♪ michelle: hello, and welcome to "focus on europe." i'm michelle henery. it's good of you to join us. here in germany, the days are getting shorter and to pass the time during these long w winty nights, mamany people like to visisit one of the m many chris markets that have popped up across the country. some, however, enter them with a feeling of dreread. because it was one year ago that a major terrort atattackas carried out at a bustling christmas market in berlin. a truck ploughed into a crowd leaving 12 people dead and over 70 injured.. one year afterer that horrrrie incident, the memory of that night remains fresh for many.

especially for those who lost loved ones. while debate over how police and politicians handled the event continues to rage, many of the victims' families feel abandoned by the system that was supposed to protect and supportrt them. polish citizen, janina urban, lost her son. he was murdered by the assailant who hijacked his vehicle to cacarry out the e atrocity. >> janina urban has brought fresh candles for her son's grave. truck driver lukazs urban was the first to die last year in the terrorist attack on a berlin christmas market. visiting the graveyard in banie, poland has become a sad d ritul for her and her husband. >> we come here almost every other day. we need to clean up, because so many people come here, from all over poland, from all over europe. it needs to be kept tidy! >> his mother does not want to speak on-camera. she is overcome with tears and bitterness.

especially now, one year after the attack. she blames the german authorities and the german chancellor in particular. she also believes the atattack could have been prevented. the family feels abandoned. they still hope to receive some personal token of sympathy, a letter of condolence, from chancellor angela merkel. she isn't the only one critical of how those left behind have been treated. many at the christmas market around berlin's historic memorial church are also dissatisfied. inside, pastor katharina stifel holds a service. one year ago, she was in here with her confirmation pupils when a truck drove into the crowd outside. >> they y were quick to make public statements and hold an official service. but any personal addressss, asking, what do you need? how can we help? that came later.

>> that's the main point the twelve victims' relatives harshly criticize. aside from flowers, words, and wreaths, nothing much has happened. they feel ababandoned by the gogovernment, whwhich has yeto respond d to theccususations. what's more, the p past months have revealed a growing number of mistakes made during investigations, which has further infuriated those left behind. the police had been shadowing the attacker, anis amri, for months, and traced his movements across two federal states. yet, they still failed to arrest the radicalized islamist. one year ago, on december 19th, pastor stifel said goodbye to her confirmation pupils after a nativity play just minutes after the christmas market had become a crime scene. the attack fundamentally changed the community. >> with the attack, this church lost a bit of its symbolism of

security and otherworldliness. we are part of the world, with all of its horrors. we are unpnprotected from them d must respond. >> pastor stifel still feels like she's been left alone, despite the countless police officers now patrolling the christmas market don't change. the authorities' utter failure last year has broken lots of trust. back then, the community wanted to help the victims quickly. >> our letters were sent out far too late, and that was partly because the government did little to assist. that also shows we did things too slowly and weren't sure how to handle things. >> after the attack, mistakes in the investigation merely incrcreased the suffering of victims and relatives alike. lukazs urban's cousin is also bitter.

ariel zurawski owns the company for which lukazs urban drove to berlin. the last scrap from the truck used in the attack hangs in his office. it's a valve cap the german police secured in the driver's cabin. to date, he's only been compensated for a fraction of his economic lososs. >> in addition to the main l ls -- that of mcocousin -- there is more i didn't mention at first. all the costs i had to cover due to the attttack. >> he had to get a lawyer to assert his claims. so far, germany has given him 10 thousand euros. he says the losses he suffered are ten times that. but he is more concerned by the german authorities' behavior. >> i hope the victims' families will finally be treated as they shshould -- humanely. germany's government squandered a lot of its trust after the berlin attack, and not only in poland. perhaps the most bitter realization is that it took a year to recognize that.

the german government now has plans to set up a centralized information center which will offer support to relatives and survivorors of terroristst att. michelle: for the e victims ofoe attack on berlin's breitscheidplatz, this help has come a bit late. it's estimated that turkey has taken in more than three million syrian refugees. that's more than any other country and it's a huge challenge, especially given that almost half of them are children. however, turkey is getting billions of euros from the european union to help it care for the refugees, including providing an education. but our reporter julia hahn has met one young girl in istanbul whose pligight is typical for e many c children o arare being lt out. >> the clattering of the sewing machines -- for aras, it's long been part of everyday life.

