And on facebook. There were comments in europe that could benefit from a p. R. Mission that may come too long just just like that with just thats a from. Carnegie that i wrote the song after the attacks. Seeing all those horrible things on t. V. Really upset me. Thats why i wrote the song. The main is from oldenburg the same part of brussels as the men behind the march twenty six thousand atrocities they carried out three suicide bombings in brussels at the airport and in the city subway killing thirty two others. More than because one of the highest birth rates in the belgian capital and is among its poorest neighborhoods only one in two children leave school with qualifications one in five residents is under seventeen years of age the four year youth club aims to get the children off the streets and out of trouble. With the rap music originally the product of deprived africanamerican communities in new york is a popular means of expression here the youngsters rap about love war and politics the big issues. The social workers here want to give the youngsters a selfesteem boost with a program of dancing sporting activities and rap music many of them feel they are automatically dismissed as ghetto kids from more than basic. Really sort of will see i see that too but i try to tell the kids that it doesnt mean you have to accept that label just because other people want to label you as stupid or an arab just. That on the contrary you say i am not the label that you want to stick on me im going to carry on do my thing and live my life as it was but a sixty minute but it was of all squishy but. Its market day in muslim bake the multiethnic neighborhood in the west of brussels its recently gained notoriety as a hotbed of terrorism due to the number of islamic terrorists who lived here before embarking on their self declared war. Most of the victims at Brussels Airport were people checking in at the main terminal one of the prime terror suspects widely known as the man in the hat is mohamed upbringing born and bred in mumbai. Those killed by the bomb in the some boy were mostly commuters on their way to work. Panic ensued in the destroyed subway train many of the victims here were from brussels just like the perpetrators. At the four youth Club Children are encouraged to show their emotions and talk about events for write and sing about them some of them dream of rap stardom and have already penned their first versus. Reason. I really enjoy it. We can really express ourselves here. I put everything thats on my mind into my lyrics. This is also where eleven year old men wrote her song about last years dramatic events. Is a stickler when it comes to the lyrics he wants the children here to speak proper french. Mostly as you his own from the street gangsters thieves and troublemakers they skip school their mom say enough is enough and they want to be gangsters back to being the boys little child. Thats funny to the food. Its important for them to learn the french language and for them to talk to each other in french thats a crucial factor for success. If they have problems with the language they want to stand math. History and other subjects either and. This is this and that but. And then theyre looking at the teacher wondering when hes going to damn well stop talking. They dont understand and so they get left behind at school thats why its important to do things here in french. Are there are a lot of children here who dont speak good french. Unfortunately yes at home they speak their Mother Tongue in most cases not in french which is a shame. Four years too many years too many children here have been growing up with zero prospects for the future. If you want a chance of making it they say here in manila make you first have to make it across the canal to the other side of town. Every morning the local pastor sees what this despair and a lack of prospects mean. Its always the same. The youngsters leave everything lying around. Sit around here outside the church every night. And during the day. They drink. And this is on the doorstep of a church. As a cup. So. Its selfish and done civilized. Im going to find some way to throw this trash away. When there was. Already on sunday call is from the congo hes been living and working in mozambique for the last four years on thursdays he does his rounds of the weekly market. Although the population is two thirds muslim a Catholic Priest is a popular figure people come to him because he gives them hope. Youre. Wrong there arent enough jobs. The government has to provide opportunities for these people for. The children of modern bank need more assistance. They need to be assured that they are the future and the pride of the nation. But you hardly ever see that. Before we need more education and training. Otherwise the children of vulnerable to people have approached them and recruit them to be taken to syria. And getting kids off the streets is likewise a goal of the night old boxing club. Girls and boys trained together here something some muslims would frown upon. Valentino di has albanian roots. Shes proud of being a kick boxer a fighter with pink gloves. Who know how to play our Club Everyone sticks together and helps each other and outside the boxing club we stick together too its like a family thats not. In. The club gives the youngsters a sense of community and belonging and other things they might not get at home. Trainer mohamed