But we hear a lot less about the people who are helping. People like jorgos maniatis. He decided he couldnt stand by any longer and watch as refugees arrived in his home country of greece, only to find themselves on the streets, with nowhere to live. The problem for greece of course is that its still trying to recover from the financial crisis. So the authorities there are finding it hard enough to help greek people, let alone support migrants too. But jorgos has come up with a very radical way of providing desperate people with shelter. Reporter wecome to the City Plaza Hotel in athens centrally located, four stars, 300 rooms, friendly staff at the reception, a restaurant, a bar, and spacious double rooms for guests like this family of three. But theyre not here on vacation theyre refugees from the war in syria. And Giorgos Maniatis and the other Staff Members arent employees. They squatted this hotel in downtown athens because they couldnt stand to see thousands of refugees living on the street when housing remained empty. Giorgos maniatis this is a hotel which is not used, for many reasons, economic reasons, and we give it to the social reasons that is meant to be covered right now in an emergency situation. Reporter maniatis interrupted his University Career to operate the refugee hotel. Rana from syria, who doesnt want to be recognized, is grateful. After fleeing through turkey to greece, she didnt know where to go with her family. Maniatis gave them one of the last rooms in the City Plaza Hotel. Rana f its much better than the camps. Here at least there is something we can do. And the children have the chance to play. And the food is good. We are very happy here. Reporter the hotel kitchen. When maniatis and the others squatted the hotel, the Kitchen Equipment was still functional. They merely had to hook up the electricity. Now they prepare 800 meals a day here. Giorgos maniatis actually in all the hotels there are different working groups which are coordinating in a meeting. So selforganization is the main principle, and of course many refugees are actively a part of it. Reporter the food comes from donations, like the medicines and hygienic articles in the infirmary. In the meantime, the squatters receive active support from all over the world. For them, the city plaza is the best hotel in europe, even without room service. Nezam anghaie they dont sit around and wait for months for permission they see what positive things they can do, and they just do it. Reporter but the City Plaza Hotel is dividing greek public opinion, because it has inspired a squatting movement for refugees all over the country. An arson attack was directed against another building squatted for refugees. Giorgos maniatis the question was different when greece was a transit country and now the case about the housing, the creation of camps. There is always reactions for smaller groups and larger groups, from mayors and lots of communities who cannot understand that the refugees are here to stay. Reporter the conservative opposition is appalled that people simply occupy buildings to accommodate refugees illegally. They decry the legal vacuum and demand that the police shut down the hotels. Thanos plevris most of the refugees who come into the city should be accommodated in camps outside the city or sent on to other european countries. Athens cant deal with this problem otherwise. Reporter rana seldom leaves the hotel with her children shes afraid of racist attacks. People in the neighborhood want the old City Plaza Hotel back again. Most of these foreigners in the hotel are here illegally. No one knows whether they have committed crimes. That has to be investigated by the police. Reporter Giorgos Maniatis doesnt allow himself to be intimidated by the agitation. Just to be sure, he has a few strong men posted at the Hotel Entrance to protect against attacks. Maybe some day tourists will enjoy expensive cocktails again on the roof terrace, when greeces economy picks up again and the refugee crisis is solved. But until then, maniatis and his friends will hold out here. Giorgos maniatis we want that such places would not be needed. But at this time, with 50,000 and more refugees stranded in different camps, in facilities with thousands of persons in tents, city plaza is unfortunately offers the best conditions. Reporter the owner of the bankrupt hotel has filed suit against maniatis and the other squatters. But the refugees and their helpers want to resist eviction. After all, for them, this is the best hotel in europe. Damien whenever i chat to friends in the baltic states, one of the things they always talk about is their fear of russian aggression. Particularly since russias annexation of crimea. Thats why nato troops are now being stationed in the baltics. But when you read the newspapers in russia you can see that there the fear is western aggression thats because moscow views nato troops on its borders as a threat. To find out