aras is 11, and this istanbul dressmaking shop is where she works. the women here sew lingerie and she feeds the machines with fabric. cutting, sorting, stacking. twelve hours a day, monday to friday. for that, she earns 50 cents an hour. >> sure, i'd rather go to school. but we have to pay so much rent. food, the water bill -- it's all expensive. so i have to work to h help my family. aras is not the only child in the workshop. child labor has long been a problem in turkey, and with the arrival of so many refugees from syria, it has become even bigger. khalil from damascus is 13. he went to school in syria, then came the war and fleeing from it. now he has little time to study. the youngest child here is only six years old. the head of the sewing shop is

turkish. he allowed us to film here, but we had to promise him that he wouldn't be in the report. child labor is illegal in turkey. he knows that but, as he says, without work, families would be even worse off. we meet ekrem imamoglu, a district mayor of istanbul. he admits that child labor is a massive problem in turkey. >> our options are limited. are e we trying to get the childrdren into our schools? give them books, pencilsls, satchels? of course e we're trying to. but we don't always reach them all. often more help is needed than we c can give. >> after work, aras takes us to her family. she has two sisters.

her mother hasn't gone back to work since becoming pregnant. her father does have a job, but even combined with aras's income, the e family can hardy make ends meet. they don't receive any financial support from t the state. >> i was the only one to work in syria and my salary was enough for all of us, even for my parents. but here it's different. the rent, the costs for the kids. i just can't do it alone. >> we have to send aras s to wo, there's no other way. every morning she crieies and says, "i want to go to school." and it breaks my h heart. i know that she is too young and many people won't give her a job because she is still a child. but i know the owner of the sewing shop. he said he wanted to help us.

because she has to work during the week, aras can only go to school on weekends. in their neighborhood, syrian teachers offer lessons. turkish, arabic, math -- the basics, at l least. >> but to really help the children, the families have to get out of poverty, says the teacher. >> if the turkish state wants to help the refugees, it should provide financial supporort fr families who send their children to school with rent subsidies or social assistance. i don't think anyone would let their kids work in that case. >> only a few hours of lessons on weekends. for aras, these are the best moments of the week -- when the sewing machines are no longer rattling and she's allowed to just be a child. the turkish government has announced that by 2020 it will guarantee every syrian refugee child a place in school. michelle: let's turn our attention now to spain, where

the government has called for elections in catalonia. ever since separatists held a referendum in october, declared illegal by madrid, catalonia has been in a state of emergency and the country, deeply divided. our reporter travelled through this part of northeast spain to gage the mood. >> a sea of spanish and catalan flags. llucia bou's come here on spain's constitution day to express his support for national unity and oppose the catalan separatists who held an illegal independence referendum in october. the crowd wants them jailed. llucia is glad to be with like-minded protesters. back in his hometown vic, such a protest would be unthinkable. the town is fiercely in favor of catalan independence. >> things are different there.

it's the birthplace of the independence movement. the mood in vic is stanchly pro-independence. along the market square, posters call for the release of political prisoners. and locals still consider carles puigdemontnt, who fled to belgi, to be their president. one of them is raimon casals. he wants independence from spain. many like him have pinned notes calling for secession to this wishing tree. >> i've spotted many notes that are concerned with the country's future. people want independenence anda free, democratic country. >> raimon thinks spain is un-democratic. he works for omnium, a cultural organization that promotes the catalan language and catalan independence. casals co-organized vic's solidarity jail. citizens let themselves get locked up on vic's market square for two hours to express solidarity with incarcerated separatists. more than 500 citizens have already participated, and there's a long waiting list.