bin ye sure grew up watching movies starring bruce lee and John Paul Van dam like himself a number of belgians best boxers hail from more than basic. If you go to the for the poor so it is we want to get the youngsters off the streets and teach them discipline and pride too often the aim is to take a boy twelve or thirteen years old and teach him to be a good boxer. As it is with so that by the time hes eighteen hes someone whos respected has a reason to be proud to be fifth also. For the. Next ok take a breather and well talk later because. Everyone here is working hard in preparation for a big upcoming contest. The canal separates small and big from the rest of brussels almost half the residents have an arab or african background. The population has grown rapidly here from seventy thousand at the turn of the millennium to now almost one hundred thousand. Johann lehmann has been working with local youths since the one nine hundred eighty s. He succeeded in getting a lot of young people off the streets with a range of courses to foster their artistic talents hes even managed to recruit the odd celebrity including members of the belgian royal family. King phillipe then prince and heir to the throne was apparently surprised that a neighborhood like big even existed in brussels. Brought Prince Philip down here. To show him some places and that he didnt. Fall i asked him whether he knew more than bank the market in milan bank he said no no no he was very surprised he said its like cairo. Is a. Hole. And he came back to take a few photos. He lives fifteen minutes away by car. And he didnt know the area. Could use a mill and bake is a kind of ghetto. As is. I dont see it like that. Although you could say its been turned into a ghetto and this is this guy people who dont live in maryland bank. Yes the zetas they see it as a ghetto. But if you live here it isnt. Look around. But that was exactly the label the neighborhood was given in the wake of the terrorist attacks and there were worse names a terrorist den and a rats nest. Where. Those who cant handle them back. Those who dont stay here. For more its a full community by my standards and in the context. It is possible to survive here. But if you want to make a career of various obviously you get out. Right. Actor ben how many do came to brussels from america as a baby like his parents hes addressed his experiences in a one man play. Was your source youll. Want to head up and im now here in belgium and a free woman she says so youre free to go back to the kitchen he says these are the. Scenes from a marriage his parents marriage. Draws on his own family background to make fun of the belgians and moroccans alike or some. But. It was a village when i was young. The north africans werent as prominent as they are today relationships for a friendly social. If you havent saw my father would have his soda his belgian neighbor appear. And theyd say cheers. We share the same values. Sadly thats no longer the case. It dont go the play isnt a style just recollection of that time. We were all different but shared a lot of things with each other. That time is over. Now since the terrible attacks everywhere in the world in europe it is in belgium but its a good chance to recall what we have in common and come together. If. Its fairly. Been how many do has moroccan roots his director general pretty she has a tally and roots. The two men lived for years in modern big until they got a hostile reaction to their critical and provocative work it was a small amount but thats what we have people who love their community including the moroccan and muslim side. There was a report. We do it with rain but theres hardly any capacity for south criticism now among local residents. Critique is we were shunned book. The posters we put out an appetizer performances were torn off the walls. The one i have is a fusion and fewer immigrants came to our place that if you used to be different in modern bank even the director of the local Arts Institute was surprised to see the change. Do the modern big. Of it and dont forget were both children of this neighborhood sometimes a need. For the big. But the two men are determined to keep on performing despite so much having changed in their part of brussels. After the attacks in paris in november twenty fifth and brussels in march twenty sixth more than bake was placed in lockdown by the police and armed forces as a number of the perpetrators and either lived in mourning bake or hidden their. Security forces conducted dozens of raids and made dozens of arrests anyone who couldnt present id on the spot was apprehended. This mom believed to be one of the key architects of the paris terror attacks was arrested in morning bake sit there. Like. We were performing the play right at the time but obviously was arrested during the police raids. In one scene i say everyone is being call to prayer. More than its meant in an ironic sense. If what we mean is leave your got at home in your private lives. You know. You for days at that point some people left the performance. Of what i suppose they think its a taboo subject we but i say artists have to be able to talk about everything. Kind of to. Know the message of the one man performance you are free dont let your lives be controlled by tradition and religion the audience is predominantly young. When you follow akbar the muslim call to prayer or been humming to a joke on