Issue of independence for catalonia. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in barcelona calling for catalonia tremaine a part of spain they fear that breaking away becomes a straw fit for the whole region but many catalans want independence such as the village of son to pau where almost all the residents including the mayor. Wants an independent Catalan States but now the spanish authorities in madrid a calling for Catalan Independence leaders to be charged with rebellion if convicted they could face up to thirty years in jail so well just back down. If you were a good mayor i just said components is having a hard time these days is his village being forcibly ruled by the Spanish Government or is the Community Part of the Free Republic of catalonia. The residents of santa paul a Mountain Village in rural catalonia want to know. Almost everyone here voted in favor of independence in the controversial referendum and they havent changed their position. I mean i would like for the new catalan republic to be socially and politically sound. Public by its citizens the regular people from the ground up. Its been a long time since the spanish flag has flown above the town hall and. The local Council Still considers a regional leader a card as their head of government. It doesnt matter if hes abroad or appearing before a Spanish Court proponents of independence continue to adhere to different laws. Nine hundred towns in catalonia more than seven hundred mazz are refusing to comply with Spanish Government orders. We will face the consequences could be removed from office weve been fighting for independence for many years. So were not suddenly going to stop following orders from madrid now. On october twenty seventh the Catalan Parliament declared independence in the thank you thank compound celebrated the historic decision with hundreds of other mayors in the Parliament Building in barcelona. The but no country in the world recognizes the republic of catalonia. And the Spanish Government is imposing its authority on the region. It seems that since the order was given catalan separatists have been living in a parallel reality you know made the case that weve waited many many years for this moment one of the reasons i went into politics was to do something for my municipality but i also did it to establish a new republic and achieve independence for catalonia. Back in. Theres anger culture and tourism here but no Large Companies that could decide to relocate elsewhere. The local carpenter shop is seen better days but that doesnt mean salvador server is ready and so be intimidated by credit trade barriers he says being used just a liability. Premier a local first of all theres the corruption in spain and second people in the south and aloof and extremadura living off our tax payments as imports to us. In the afternoon there is just one topic of conversation in the religious part locals are following the ousted president every move on television they say the struggle for power is only just beginning they will win and they can do whatever they want it might take some time but madrid will lose in the end they go on a bit of the. Under par is taking on the world the going could get tough but as the villagers say if things get really bad they still have their fortress certainly an explosive situation and one of the rest of europe is watching closely and thats because other regions are also demanding independence so what happens in catalonia could have an impact on the rest of the e. U. Now what makes young europeans leave their families to go and fight in the middle easts that question torments many german parents the German Authorities estimate that more than nine hundred citizens have gone abroad to fight for Islamist Groups most are just young people some even teenagers this unexpected loss of a child is traumatic for the parents we met up with two fathers who sons left for syria suddenly without warning they dont know now whether their children are alive or dead. Serbian and man were get hurt on their way to join the jihad aged twenty two and eighteen the german brothers set out from home in their fathers new car. Theyd been told the exact route to take on a saturday morning the brothers pass over the alps. From trist italy they take a ferry to greece. On sunday they arrive in turkey and cross the border without difficulty. Its around this time that their father you ask him gary hart finds a farewell letter. Partner mama i cant live in a land of lies i cant live in a country where i as a muslim im viewed as an outsider or terrorist but you should know that i love you both. And you will always be my cherished parents. Murderer had wanted to become a photojournalist and fabienne had just completed acting school. And then suddenly the brothers began going to a mosque at first their father thought it was just a phase he even joined his son when they went to the mosque and he asked them about i. A. S. But they said they had nothing to do with the radical islamists. And councils converse its impossible to explain its as if someone knocked your legs out from under you you simply cant believe its happening. As soon as he found the farewell letter you had him get hard contact with the police and International Search warrant was issued the brothers were still in turkey but they were not detained even though their father was sure they were under observation they were called repeatedly on a german cell phones asking where they were and where they were going so times were being kept on the authorities let them leave the country they didnt try to stop them they could have but they just didnt want to. Can that be true. Do the terminal thirty simply let radicalized youths leave germany in