lara: this is focus on europe. i'm lara babalola, welcome to the show. the earthquakes in turkey and syria have left a staggering trail of destruction. many towns and villages have been affected by the quake with houses and buildings reduced to rubble. tens of thousands of people have been reported dead and more casualties are expected as rescue operations give way to recovery efforts. for some, the earthquake is yet another cruel twist of fate. ma-zar is from syria.

he fled to turkey with millions of others to escape the civil war. ma-zar settled in the city of antakya near the border to his home country. he felt safe from the violence that has plagued syria for more than a decade. but now, ma-zar's place refuge has become a disaster zone. >> mazhar's sister sevsen has been found. he rushes over to the ruin that until recently was her apartment. syrian friends of mazhar's in turkey discovered sevsen and her husband crushed under the rubble of the second floor. both are dead. mazhar had already feared the worst. he'd been searchingor a sign of life in this building in antakya, soheast turkey, for days without success. and now he has only the certainty. >> please, don't tell anyone else. we haven't told anyone, so far. we'll recover them first. >> but the recovery operation proves difficult.

mazhar and his friends make slow progress with a borrowed jackhammer. they don't even expect any help from the authorities. a friend brings a wool blanket over to wrap the body in. sevsen will later have a proper burial. >> we had worked through to the bedroom. first, we were able to see part of my brother-in-law, and then my sister. they lay in each other's arms in death. >> mazhar had fled the civil war in syria to turkey with his parents and siblings. no he lives in istanbul. his sister sevsen taught syrian refugee children in antakya. >> my sister was such a good person, full of love.

it's so sad that she had to die. but, it's allah's will. >> antakya near the syrian border. the earthquake disaster has destroyed about half the city. only after several days did the first clean-up operations commence. before the earthquake, about 300-thousand syrian refugees lived here. it's not yet known how many are among the victims. but mazhar and his friends tell us the situation looks much worse on the other side of the border in syria. many of his relatives are thought to have lost everything. >> as if the war weren't bad enough! the people there get virtually no help, at all! here, at least, someone comes by now and then and brings something to eat or offers their help.

>> it took them about seven hours to recover the bodies of sevsen and her husband. >> we came here to live in fety. things turned out differently, and now we have to live with that. >> sevsen and mahmoud's bodies are transported away from the house in antakya, where they had dreamed of a peaceful life. lara: in turkey, there is a growing sense of anger in the aftermath of the earthquake. turkey's government had implemented stricter building regulations after a devastating earthquake over 20 years ago. but those rules were not always put into practice and corner cutting in construction appears to have been commonplace. now the state is facing criticism for failing to enforce those safety codes. >> what was once a family home now lies in ruins.

on the morning of february 7th, the earthquake destroyed the sahins' home. tuncay sahin's mother was buried in the debris and seriously injured. she died a short time later. >> for these feelings and this situation, there are no words. >> we visit the village of tokar in southeastern turkey. the region is remote, and people here are poor. one of the collapsed buildings here was only a year old. the sahin family home was older, tuncay tells us. his father, who wasn't at home on the night of the disaster, only realizes on inspecting the rubble, how inadequate the building materials were. >> look here. these thin steel struts were supposedly holding the load-bearing supports together. this really should be a lesson to us, but people only pay

attention when they hit their heads. once the pain's subsided, they get careless again. >> these materials should have been checked by the authorities. i hope from now on, construction in these high-risk areas will be monitored more strictly. >> whether or not it's wise to re on turkish construction authorities is another mter hasan aksungur has his doubts. he's chairman of the chamber of structural engineers in the port city of adana. the phones haven't stopped ringing since the earthquake. his team's expertise is in high demand as residents want their homes inspected. they no longer trust the state authorities. while touring a housing estate affected by the quake, aksungur discovers cracks in facades everywhere. >> these could just be cracks in the plaster.

as long as load-bearing parts aren't affected, the building could still be habitable. but it's hard for me to judge at first sight. >> the government has warned critics of its earthquake policy against spreading what it calls "fake news". but people like aksungur know that the government legalized millions of buildings that were constructed without planning permits, and many others were built higher than approved. >> it's about business, profit. look: these apartments sell for the equivalent of 250,000 euros, at least. earthquake precautions can't compete with the greed for profit. >> deadly quakes could occur again at any time, aksungur warns the residents of adana. but many seem to be in denial about this already. >> they told us our house was ok, but that we should wait for

the demolition on the neighboring property. then we can return. >> they can't just carry on as they were after this disaster, says aksungur. there has to be a completely new beginning. >> in risk areas like this, everyone has to work together: citizens, urban planners, architects, sociologists and politicians. we need a consensus on reconstruction. and, if possible, it must be ensured that we never build directly over the fault lines again. >> back in the village of tokar, the residents are afraid to return to their homes. the authorities have sent the villagers one tent. those who couldn't get a space there have built their own out of plastic sheets. it's hard to say how long they will have to stay in the tents. but everyone agrees, the houses of the future will have to be

