Coalrich region, yekaterina shumyn is one of those who are either too old or too poor to escape. But staying means that she and her three children must face each day like it could be their last. Reporter the shutters on katyas home stay closed for good reason. She lives on the edge of the village of zhovanka next to the nomansland between Ukrainian Government troops and prorussian separatists. Shelling and mortar fire are a part of everyday life, as is sniperfire from a nearby hill. Its been three years now since the conflict that has claimed the lives of 10,000 people brought the front line to the outskirts of zhovanka. Katya is 27, and a single mother of three children. Her youngest is just 18 months old. The children have no one else to play with. All the other families moved away some time ago. Doesnt all the shooting scare you . Yekaterina not really. You get used to recognizing what kind of weapon the shots are coming from. You know if its worth taking cover or not. Reporter when it began, the family would hide in a cellar in the garden, katya tells us. Since that, too, was hit, they just stay in the house. Yekaterina this is our living room. And its where we sleep. On that side were protected by the kitchen, and from the other side we very rarely get anything coming at us. This is where my mum sleeps, my daughter diana, and this is where i sleep with the two youngest. Reporter without help from outside, life in zhovanka would no longer be possible. The village is surrounded on several sides by separatistheld areas. A single road, vulnerable to sniper fire, connects the village with governmentheld territory. Tatiana koshel and her humanitarian relief team make the journey regularly bringing food, clothing and other essential supplies to those in need. When the fighting reached zhovanka three years ago, public transport broke down. The nearest supermarket is several hours walk away, putting it out of reach for zhovankas 140 mostly elderly residents. Tatiana the village is cut off the people here hardly get a chance to get out. This isnt life, its survival. People here get by thanks to what they can grow in their gardens. Reporter there are hundreds of civilians in the area, dependent on the u. N. And local activists for their daily survival. We leave the village and head towards the front line. From this point on, all you see are ruins and trenches most of them barely deep enough to stand up in. We meet two ukrainian soldiers on guard duty a father and son. Of course im worried about him, but at least this way i get to see him every day. Of course theres shooting here, but its mainly at night. During the day its quieter, but theres always something going on. Reporter close by, tatiana is bringing supplies to pensioner yelena bykhovaya. Just a few months ago, a grad missile struck her house. She was at home when it happened. Tatiana this is where the missile hit it was a direct hit. Reporter but that wasnt all. Yelena another time i had shells land in the garden, directly under my windows. Two others in my neighbors front garden, they completely destroyed the sheds over there. On the other side of the road there were 11 hits. Reporter but yelena has no plans to leave. She will spend the winter alone at home, with every night bringing the chance of further devastation. Its a familiar picture in zhovanka. Katya shows us whats left of the vegetable cellar that she and her children used to hide in. Yekaterina i dont want my children to be scared. I tell them not to be afraid. When the shooting starts, i bring them inside and we play hide and seek. Reporter katya tells us that she plans to stay put, in spite of the constant danger. Yekaterina id leave right away if i had an apartment of my own to go to. But not if i end up as someones guest, having to be grateful all the time. Reporter zhovanka is still an option, for now at least. Thanks to helpers like tatiana and her team. But with no end to the conflict in sight, its life on a knife edge for katya and her children. Michelle our reporter was fortunate to be in the region during a lull in the fighting. Shortly after his departure, three ukrainian soldiers died in battles nearby. The british voted to leave the eu, but where does that leave eu citizens in britain . Before brexit, many thought were all europeans with the right to live and move around the continent freely. But now, there is increasing evidence of an usversusthem attitude, with mounting hostility in certain parts of the u. K. Towards anyone not british particularly people from eastern europe. Our reporter met a polish family in the seaside town of Great Yarmouth who have firsthand experience of how the mood has changed. Reporter these cameras arent part of a Home Security system. They were installed to spy on a polish family across the road and are pointed right at the childrens bedroom. Dorota you got cameras, can you see how they theres another one, the black one next to