with the catalan regional elections nearing, they want to mobilize pro-independence voters. >> we willll organise more eves to achieve a great election result so that our independence movement can grow even larger than it is now. >> llucia, a coffee entrepreneur, thinks this is unlikely, since opposition to catalan independence is becoming increasingly vocal. some are even speaking out in the pro-independence bastion of vic, like these farmers. they explain how the conflict has divided their family. >> we had a family party on november 1st. fifteen people sat at this table. after r dinner, the two of us we the only ones still sitting here. the others were over there, talking politics. without us. >> catalonia has changed over the past months, llucia says. the political climate has become tense. >> i stopped going to a bar for a coffee or a beer half a year

ago. we can vote e for the left, te centre, or the right. all that matters is that the party supports the constitution. >> raimon casals, meanwhile, wants to mobilizize as many vots as possible e because the separatist fervor after october's referendum has waned. >> i'm hoping for a catalan republic. that wouldld be my ideal of cocourse. but it's very unlike. >> so no matter who wins the upcoming regional elections, catatalan society remains deepy divided. michelle: sometimes it's the brave actions of just a single individual that can benefit so many. in slovakia, roma people face segregation, large scale unemployment and discrimination by police. despite being the second largest ethnic group in the country, they live in the marargins of society with little chance of integrating. but ever since being elected the mayor of a small village in eastern slovakia, vladimir

ledecky decided to change things. >> of vladimir is the hands-on type of mayor and is making changes in his village. big changes. >> after my election as mayor, i quickly realized that you have to actively tackle the problems in the village. it was clear that something had to change that we have to get the roma into a settled lifestyle with the possibility of finding a job. so we set up a company for roma who otherwise would not have had a chance on the freeee labor market. >> the roma were initially hesitant, then more and more gradually joined the scheme and took up jobs. earning a wage gave them money, which they used to build new houses. ivan kacura also recently moved into his new home with his wife

and four children. it has gas, a sewage system and running water. it was a big change. >> we used to carry the water into the house in buckets. now all the apartments have their own water closet. you don't have to walk around the yard at minus 20 degrees celsius in winter. that's good for the children alone. >> ivan shows his children videos on the internet telling how the roma in the village used to live, and how most of them in slovakia still do. he wants them to learn from them. >> my y children are shocked y it. just one example. i have a a wooden crate for or firewood. other roma actually live in a crate like that. >> his wife is very happy that the falyly is doining better n.

martina kacurova also works for the community. >> people who have work feel better. they can creatate something, ty can build something for their children. >> thanks to a joint initiative by the mayor and the school director, things have also been changing for the roma children. >> both groups, the roma and the other children from the village, must feel that they are equal and equalllly welcome.e. after two oror three years, its borne fruit. we're on thehe right track. >> the neighboring village of batizovce is a good example of how the roma usually live in the country. around one third of its 2,200 inhabitantnts are roma. they live in a simple settlement of huts on the edge of the village. most of them don't have a job, and don't have any chance to work, they say. they feel excluded. >> we mustn't leave the weakest behind. it's about cohesion, and there's no such thing if we fail to take part of our society into account.

we must give the roma a chance at long last. >> spissky hrhov shows that roma in slolovakia don't have to lie on the fringes of society, but can thrive right at its heart. for a life without poverty. for a life with a future. like ivan kacura and his family. michelle: i can remember when i thought that 28 was old. and now i think that 60 is rather young! wouldn't it be great to find a way to bridge that gap between old and young? to alter the perception that young people are entitled and spoiled and that the older gegeneration is stuck in their ways. this would likely lead to more compassion, understanding and friendship between the generations. in the netherlands, such an initiative is already underway. it involves allowing dutch students living rent-free in

retirement homes. a year ago, student sores duman moved into his new home. it notot the typicalal kind of student accommodatn n one wod imine. >> hi, marty. marty ululink is2. martrty and sores s have becomed frieiends. >> they both live in n nursing ho. marty y moved in tenen years . she e loves old dodolls. and she appreciates her young housemate sores. >> i i've adopted sores asyy grdsonon. >> yeseswe get along just fi. >> that'very gooood. >> phyhysically and mementally, marty isis in great shshape. she loves rerestoring histororl