built differently. >> from now on, we'll only build one-story houses. the way it used to be. >> but safer buildings are not enough, says tuncay sahin. >> i hope that from now on there will be more education about the dangers of earthquakes. >> tuncay pays his respects to his mother at the local cemetery. if only everyone had taken the earthquake danger seriously, he tells us, his family might have been spared this tragedy. lara: maria and andrey are filmmakers from belarus. they use their art to advocate for an end to leader alexander lukashenko's regime. he's been in power for nearly 30 years. election rigging, political opression and human rights violations are par for the course in their homeland. maria and andrey are fighting back with their weapon of

choice humour. after a few plot twists, they settled in the city of berlin. the german capital has become an ideal backdrop for their life in exile. >> maria and andrey stroll along one of the few remnants of the berlin wall. in front of erich honecker's and leonid brezhnev's legendary socialist brother-kiss, they take a selfie - for their friends and relatives back in minsk. both journalists fled the belarusian capital and lukashenko's reprisals following the mass protests of 2020. >> we started publishing little sketches - funny videos that expose the ridiculousness of our propaganda. our viewers really liked them, and our third or fourth video

got nearly a million hits. >> but the longer the protests went on, the more brutal the belarusian regime cracked down. reprisals also targeted the staff of the satirical chinchin-channel. in the fall of 2021, the journalists felt obliged to leave their home country - for lviv in western ukraine. >> there's freedom of expression there, and the entertainment industry has progressed so much, especially the political satire, because volodymyr zelenskyy, the ex-comedian, was always making fun of ukrainian politicians and then became president himself. that motivated us. >> but even in exile in ukraine, they and their work as satirists were in danger. russian forces attacked ukraine, and belarus was supporting them. they had almost half of a new video in the can when russia

invaded ukraine on february 24th, 2022. >> we knew we were in danger. rumors were spread that, when the russians came, all the belarusians who had fled the lukashenko regime to ukraine would be rounded up. so, we weren't only in danger because of the war. >> maria, andrey and their co-workers had to pack their bags and flee once again. the team made their way to warsaw, alongside tens of thousands of ukrainians. >> it wasn't so much the current situation that scared me but the lack of any real prospects. i just had no idea what would happen next. and, of course, it was terrible to be forced to flee for the

second time within half a year and give everything up again. >> they took up their work again in warsaw. this video parodies practices of post-soviet television, like putting words in interviewees' mouths. >> 'you, refugee, tell us how life is here. is it bad? >> 'it's awful. everything's horrible. there are so many problems: the infrastructure, no jobs, no prospects, higher prices than back home.' >> within a few weeks, some 300-thousand refugees from ukraine had collected in warsaw. mariya saw no real potential there and happened upon a grant for journalists at a chateau on the polish-german border. once again, they packed up and moved on. at the chateau, they shot a dark satire about two belarusian officials who had to talk a famous singer into appearing in a concert in honor

of the regime. but when the diva loses her voice, the officials arrange for her to have brain surgery. "there they are!" >> after completing the project, andrei and mariya moved on to berlin, a popur destination for people fleeing belarus, ukraine and russia. >> i like berlin a lot because parts of it remind me of minsk. so, i almost feel at home here. in my situation, that's like a wonderful gift because i haven't been home for a year and a half now. >> this is a very creative city with lots of interesting people and an outstanding cultural life. i think i'll be able to gather lots of interesting and

positive experiences here. >> in a video chat, maria and andrey invite the other team members still in warsaw to berlin to shoot their next video. they're trying to make the best of their situation as refugees, but they're constantly reminded of it. in front of the russian embassy, a vigil is held for the victims of the war in ukraine. berlin is also a temporary home. maria and andrey keep hoping for political change in belarus. only then can they think about returning to minsk. lara: this is the european bison, also known as w?sent the largest wild animal on the continent. in switzerland, they became extinct in the middle ages. now a test herd has been brought there to see if the beasts can live again in their natural habitat. in the canton of solo-thurn, the bison are being kept in an

enclosed space for now. despite their intimidating size, the mammals are known to be peaceful and even shy. but does that mean can they co-exist with humans? >> powerful, yet elegant. european bisons, also known as wisents, have been grazing here for several months, in the jura mountains by the town of welschenrohr. they're the european relation of the north american bison. >> european bisons are forest animals. if you look from the front you see their heads are as narrow as their bodies. by contrast, the north american variety is found on the plains. they're a bit shorter and broader, because being tall and slender isn't important there. >> benjamin brunner brought the european bisons here from a zoo. they've been released into a one-hundred-hectare enclosure,