effect exporting terrorism. The interior ministry and the administration have always been very clear on this we intend to do Everything Possible to prevent the export of terrorism and terrorists from germany to the conflict areas when. You have him get hurt repeatedly try to persuade his sons to return to germany in vain the last time he heard from them was two years ago they sent him a video saying they were breaking off relations. But this video is to declare that we renounce all contact with you we disassociate ourselves because you work against us or against islam. You are heart is in Constant Contact with you authorities but no one can say whether his sons are still alive the same uncertainty torments christiane happened his son marvin joined the socalled Islamic State three years ago when fast but its in comprehensible he was just a regular guy and finished high school and wanted to make his way of life. Months later christiane tapper traveled to the Syrian Border he wanted to get marvin out and inform the German Authorities of his intentions his son had phoned to say his best friend was dead it was the first sign that marvin was having doubts. It translated used a mobile phone to film can stand up at the border between turkey and syria the father and son had arranged to meet at this wall under the watch of turkish soldiers. Or at the wall if you go to the left all the way to the end were standing on the other side of the wall. There was a door they were supposed to open and he would have been standing right in front of me but the guard there wasnt permitted to open the door my son was on one side of the wall and i was on the other. Side of them or. Because the unhappy tried again the next day a people smuggler was going to bring marvin over from the syrian side christiane was instructed to wait in the car. Then the smuggler came back without marking. There is a you know you are going to call me mommy and i cant do it. The military will only let the fat guy through because they know him i cant go any further of necessary understand. Another failed attempt to stay on top or was unable to rescue his son. And his im absolutely certain that if i had had support from here and if the german state had wanted to bring back german kids whod gone down the wrong path then we may have had a chance. To stand up and you ask him get her to join forces and complain to their Parliamentary Representatives about the lack of support at least the german state has said it will launch more preventive measures but that wont bring back the lost sons and so the parents remain tormented by uncertainty. Government side most i have been times when i thought maybe they really are dead. But then an inner voice says stop thinking such nonsense theyre alive thats the weird thing. Christie on the top of believes marvin is dead. I assume so. Because weve been so close and hed always stayed in touch. I cant imagine that hes still alive and it was all meant for us and as. The family got a grave they need a place to grieve but only muggings baby teeth were buried that was all they had left of their son who says have to join ins and likely met his death. They want change and theyre young back could describe voters in a lot of European Countries but for Young Russians like dmitri the political situation is particularly frustrating Vladimir Putin has ruled russia for most of dmitris life and although russia is Holding Elections next year putin has no serious rivals but exactly one century ago another vladimir rose to power in russia Vladimir Lenin who helped lead the Russian Revolution in one nine hundred seventeen and the kremlin isnt doing much to celebrate the anniversary but for dmitri who grew up in the revolutions birthplace its a source of inspiration. Oh there was no you know what putin is a thief shout protesters at a demonstration in St Petersburg this october. The city is a hotbed of discontent as it was one hundred years ago in one thousand nine hundred seventeen Vladimir Lenin led the october revolution toppling the empire of the czars and establishing the communist soviet union. So how much revolutionary spirit is there in todays russia we put that question to a critically minded young person eighteen year old to me telling me im a supporter of opposition politician on lexy. I feel like a revolutionary my goal is a change at the top. The change of power in the autumn of one nine hundred seventeen converted russia into the u. S. S. R. The union of soviet socialist republics that lasted seventy years but fell apart in the one nine hundred ninety s. There are still traces of the u. S. S. R. All over russia various places in St Petersburg remind people of what happened back then there are no fewer than ten streets named soviet sky. And also of a party or field of mars is the sign of a memorial to the victims of the Russian Revolution. As a victim of state persecution in todays russia a few weeks ago he was arrested at a demonstration which took place here hes accused of injuring a Police Officer if convicted he could face up to ten years in prison the trial is ongoing he denies any wrongdoing. Against violence and i dont want to see people who. Are in ukraine we want to change the system through democratic means. Dont listen to us protests in russia could get more radical. Russia isnt making a big production out of the one hundredth anniversary of the revolution one reason may be that the state doesnt want to inspire any ideas in its critics. In one nine hundred seventeen the warship fired a blank shot that set the october revolution in motion today its a museum that attracts few visitors. The soviet union and its heroes belong in the past. Not a fan of the communist revolution danny parallel you