the stage of life. Oh. Those same words god is great are taken very seriously at the other da moon mosque in mozambique hundreds of worshippers have flocked to friday prayers. Moreland big is very religious the neighborhood one hundred thousand strong population is oficial a home to twenty two muslim places of worship exactly how many backstreet mosques there are is unclear. Your mother how much each preaches in french and arabic he is considered a liberal and modern imaam moroccan born he regards moreland bake as home and he knows and loves his community he took a stance against radical islam well before the attacks of one source of hope for the ordeal of the old thora has never monitored the mosques that was a mistake there are places here that are open to the public around his places of worship but without any kind of official permission who is responsible for them. Ask the community or the religious authorities. How can it be that these places exist people ignore the issue but we all share responsibility we also need the politicians to admit that theyve made mistakes. Since the attacks a series of mosques have been closed down in muslim bake due to incendiary language. But the authorities vigilance comes too late says your each. Soldier still patrol the streets of modern day well over a year after the terror attacks. But now at least moderate muslims and christians have begun working together more closely than ever hello my brother says the priest as he welcomes the mom. Because your daughter. Joining forces in order to maximize our influence on the young people. Weve made joint visits to schools talking to the cant see. That as all. We want to reach their hearts is. Why it should be educating them not the military patrolling the streets dollar billion dollar. Their mission a united moan and bake as demonstrated by the two men themselves as they walk hand and hand through the neighborhood. Theyre not prepared to give up on the children. They wont stand by idly as young people are lost to the judge hardest movement it makes them sad to see their neighborhood being called one of the most dangerous places in europe. Those awful for both of the children in one family left the parents found out when their sons were already over that. One was nineteen and the other twenty two or twenty three. They went to turkey and then probably on to syria where the father trying to find them but the one boy has now been missing for three years they heard nothing. From you to the other and was killed. Able to actually stop after the parents left brussels they didnt want to live here anymore after losing a part of themselves without because its tough for parents to have a son or daughter stolen from them. The family has suffered from seeing their children radicalized. Its hard because you dont get any answers. Of if i mean. What can i or any other mom say to these parents who have lost their children. You know cream of apollo of your people do those awful. For years young people have been approached by selfappointed preachers in back street mosques or simply on the street this boy is being encouraged to support his fellow believers. Is on the press and the man says. Some people hand out milk to the poor others are willing to give their lives for allah. At least five hundred belgian nationals have gone to syria and iraq to fight for the socalled Islamic State per capita the country has the highest number in europe and a large proportion come from all in big among them sammy the son of a romney clued sami began to change around the age of fifteen movies when they even. My son came home and said mom i heard this great sermon. I saw no cause for concern. I had no idea what these in moms would turn him into. Yes. Then one day he said hed been handing out food to the poor together with a friend. Of course like any mother i thought that was fantastic. You think great my son is taking care of the needy but unfortunately now i know that was the beginning of his radicalization. Sami later disappeared without saying good bye. Unemployment among young men in mali and bake is almost fifty percent the neighborhood has gained notoriety as a hive of drug dealing and other petty crime frustrated young men easy prey for islamists and in two thousand and twelve sami went to syria he would never return his mother only saw him on videos posted online by us. God willing says the fighter we will raise this flag in damascus and jerusalem we will show this man who has come to syria from belgium what being a good muslim mean so. Last year the belgium authorities informed of ellen the loot that sami had been killed in syria you know i didnt. Explode at the high unemployment. And the fact that these boys were trying to determine an identity for themselves. With. A lot of the boys were unemployed. And knew they would never get a proper job. Preachers offered them things that the belgian state never gave them. Which both could have made use of but its the same all over europe young people are being denied a chance in life. I guess the more feasible you look at my son. I asked offered him hope and a future and suddenly he felt he was worth something dawlish if the. Young people at this busy sports hall want to feel that way to. The kickboxers are their idols its a tough and direct sport which the young people can identify with they know they come from a neighborhood widely considered problematic but these young