how ordinary russians feel, our reporters have been to meet one russian family, that has just moved to kaliningrad, a tiny russian territory sandwiched between poland and the baltic states. Reporter smile, please. Little german is feeling a bit anxious. Its his first day at school. He and his parents moved to kaliningrad not that long ago. A few more instructions. And then its time for the national anthem. The citys number 12 school considers itself to be particularly patriotic. The aim is to raise good little russian patriots. But is russian patriotism important to the shustovoi family . Germans mother says yes. Pjotr schustovoi its not bad. Its good for children to know about their countrys history and to be patriots. Reporter this is an opinion shared by many parents at the school. Ludmilla its important for countries that dont have a Good Relationship with us to feel our strength. Its important for us to rearm so that people are scared of us. Reporter ludmilla and many other parents think that patriotism should be learned from an early age if possible, right from kindergarten. After germans first day, the shustovoi family takes a trip around the city to celebrate. After the collapse of the soviet unions, there were plans to boost kaliningrads role as russias gateway to europe. The port city was supposed to be transformed into a business hub, a little like hong kong. Its status as a military outpost was neglected from the mid1990s and the baltic fleet was left to rust. This is now being reversed. Alina and pyotr are surprised, they didnt expect this. They say that their relatives in vladivostok in the far east of russia are worried about them. Pjotr schustovoi my mom keeps calling me. Keeps saying that she saw on tv that were surrounded by nato troops. Reporter there is a lot going on in Russias Baltic sea outpost the skipper gennadii has been observing the developments with interest. Bootsfuhrer gennadij there are many new ships. The fleet has to be renewed. Its beginning to be like during the time of the peter the great. Things are very similar at the moment. Reporter he says it feels good to see the brand new warships. The top commanders of the fleet have also changed. There are over 30 new officers. Most are from the secret service. Shortrange Ballistic Missiles have also been deployed here. Many locals are not displeased by this display of military prowess. Alina its absolutely right. Pjotr i also think its right. Maybe somethings are overdone but on the other hand i think russia could have reacted even more strongly to the sanctions. Reporter its important, they say, to show russias strength. This was not always the case. Before there were goods from abroad but not since the sanctions. Russias relationship to its neighbors has soured. Nina, who works on the market, has little sympathy for the baltic states. Nina they only have themselves to blame. Theyre small and envious, theyre not independent. Others rule them. Im proud of my country because its independent and run by people who make it independent. Reporter these youths think differently. They feel their homeland is a part of europe and they would like to improve russias relationship with its european neighbors. They are campaigning for kaliningrad to be renamed konigsberg to remind people of the citys german past. They believe that this would have a positive impact. Alexander we think that it could lead to us russians thinking about the situation and becoming less aggressive towards the west and towards europe. That we will consider ourselves part of europe and learn to respect the heritage here. Reporter he says that he knows that some people see their campaign as provocative. There is a siege mentality emerging in a city which once was very open to europe and the outside world and that was why the shustovoi family moved away from vladivostok. But this seems less important to them now. Pjotr schustovoi we believe that our president is making the right decisions. There is a lot of provocation, i think. We cant believe everything. But more or less, i would say that our president is doing everything right. Reporter nonetheless, they hope that the relationship between russia and the west will not deteriorate further and that the situation in kaliningrad will normalize. Damien maria petrovics was sure that her life was about to improve. Thats because the European Union had decided to give money to hungary, where she lives, to help unemployed roma people like her find work. The problem is the money never arrived. Allegedly because of government corruption. What makes this especially controversial is that hungary is not only one of the biggest net beneficiaries of eu funds. Its government, ironically, is also one of the continents most eurosceptic. Reporter the village of felcsut, where hungarys Prime MinisterViktor Orbans grew up, is known for poverty. But the mayor, a friend of orban, is now one of hungarys richest men. He refused to speak with