where they'll hopefully get used to life in the wild. because they need to get used to humans too, tourists are welcome inside. but not to walk up to them or touch them. a 50 meter distance is the rule of "thumb" >> if you stretch out your thumb and it covers up the bison then that's pretty much fifty meters. >> of course it depends on how thick your thumb is or how broad the bison. if the animals spot hikers or even come over to them, people are advised to get well away. for their own safety, but also to give the animals space, because the aim is for them to live independently from humans. the plan is to take down the fences around the enclosure in five years and let the bisons roam free. just like when they were native here. that's the dream of ranger

benjamin brunner and project manager otto holzgang: >> there used to be european bison in switzerland, but they haven't been around since medieval times. they're part of the forest and without them, the forest is incomplete. >> but that's a sentiment not everyone shares. many farmers are worried about the idea edgar kupper doesn't want any more wild animals roaming around, he says they already have enough to deal with: >> red deer are coming back, there are already wolves wild boars create a lot of damage. we don't need another wild animal. and especially not one that's being introduced artificially. >> for thousands of years, european bison lived on the lands of modern switzerland. until humans killed them off. why shouldn't bison be rewilded here? >> well, dinosaurs used to live here, too. we farmers know how grazing animals behave. we know cows.

and they try to get food wherever it's easiest. these bison are going to do the same thing and come for our crops. they'll eat things we need to feed our animals. >> holzgang and brunner say the rewilding program in switzerland will help conserve european bison on the continent. because they face extinction through inbreeding. more bulls are needed that aren't related to each other. swapping them out helps lower the risk of genetic diseases. >> one hundred years ago, there were just twelve of them capable of breeding. a real genetic bottleneck you might say. that was the biggest issue. it was only when poland started a breeding program and kept swapping out all the bulls that the population really started growing again.

>> europe's biggest land mammals could be making a comeback. ranger benjamin brunner is convinced there's plenty of space. the question is: will humans let them? lara: it's a sport his mother banned him from doing as a child. but that didn't stop vanni oddera from realizing his dream of becoming a motocross star. the italian rider is one of the most successful in the industry his career has taken him touring all over the world. and it's not only fans of the sport who get to see his airborne acrobatics. vanni uses his talent to help sick and disabled children. >> a day in the life of motocross freestyle champion vanni oddera in liguria. ♪

>> the beauty of this sport is that even the richest person in the world can't buy the feeling you get walking in the sky next to your bike. >> but it's not all backflips in the sky vanni oddera's wheels take him to all kinds of places like this hospital in genoa. >> vanni's motocross journey started in 2002. he soon turned his passion into a profession and is now one of the most successful stars in the industry. his 200-horsepower bike sees him soaring up to 15 meters off the ground but he's always afraid, he says. >> the fear is what drives you to push on. of course, it's very dangerous, but the more you train and the more you jump, the less risk there actually is.

the bike becomes something like a third leg. >> his talent brought him fame, money, success and tournaments from brazil to russia. then one day, a taxi ride after a win in moscow changed everything. >> straight away i noticed a strong smell of urine. i snapped at the driver to hurry up and quickly take me to my destination. then i looked into his eyes and saw a man like me. but he was missing his legs. and he was sitting there, in his own urine. >> and from then on, vanni began to help others. >> i gave the driver all the prize money and went up to my hotel room ashamed of myself. i thought about what i could do to help the world. >> and that's how he got the idea for motorcycle therapy:

>> the idea was to share my time and passion with others. i rang up associations and people with disabilities and talked about my project. they loved it and so i invited them to tournaments in italy and abroad. a motorcycle ride can bring moments of joy, or at least distraction, to people with a disability or illness. and the idea is spreading throughout italy. >> this is genoa on a wednesday morning. vanni and his friend matteo vigliecca bughi are preparing to visit a children's hospital in gaslini. they've been dropping into clinics since 2014. >> it's like hitchhiking! >> go with bughi and pick a gift. >> and now it's his turn, he's

never been on a motorbike before. >> hold on tight. off we go! >> luckily there are electric motorcycles, so the kids in hospital can enjoy them too. we want to make this place into a big circus. because kids should be able to feel like kids even in a hospital, not like patients. >> twenty-four young patients are waiting for vanni and his motorcycle in the cancer ward, too. he comes by twice a month. >> what's your name? >> agi. >> watch the tube! >> one, two, three, go! drive slowly!

>> i never thought the motorcycle could move so fast. i could feel my skin, my body. then i thought: there's a door ahead - why isn't he braking! and then he made this spectacular stop. it was fantastic. >> but vanni says no matter how much the children enjoy it, there's always a feeling of sadness. >> many of the people i meet won't survive. that leaves scars, deep wounds that will never heal. >> but vanni's visits give the little patients feelings of joy. and the hope that they'll see each other again soon for the next ride. lara: that brings us to the end of our show. on our website dw.com you can find more of our stories. thanks for watching i look forward to seeing you again soon. bye for now. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

03/09/23 03/09/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we are encouraged by the department of justice findings toda however, it is unfortunate it took the murder of breonna taylor and protest after protest after protest through 2020 to come to this point. amy: the u.s. department of justice accuses the louisville police department of unlawfully