people dont want to be losers they want to emerge victorious. The. Good. Russianness winning because more local youths have a Bad Reputation donald trump went so far as to call mall and bake a rats nest but it isnt at all we have three or four hundred people here and hes great young guys are showing that the neighborhood isnt just home to terrorists and thieves in the bitterness there are people here of goals in life and who are investing themselves in something in this case sports it means we can show everyone that theres a lot of good things happening with the young people in our neighborhood was before. I show is already a well known kickboxer. Shes warming up for her upcoming fight. Shes proud of her neighborhood and refuses to be written off or labeled. But you have a good record of a lot of people who dont know muslim bake think its a bad neighborhood dangerous but thats all wrong people are nice to each other during ramadan for example everyone in the neighborhood does something together we do a lot of things together it was so tell me. What does boxing do for you. Jim and i have too much energy so i let off steam by boxing. Mold and bake once to get back to normality now over a year since the terrorist attacks in brussels. The young people here want to live the life of another hair down which they can do at this nightclub. V. K. Is one of the oldest clubs in brussels it was opened in one thousand nine hundred eighty nine here in mali and basically theres music and dancing every night and an ethnically mixed crowd. In the uk. After the attacks including in brussels all you heard from politicians like donald trump was bad talk. They all said bad things about more than big banks you know they need to come here and see life here in practice. Instead of just being told that modern bank is dangerous they should see what its like here theres a great vibe here its really multicultural. Working here to the. Growing number of people coming here now from other neighborhoods that we dont want to concentrate just on modern bank that we havent into Cultural Center different people different languages we bring everyone together to the sound of hip hop. You can. Certainly danced the night away here one of the few positive associations that this neighborhood enjoys. What some of the young people here no doubt dream of being discovered by a talent scout and pursuing a career as a singer or dancer away out of the deprived neighborhood they call home one that only a few achieve. This workshop in more than bake could provide residents with another potential leg up it gives local people the opportunity to become carpenters and cabinet makers. The team here build and restore tables and chairs the project was set up by Johann Lehmann the idea is to give people genuine Career Prospects a lot of the Adult Population here have no qualifications that cycle of failure begins at school. Model and big has a high number of dropouts and the schools are among the worst performing in belgium underfunded and under equipped. What really needs to be done is improve the schools. They are a problem here. We have very intelligent young people in modern bank. As get into the gun fight us all seem like adults with this get some parents send their children to schools outside the neighborhood. That. Well i dont blame the teachers. But the schools dont prepare pupils for the real working world and thats a problem. The mothers of modern big appear to be part of the solution in this troubled neighborhood. Many women here have grown closer to each other since the terrorist attacks in brussels. They meet in this Community Center to drum away their despair and frustration at developments are angry at whats happened. Suddenly last year mall and bake had its name really dragged through the dirt which made people afraid. Ive been living here happily for forty five years ive raised four children are they always had good grades and if turned into good people why should anyone be afraid to live here people should come and see things with their own eyes instead of just believing what they read or hear by so much. Every day life in modern big has largely returned to normal but in the wake of the attacks journalists from around the world descended on brussels to take a look at europes notorious terrorist hot bed. Here in the womens group they say the image of modern big has been completely distorted and thats harming everyone in the community. Just because there were those three idiots hiding in mozambique with the Media Coverage people suddenly got scared. Plus they didnt really have anything to do with religion. Suddenly the whole world was looking at mall and bake which we found bizarre. The New York TimesWashington Post they were all on the main square and we were all wondering what on earth is going on. Is hes both well. This is the mole and bake of yesteryear whats left of it in the neighborhood used to be the center of industry in brussels it was home to a range of factories which needed cheap labor there is precious little industrial activity here now and precious few jobs. Not to have been home ado enjoys the trunk quality of this area he takes a critical view of todays modern big. A lot of immigrants never really put down roots he says neither in belgium nor elsewhere in europe. If you want to. Kind of have a culture here where youre only allowed to do what the islamic faith permits. The group means