us. Right across from one of orbans homes, he built this soccer stadium rather bombastic for a village. It cost hungarian taxpayers 13 Million Euros. But orban wanted it. Orban also had this narrowgauge railway built for felcsut. It was funded with millions in European Union subsidies. That raises questions but on the day of its dedication, orban had other worries. Viktor orban i cant wait to ride on it. The railway is beautiful, but it is too short. Thats what bothers me. Reporter criticism of the railway leaves orban cold. For example, from opposition politician akos hadhazy. He and some colleagues turned to the eus Antifraud Office to protest the waste of eu subsidies. Akos hadhazy because the train departs near orbans house and goes more or less nowhere. And they lied on the application for eu support. They claimed two to three thousand people would use it daily. But in reality, there are very few passengers, as you can see for yourself. Reporter but those passengers see nothing wrong with how the railway was funded. Imre orosz the fact is, we needed the money from the e. U. But i dont know exactly how much. Reporter the European Union provided two Million Euros. But the nostalgic train has not brought the Regional Tourism boom that the application for support promised. This is not the only case before the eu fraud investigators. In the last four years alone, at least 24 cases have become known in which eu monies were dubiously requested and often simply disappeared. For example here in northern hungary, where many unemployed roma live. In the cold season, maria petrovics and her family have to skimp on food, or they wont have enough money to heat. The eu should and indeed wanted to help with a program to provide job training for the roma. 19 Million Euros was appropriated but no help arrived. Maria petrovics we were all so disappointed. We had high hopes that the eu would help us. But here we are still getting only 75 euros in social welfare. No one can live from that. Reporter marias neighbor, formerly the official representative of the roma here, helped write the application for eu support. Ferenc petrovics we in this town did nothing wrong. The government in budapest is to blame. They allowed the head of the project to do whatever he wanted. Reporter the man responsible for the project was Florian Farkas, seen here beside orban. Theyve been buddies for years. Farkas is a governing Party Delegate and the Government Official for roma affairs. When the scandal about the eu project to aid the roma broke in early 2015, farkas was suspected. But nothing happened. Geza fazekas so far, we have not been able to investigate any person where we see sufficient grounds for suspicion. The public prosecutors have conducted no interrogations. But there have been searches that secured documents. Reporter for example in this Office Building in budapest, from which the eu project was managed. About 1 Million Euros were spent to buy two storeys of the building. A large fleet of cars was acquired, but not a single job for a roma was created. But no one has been held to account. Viktor orban you ask me when i will fire Florian Farkas . I can tell you, i dont plan to at all. I know you all are against him. But as i see it, that just makes him better. Reporter olaf, the European Unions Antifraud Office, could question Florian Farkas. He has been sent a written summons. But if he doesnt come, the investigators are helpless. Alina burea we dont have the power to sanction directly any possible abuses or frauds of any varieties, but we pass our results to the authorities competent for followup. Reporter no end is in sight. And unlike in the case of the roma project, olaf hasnt even tried to do anything about the eu millions spent on the railway in orbans home village. Akos hadhazy waits in vain to hear from brussels. Damien my german colleague , hanni huesch, has been reporting on britain with great affection for years. But since the u. K. Voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in june, for the first time shes now wondering if the country is as welcoming as she thought. There are countless reports of xenophobic comments. One hungarian friend told me that the day after the vote, she was shouted out by someone in the London Underground because she was talking hungarian to her 5yearold son. And the other day, a german friend of mine wasnt let in to a manchester nightclub because, as the bouncer put it, no krauts tonight. Hanni is puzzled and worried by all this. And so shes decided to talk to people on both sides of the debate, to find out if the uk is still the country she loves. Hanni bernard feels most at home when hes surrounded by his antiques. Now that his party, the populist and antieuropean ukip, has achieved its goal, he can devote more of his time again to the business with the past and to king and prince. His French Bulldog may be unruly, but he can rely on his staffordshire. So why would a man who has