i'm damien mcguinness. i'm really pleased you could join us on the program today.n spain, why its local women who are doing the heavy lifting. while italy, meanwhile, is struggling with the weight of history. and why russian villages are dancing to their own tune under the strength of sanctions, but first, to a spanish town in north africa. because it is a spanish exclave, it has the unusual status of being a small bit of the european union on the african continent, which means migrants often see it as a way into the eu, but also, traders using it as a way of legally getting european goods out. the problem is that local people are literally -- local people are being used for what is literally back raking work. >> she is having 40 kilos strapped to her back -- it might be food, clothing, or blankets. she is going to lug the cargo across the border from spain to morocco. >> this is how poor people like us earn our money. it is relentless. everyone thinks only of themselves. work is torture. >> there are now hundreds of mule women crossing the border, which used to be

i'm damien mcguinness. thanks very much for joining us.day's program -- the belgians who want to tackle islamic extremism. ukrainians who want to join russia. and the french who want their own, rather small, kingdom. the conflict in the middle east are having an impact on the europe in many ways. one of them being that young european muslims are being recruited to gond

i'm damien mcguinness. and this is "focus on europe," showing you the people behind the headlines - the stories you -- from every corner of the continent. i'm really pleased you could join us. on the programme today -- croatians hope to heal the scars of history. in switzerland, property boom turns into property destruction. and in finland, betting on an end to austerity. but first, here in germany, a trial is about to open which should shed light on one of the most mysterious crimes of the cold war. the former head of the secret police of croatia is accused of involvement inhe

i'm damien mcguinness. i'm really pleased you could join us on the program today.spain, why its local women who are doing the heavy lifting. while italy, meanwhile, is struggling with the weight of history. and why russian villages are dancing to their own tune under the strength of sanctions, but first, to a spanish town in north africa. because it is

i'm damien mcguinness. great you could join us on the program today.taly -- a year since the tragedy at love producer. paris -- from city of romance to city of rodents. and in norway -- is oil turning into more of a curse than a blessing? it is exactly a year since more than 300 african migrants drowned

i'm damien mcguinness. great you could join us on the program today.taly -- a year since the tragedy at love producer. paris -- from city of romance to city of rodents. and in norway -- is oil turning into more of a curse than a blessing? it is exactly a year since more than 300 african migrants drowned just off the coast of the italian island of lampedusa. the tragedy was seen as a wake-up call for europe. every year, thousands of people died as they tried to flee war and poverty by crossing the mediterranean in small, overcrowded boats, but a year on, the humanitarian crisis has got worse, not better, so local people of the island of lampedusa have started using art to call on europe's leaders to act. >> this is the gate of europe. it raises southward from the italian island of lampedusa. from here, it's 300 kilometers to europe. the artwork was created in honor of the migrants who lost their lives crossing the mediterranean seeking european shores. at the port, there's a graveyard for their boats. after having discharged their human cargo on the isl

i'm damien mcguinness. great you could join us.n the show today -- on the dutch-german border -- farmers on a wild goose chase. albania's rubbish tips -- workplace and home for the poor. and the italian island where people feel more alpine than mediterranean. but first back here to germany, where people have just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. the fall of the wall in 1989 set off a chain of events throughout central and eastern europe that led to the collapse of communism throughout the whole region. including later that year in what was then called czechoslovakia. for more than 40 years the czech and slovakian people had lived under a pro-soviet regime that viewed religion as a subversive force. and the authorities went to extreme lengths to undermine the christian church in particular -- including deporting roman catholic nuns to one of the most isolated parts of the country -- to what cynically became known as a "concentration cloister." >> the authorities thought they could break their faith her

i'm damien mcguinness. and this is "focus on europe," showing you the people behind the headlines - the stories you -- from every corner of the continent. i'm really pleased you could join us. on the programme today -- croatians hope to heal the scars of history. in switzerland, property boom turns into property destruction. and in finland, betting on an end to austerity. but first, here in germany, a trial is about to open which should shed light on one of the most mysterious crimes of the cold war. the former head of the secret police of croatia is accused of involvement in the murder of a croatian dissident near munich in 1983. at the time, croatia was part of what was then communist yugoslavia. to escape oppression, croatian dissidents often fled to the former west germany. but even there, they were not safe. and dozens were allegedly murdered by yugoslav secret agents, who were never brought to justice. until now, that is -- and relatives of those victims are hoping finally for some answers. >> robert

i'm damien mcguinness. thanks very much for joining us.n today's program -- the belgians who want to tackle islamic extremism. ukrainians who want to join russia. and the french who want their own, rather small, kingdom. the conflict in the middle east are having an impact on the europe in many ways. one of them being that young european muslims are being recruited to go and fight, particularly in syria. it's a trauma for their families but also a major worry for the european countries they come from. the danger is that they could come back radicalized. the highest number of recruits in proportion to the population comes from belgium. the issue has, of course, unleashed a big debate in belgian society, but whose fault is it? some there are trying to find an answer to that question. >> maximum-security for belgium's biggest terrorism trial. eight suspected numbers of the organization sharia or belgium -- four belgium are in court. after returning from syria, he revealed how belgian islamists were turning youths into jihadists. his father sa