in a bun or tortilla, with onions and habanero chillies. el tigre prepares everything at home. must-have ingredients for color and taste -- achiote, or annato seeds, from a local shrub , and bitter oranges. >> we peel them and squeeze them. this is what it looks like. peel, squeeze, and add it in here. you need the orange juice, vinegar, salt, and the red seeds. >> he pours the marinade of orange juice, vinegar, salt and achiote on the meat, and gives it a rub. el tigre is using pork legs. >> he covers everything with banana leaves to keep the juices in, and stop the meat from drying out. the meat is then cooked for several hours over a charcoal

grill, although traditionally, cochinita pibil is prepared in a clay oven. back at the stand, there's a steady demand for cochinita pibil, and the other dishes on offer. people in sisal especially like eating out on the weekend. >> it's delicious, and because it's pork, it's also very nourishing. what can i say? people here in yucatan really enjoy this food. >> i'm really happy here. i have a lot of friends, and they stop by, sit for a while, and we have a chat while they eat. >> cochinita pibil -- bringing people together, with a tasty

snack. ♪ >> that's all from us at "global 3000!" drop us a line global3000@dw.com and visit on facebook too, dw global ideas. see you next week!

♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. the heavy burden of war. how much more can ukrainians bear? russian forces are attacking again little. many of russians oops are prisoners of war. the united nations is investigating for more war crimes. coming up tonight, german pediatric hospitals warning they are running out of beds. but it is not because of covid-19. common respiratory i