achieved his own personal ambitions decide to throw his country into turmoil . Bernard rayner wunderbar im afraid now its over. Its not for us. Good luck to you, but its not for us. Hanni you want to be an island running things on your own . Bernard rayner well, weve done it for a thousand years now. Im sure that we can get back in the grain of things. No, we just open up to the world. See, dont forget we have a commonwealth. Hanni bernard wasnt keen on receiving his german visitor alone, so frances joins us. Both want a clean break with europe and say nature is on their side. Frances day every day we say thank god for the English Channel. Its our most precious possession. It really is. Hanni why . Frances because it protects us. Bernard rayner its a natural border. Its a natural barrier. Hanni from who . Frances from invasion. Its always helped us. Hanni barrier . Protection from invasion . Britain has changed. It has become more alien. It feels smaller, even if it sound more grandiose. Crackpot ideas are in the air the recommissioning of the royal yacht britannia, for one. A future as a global sea trading power. The English Channel is getting wider and the climate here is no longer so mild at least as far as migrants are concerned. It is a long time since the british islands were invaded. In 1066, william the conqueror vanquished the anglo saxons at hastings a battle reenacted every year. This year, some patriotic souls are no doubt reading the brexit vote as the uks liberation from hostile takeover. Participants are only meant to talk about the past, but the specter of brexit is omnipresent. It has divided the country and even families. The sounds coming from this once so cosmopolitan and tolerant country are jarring not just to a germans ears. Pop mann my wife is french. And her company that she works for in london has been told to list all their foreign workers, which is about 98 of them. So its all starting to get a little bit silly over here since we since the country decided to go. Hanni the governments agressive stance on immigration is bringing xenophobic sentiment to the surface. There has been a significant rise in hate crime. Pop mann its not xenophobic to be patriotic and want to preserve the culture you grew up in. Weve always accepted migrants, but not in mass numbers. Hanni dont you think its a pity that people say theres a lot of hate crime . There are no hate crimes. Thats a political myth. Thats all rubbish. Thats rubbish. Thats the left telling us theres a racial problem when there isnt. Yes, there are. No, there arent. Yes, there are. No there arent. Its a very small minority. Theyre 67 up, in london. Hanni this is saturday in london, a celebration of african culture on trafalgar square. On days like this, you cant help but love the british capital. No other european city is so cool. London thrives on diversity, international talent, and foreign money. And the mayor knows that only too well. Im surprised by sadiqh khans untiring willingness to pose for selfies. Hes keen to demonstrate approachability and openness in the face of the conservatives pull up the drawbridge rhetoric. Without migration, london would be a sadder place, a poorer place. Its touching to listen to the mayor of londons repeated appeals. Sadiq khan we know that postbrexit there was an increase in hate crime. Some of our friends, some of our families, some of our neighbours may have been the victims of those crimes. My message to londoners if youre a londoner whos from the eu, whos an eu citizen, let me tell you this you are welcome here. Hanni the hymn being sung at these Harvest Festival celebrations is set to the same music as the european anthem, ode to joy. Chance, divine intervention . No matter. It fits. This Catholic Church in hastings is always full. Thanks to migrants from italy, korea, but also poland. Paul came to britain 16 years ago and built up a successful business here but now he is extremely disappointed, as well as anxious, like many of his fellow poles. Recently, a polish man was murdered in an apparent hate crime. Paul glinka britains always allowed me to feel at home. Now im not comfortable any more making a Statement Like that. Hanni why . Paul glinka because of hostility towards european migrants. We dont feel welcome any more. Hanni and who is going to stand up and appeal to reason and moderation . Qualities that always seemed as if they were hardwired into britains dna. Hopefully, these sounds will be heard again once the noise of battle has died down and the channel will no longer be seen as a barrier, but once more as a gateway to the continent. Damien two sides of the tragically divided country. But for now, its goodbye from me, and the whole team here. Thanks very much for watching. Remember feel free to get in touch with me anytime with your thoughts and comments. And do join us next week for more personal stories from all over europe. 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