the white. Oh, there is one there. Can you see it . Reporter whats happening here in Great Yarmouth, in eastern england, is more than just a feud between neighbors. The polish family are being targeted simply because theyre eu citizens, says Dorota Darnell as the neighbor drives away in her car. Darnell, from poland herself, is advising the victimized family. She came to britain to work in a bank. Today, shes selfemployed and helps her compatriots when they run into problems. The mother of the family, agneszka, doesnt want us to show her face, for fear of further repercussions. Dorota shes afraid of the fact that shes going to get recognized and its a small town. If she goes out and people get to see her, then probably shes going to have some aggravation. And shes got five kids, and she just wants to protect them and herself. Reporter Dorota Darnell started off helping polish citizens with their residency applications, after fighting her own way through the british bureaucratic jungle. But now she also accompanies them to the Police Station when theyve been threatened simply for being foreigners. The Video Surveillance is yet another case of xenophobia. Agneszka shes done it to intimidate us, to show shes in control. Shes installed all those cameras, whether theyre recording or not. What matters is that shes intimidating us on social media and also in person. She screams out, i can see you all the time. Reporter agneszka and her family have been living here for four years. Their british neighbors moved in two years ago. The threats began with the brexit referendum in 2016. And they didnt just come from one neighbor. Agneszka id never had a problem with doctors or at school. Now the children get called names. We all know kids just repeat what they hear their parents say at home. Im afraid to speak polish on the street, because well be told off. Reporter one Police Officer suggested she could just move away. In Great Yarmouth, more than 70 of voters were in favor of brexit. The seaside resort in norfolk is a bastion of antieu sentiment. A high proportion of staff in the bars and restaurants are eastern europeans from eu member states. Many more work on the farms outside Great Yarmouth another reason for local resentment. I dont mind Foreign Workers coming here if theyre trained people. But theres people coming in here that are untrained. Theyve got no licenses to do those jobs, but yet theyre going to do them for less pay than people that have trained to go and do that job. Weve got quite a lot in Great Yarmouth now. But i get along all right with them and theyre fine with me. So, you know, everyone for their own, eh . Reporter but its not that simple. 200 kilometers away in birmingham, eu citizens are meeting to enjoy a cup of tea and discuss the headaches brexit has caused them. They belong to an Organization Called the three million named after the number of eu citizens living in the u. K. The group gathered today includes germans, french and poles. Like kassia talbot. She married her british husband in poland, and moved with him to england. Kassia suddenly after brexit will i have to start to worry that, ok, the fact that i am european is not enough now, because i have to sort my paperwork to be able to stay here . Reporter kassia talbot collects her son from school. Both of her children were born in britain. They live in a Small Community in the birmingham area a place known for its openness to immigrants from europe. But at the local fish and chip shop, that tolerance seems to have vanished. Gemma they should leave. Reporter why . Gemma because thats why theyll moan about money problems and things like that. Well, the more people here, the more people are getting in, the more moneys going out. Thats why. Reporter by they she primarily means immigrants from eastern europe. Kassia talbot has now acquired british citizenship. She couldnt live with the uncertainty that she might be deported one day just because shes an eu citizen. Although her husband james is a pastor and used the authority that comes with his office, he says the hours he spent on the phone were torture. James unless you have that piece of paper, dont tell me its going to be all right, because youre not living through it. Youre not going through what weve had to go through. Youre not feeling the pressure that weve had to go through. Sorry. Reporter in Great Yarmouth, agneszka and her family are also feeling the pressure. Without Dorota Darnells assistance, theyd be all on their own with the cameras and their xenophobic neighbor, who we tried to speak to. But although we hear noises inside the house, no one answers the door. Michelle while britain is heading out of the eu, most people in turkey still hope their country will join some day, though few believe it can be realized in the short term especially since the country has growing domestic issues. An average of five people a day are killed there by firearms. Rising