dolls. and her usemate sos shows r how to photograph and document her worork with an ip. when sores moved in th these sesenior cizenens, he pitieded . but that's's completely y chan. in part becacause of martyt. >> i i don't vw w our friendshp didifferently. we get alongng really wellll bee we tre eacach other withth respect. that makes a lot o of things easier. marty inspirese.e. she wants to k keep learning ad make the best out of her life, despite e her old age. that's brilliant! >> today, another stenent is movi in ---- jieke vananer ls. she's one s six studes s living alongside e 160 senior citizes aged bweenen 70 d 104.4. >> f first i thougught, this iss crazazy. alall my neighbobours arsenini. but i think k it could getet ry

sociable. jolieke can'n't afford a 4 400r room in n student accocommodat. >> a furnished room in tss nursrsg home is free on onee condition. joeke,e, le all thstududen here, must spend 3hohours a moh withth t seniorsrs jolieke doesn't ha m much ti settltle . it's's time for seseniors ad studenents to come t togetherr didinner. jolieke's eagetoto gt socialisining. bubut first she e need to leaa few things. >> w want me to opopen that for? no? oh, i dididn't know. >> they're saying they c d do at t themsves. they're right, of course. i n't t haveo do t that for themem. >> it's not easy for jieieke to ow exactly how to treat th

seseniors. sores has beenen living herere a year now. he's morexexperiend anand kns what interests the seniors moso. >> t they're very y interesten our love les. our sex lives. student t life. the tch cici of deveer on thijsseleliver has 1 100,0 ininhabitants. >> 26,000 of them are stenents. the wn's c cy centre makes clear ththat dutch socociety, t like otherer societies, , is grg progressivively older. the dudutch call thihis trende rey squeez. w approach are neede making retirement more jojoyable,nd l life nursising hohomes in partiticular -- thas nursrsing home dirirector ga sijpkes' goal. it w h her ideto g get sdentss toto move in. she hopes s it will brining togr the young and the elderl > o children haven enen a b broughup like inceces d princecesses. theyre n not taught enenough o

take care ofof the elderlyl. we neeeed to emancipipate the we look at elderly, that they are of use and can have their ownn meaningful r relationships. we show it every day. > jolieke vonon der wals isis liviving the dreamam many in r generation harbor. e e studieat t the ademy o of music in neieighboring arnrnh. shshe dreams of f a career on n. but whwhen claes are over, she experiens somethinnew at t the nursing g home -- whatat it meao live amongeople ineed of care shshe has become particurlrly ose e withne resesidt. elli wewer is 73, anshshe is stililmentallyery fit, b her legs ge out a ile ago. t jolieke s managed to bre througugher rervrve.

recentnt, the ollalady even went withth hero a ststudt party.y. >> w we were playing the dnknkg gameeer popong elli s stood at one e end of e table and d a student ststood ae otother. then, she hahad to throw b bas into the c. you were reay gogood athat,, weren'n't you? >> yes, i was gogood at hiinig the cucup. and the stududent standingng te had to drirink it up eacach t. it was jusust some schnanapps,t he didn'n't want to drdrink any more. he appareny y had alady y had too muchch. >> that was nice, wasn'tt?t? >> yeses! >ne annual highlight for all resints s is t oranjnje,r orange, fefest on king's's day. it was thehe students' i ideao throw a paparty at the n nursg home. they wanted d to create a a me comfand lilive atmosphphe,

like in flflat-sharing commununities. and they wanted to introcece a bibit anarchy. >> theayay i s older people s chanangea lot. i used to think ststly aut theilimitation bubut w i see e their possilitities d the e thgs they can indndeed do. >> jieke has been living in the nunursing home f for a few s now. she and her housemeses know -- sometitimes it's t s small ides that make the bibiggest change. michelle: i hope projects s lie this pop up in more places. check out our facebook page dw stories if you'd like to find out more about any of today's stories or better yet, send me a tweet. until nexext time, goodo.

announcer: opportunity. p. byhl. . ♪u capital, which attracts young tourists in droves -- and this man shows them around. meet one of our berlin globals. mauritania's diawling national park is a wildlife hotspot -- but it didn't use to be like this. we find out about its transformation. but first we head d to india o learn more about young girls and marriage, in which romance rarely plays a role.