everything the individual Means Nothing its a bit like a dictatorship except we live in a democracy in europe and not in a dictatorship. People remain faithful to the customs of their homelands. During ramadan it feels as if youre in a muslim country. The entire neighborhood operates in accordance with their rhythm of ramadan. And anyone who doesnt abide by the rules of ramadan is disapproved of. Too little integration and too much religion the attacks in brussels marked a turning point for ben hama do. It was a nightmare nothing will ever be the same again we need to let some time pass. And i hope it doesnt mean there will be long term discrimination against a Younger Generation here. Johan lehmann has similar hopes hes seen generations of young people from immigrant families growing up here hes accuse the state of ignoring the troubled modern big neighborhood for two long. Years i was the government has to show its face here on the ground. And not an oppressor face but a friendly one someone you trust the lord to thong for. Life like that most people want to lead normal lives. And they want a government that they can trust get in there. You can say there is the community but the community is very poor ok. And this is its mayor francoise from the liberal party shes organizing and interreligious get together to which she has invited local muslims christians and jews following last years terrorist attacks shipman made a conscious effort to bring the different groups in her district around the same table. Well muslims catholics protestants and jews are coming together here to talk and eat together. And this is a very big day today. We have a lot of different religious groups and muslim baik. But they tend to keep to themselves and therefore dont know the other groups very well. After the dramatic attacks and there was an urgent need to establish this platform of communication and interreligious dialogue so that people really do come together i think. Also at the get together are the people trying to make a difference in mull and bake the integration expert johann layman the moms and christian clergy such as pastor on sunday co. They know that talking alone is not enough but it can at least help to tackle certain problems problems that mornin big faced long before the attacks. He does even more. After those terrible events we decided that we wanted to restore order to mourn him back. We have to take action against radicalization and youth crime. Anymore because they enabled terrorism to develop. Whether its drug dealing forged documents or weapons people trafficking too we have to fight them all we want this community to be better organized. As night falls in morning. When the neighborhood is emptied and mothers have put their children to bed the streets are taken over by young men. Drug dealing and petty crime are rife. Moreland big happens to be situated on an illegal smuggling route for hashish and heroin. Is an elf i know living year here i know dog and lean year there come from there is a Drug Trafficking route from northern morocco. Dog food it. Via france musee paris who better brussels. And then on to the netherlands amsterdam went along because on that route. There was the did you know that the young people who carried out the attacks were all part of a drug dealing gang. On the end all they were a group all these young people were in a drug skag. Or zealot. On the streets it looks like just another market day in molen bake. Inside the local church the grief that followed the attacks is still tangible. The pastor. Has created a wish tree together with local youths and installed it inside the church the wishes include calls for a better moral and bake and no more terrorism. On the Market Square outside his church the priest does his final round of the day on. My dream is for the politicians to take young people and their problems seriously and. Report it and that they bring together youngsters with african moroccan and belgian roots he said if to create a mixed society i think about with event of the one thats what our Community Needs but doesnt have the second but the most of. The weekly market comes to a close as the cleaners arrive and the traders pack away their stones. More than a year after the terrorist attacks in brussels what people here cannot sweep away so easily is the tragic notoriety of more than. Theres. A lot of good sleep balance off the wall street from the bad. Just to get messed up on the office compared to other jobs maybe its a bit underpaid how but its a lot of work for applause but we love it even more than the feet lets get you know construct in our series the bell in town musician. Hero max in thirty minutes on the w. On the vast steps of central asia and expect dition in search of an ancient denizen of kazakhstan the saigon antelope. A year ago scientists found evidence of a mysterious catastrophe what killed so many of them and are those that are alive endangered. Psychos in distress find out more in our interactive internet documentary at d w dot com site gus. Good to see seventeen Beethoven Fest gone from september and he walked over first. This is deja vu news coming to you live from berlin independence for the kurds in iraq a bond that says no concept of britain as a vote for independence gets overwhelming support but theres talk in baghdad of sending in troops so where is the vote going to succeed from iraq heading also coming up