crime and political instability since the attempted coup in 2016 have caused many turks to arm themselves. Gun ownership has soared to 25 million, which is one in three households. The vast majority of the weapons are unregistered, and many of those shot are innocent civilians. Reporter nihat palantoken has barely set foot in his daughters room since she was murdered four months ago. Helins desk, bed, and dressing table are all still there. She was preparing to go to college. Nihat i was looking forward to framing her University Diploma and putting it up on the wall. But that will never happen now. Reporter last october, 17yearold helin was murdered on her way home in istanbul. The culprit a male acquaintance who shot and killed her shortly after she had turned down his advances. Incidents like these are becoming all too common in turkey. Helins father has called for stricter gun laws. Nihat i want to see at least the many illegal arms confiscated. That would save many lives, because many of these firearms are owned by uneducated people who have a sick mentality. Reporter nihat doesnt need to long to find the spot where his daughter was killed it looks like a war zone. The culprit fired repeatedly on his daughter with a semiautomatic rifle. He was later apprehended. The man who illegally sold him the gun, however, was quickly released. Nihat i or anyone else could end up being shot soon, too. This has to stop. I dont want others having to live though what i have endured. I lost my child. Enough. Reporter there are now fatal shootings on the streets of turkey every day. Helins former School Friends were shocked by her death. But they know how easy it is to buy a gun these days. Its simple. You order a firearm online, and its delivered to your doorstep. Incredible, really. Reporter its illegal to buy arms online in turkey. But that does little to allay the concerns of girls and young women the most common victims of male gun crime. Sure were scared. Every day, this Street Corner reminds us of the danger. Reporter there are an estimated 20 million illegal guns in turkey. Every day, there are five gunrelated fatalities murders, accidents, and suicides. Private gun ownership rose by more than 20 last year. Now, an Initiative Made up of citizens groups and newspapers is speaking out. Ayhan its become easier to get a gun license all you need is a Clean Police Record and medical clearance. Also, crime and political volatility have increased in the past decade. And penalties for illegally owning a gun are negligible. Reporter we head over to the european side of istanbul. After some hesitation, a Firearms Dealer agrees to discuss the countrys gun situation with us. Inside his shop, he shows us a shotgun made to look like an assault rifle. He keeps his more serious firearms elsewhere. He doesnt think banning guns would save lives. Instead, he says gun ownership should be legalized. Fatih they should make it easier to purchase a firearm legally. Then the state would have control over gun ownership. And there would be fewer fatalities. Culprits could be quickly apprehended because every gun would be registered. Reporter the arms dealer regularly showcases his arsenal on youtube. He denies this constitutes illegal advertising. He claims hes merely targeting gunlovers. Nihat palantoken visits the family grave every day. Helin, who was his eldest daughter, is buried here as well. She was one of 20,000 gun crime victims in 2017. Nihat has vowed to do everything he can to combat turkeys obsession with guns in honor, he says, of his daughter. Michelle predappio is a sleepy, Rural Community in northern italy. But for a few days each year, thousands of visitors descend on its narrow streets with jack boots and shaved heads, raising their right arms in a fascist salute. Stores openly sell memorabilia bearing fascist symbols. The town is the birthplace of Benito Mussolini former dictator of italy, and adolf hitlers wartime ally. But critics now want to outlaw what they call the glorification of fascism nationwide. Reporter for most of the year, predappio is a quiet little town of 6000 people. But its known nationwide as the birthplace of Benito Mussolini. Theres even a Museum Dedicated to il duce, a veritable treasure trove for those who feel more than a little sentimental about his rule over italy from 1922 to 1943. And three times a year, predappio hosts organized celebrations of the fascist leader marking the birthday of the towns most famous native son, the date of his death, and the anniversary of the fascist march on rome that swept mussolini into power. A number of shops sell souvenirs for customers who fancy gracing their living rooms with notsosubtle hints of fascism. The italian authorities do not step in to stop it. Its not just old men reveling in their youth who admire il duce. The Facebook Page i Giovani Fascisti italiani, or young italian fascists, has tens of thousands of likes. It glorifies the fascist era while expressing contempt for italys current politicians. And foreigners are absolutely not welcome. Back in 1952, italy passed a law that criminalized efforts to glorify fascism. But a lot of people, it seems, have little regard for such a ban. Member of parliament Emanuele Fiano has therefore submitted a new draft bill that tightens the law. Stricter legislation against fascist activities is also a personal matter for the Democratic Party politician. His jewish family suffered great losses in mussolinis italy. Emanuele i think my familys history has sensitized me in a special way, and more than other people. Italian fascists arrested my relatives and turned them over to the german nazis. Ten members of my family were gassed in auschwitz. Reporter if italys senate follows the chamber of deputies and passes the new law, then giving the fascist salute in public as often seen in soccer stadiums will be punishable with prison sentences of up to two years. The same would apply for producing, marketing, or selling fascist memorabilia. And judges can increase the penalties by a third if an offender spreads fascist propaganda in the media or on the internet. The point of fianos law becomes obvious on the big fascist holidays in mussolinis hometown, predappio. Events include a fascist mass held by a catholic priest. Most of these people are united on two fronts ideologically, in their rejection of democracy, liberalism, and italys current politics and also in their desire to stop the new antifascism law. The law that theyre planning is garbage. Its wrong to ban history. For me, the ssolini era was italys greatest since the roman empire. If this law is really passed, all hell will break loose. Thats why i hope that it will pass. Reporter the 2017 anniversary of mussolinis march on rome runs itssual course neofascists celebrate their ideology and themselves, with zero intervention on the part of the police. But this celebration in honor of il duce may be the last of its kind, if italys parliament indeed passes the law something the mayor of predappio would welcome. Giorgio in italy, there is next to no critical examination of history, so a lot lives on in secret. And every once in awhile, it bursts onto the surface again. Reporter italys parliament, in rome, could now write history in its own way. Michelle the final passing of the bill may yet take some time, however, because a government crisis means there will be new elections in march. We recently brought you a story about Dutch University students living in old peoples homes as a way of bridging the generational divide. Now the netherlands has seen the introduction of another method of social engineering to encourage friendships between young and old. But this time around, its the older generation who are on the move. Reporter three pensioners setting out to liven up the streets of helmond with their brightly colored walkerswithadifference. The imaginative idea is, as planned, attracting a lot of attention from young people. The whole thing was dreamt up by rocco verdult, a selfstyled social designer. Rocco the goal is to provide young people with free wifi, so that they feel more comfortable here in helmond. And second, the project aims to motivate pensioners with a walker to go for a stroll in the center of town. Reporter marlies magermans reveals the secret gadgetry. This plastic box conceals a mobile wifi router. The box is hidden in the baskets to keep it from being stolen. The projects name translates as walking wifi. The password is elke vrijdag, which means every friday, because thats when the retired people make their rounds. This pedestrian mall is the only place with free wifi. Otherwise we have to use the cell phone network, and its expensive. Wifi is way cooler. Reporter but once the kids are logged in, they often ignore the older people. Chatting online with friends seems more interesting than an intergenerational conversation. So its understandable that the project does have its critics. Co its nonsense. Children used to play outdoors, pop into the bathtub in the evening, and head for school in the morning. Then theyd run around outside again, play soccer or climb over fences until the woman nextdoor scolded them. Marlies but we do still get noticed in town. And because we come every week, its becoming a habit. And that can really mean something for our city of helmond. Reporter so far, this is still just a test project. The organizers will be evaluating the results after six weeks. But it might not be long until wifi walkers start showing up elsewhere, too. Michelle and hopefully those young people will start to engage a bit more, too. Thats it from fokus on europe this week. If you want to see any of our reports again, just go to our homepage on dw. Com. Thank you for watching, and see you next time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org]
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