can draw is the idea of popular rebellion. Of course im a little fair but i try not to think about. We have to be courageous thats the only way well achieve our goals. According to surveys almost half of russias young people agree with me and dont regret the breakdown of the soviet union but not everyone shares that view young communist staged a celebration in St Petersburg on the anniversary of the revolution they to gather on a cold october evening to make political demands they too want political change at the top. Using soviet symbols they paid tribute to a period of history they themselves never experienced. Based on the stories of our grandparents i know things are better in the soviet union people were kinder to one another life was better back then in every way. Although our country has taken a giant step backwards im certain that socialism will triumph in the end and that it is our countrys only future. So you swim in the soviet union has only temporarily ceased to exist if youve got the current russian flag wont be flying much longer red communist flags will wave again but the organ was a. Reaction and his friends have no time for the waving red flags of communism. They see the u. S. S. R. As a state that oppressed the people just as the putin led government does now. Nonetheless they see their home city of St Petersburg as a source of inspiration and they dream of a true democracy in russia. When i look out over my city it is clear to me that talented people live here who can build such beautiful cities with people who can make their lives better. So the hopes of the past do live on in todays russia. Now the anniversary of the revolution is definitely not a cause for celebration everywhere after the soviets occupied lithuania latvia under. The Second World War starlin had hundreds of thousands of people deported to siberia it proved a death sentence for many such as members of di norris family she was deported to siberia from the few as a small girl and still today the memories are as painful as ever. Theyve made a grave for him in the cemetery of their home village of tilt a galley i in lithuania dianora or bunyans father went missing somewhere in siberia after he was deported to a camp by stalins henchmen in april one nine hundred forty she saw him for the last time. For the children they were all crying terribly and they ran to their father. And the women wanted to go to their husbands. But the soldiers just pushed them away. Dianora takes sisterhood and shows us the few photos from that time here the memories are so fresh it seems like it all happened just yesterday. Nora her mother and her little brother were separated from their father at the train station. They crossed the soviet union in the cattle cars trucks and on fort thousands of kilometers later they reach the altai region of siberia little brother died along the way. They lived in barracks in the forest the mother and the other women were forced to do hard labor. Was the worst part of their ordeal with the food and i hear much of the first winter was particularly harsh there were blizzards and the bread deliveries couldnt get through we didnt get our ration of two hundred grams a day. I counted the potatoes sixty three thats all the two of us had for a whole month. What exactly this soviet old fart is accused her parents of and why they had to leave their village is still a mystery to die nora. She presumes they came under suspicion because as teachers they belong to the lithuanian upper class. But a museum in vilnius historians have collected documents and other artifacts from the time. After the soviet union seized control of lithuania in one thousand nine hundred forty over two hundred thousand lithuanians more than ten percent of the population were sent to siberia in several waves deportation often followed interrogations and brutal torture in the basement of a building. Already in their paranoia. The first to be deported all the lithuanian Public Officials and anyone who had anything to do with the lithuanian independence movement. Here. Then they started on the rest for example teachers all farmers who refused to join collectives. They all had one thing in common they were all accused of being enemies of the state. So the. Di nora or bunya now was considered an enemy of the state until the soviet union was dissolved since then her daughter and Parliamentary Representative rather you can have it chana had been campaigning to get the russian government to pay compensation to dianora and the other survivors back in the early one nine hundred ninety s. The politician says they were able to talk to russia about the crimes of the communist period but those days are gone. They dont day care of those people they suffered a lot during. That period now is more and more stalin is like stalin is back with the monuments were the movies where the memory is saying five memories saying that. That was the leader who built their statehood. Even the labor party that was founded by a russian is critical of russias position today its chairman so ruinous beirutis thinks the possibility of compensation is illusory. Its not the matter of money its for most important to acknowledge the history and value it correctly it not to deny patient not to deny the consequences of what we have had. Deserted farms are still in evidence abandoned when farmers were deported during the soviet period traces of the past can still be seen everywhere the fact the powerful neighboring russia seems unwilling to acknowledge its past is something dianora openly enter considers all menace you know this a claim i still think of the deportation every day but i dont want to hate the russians hate wont bring back my father and brother my only wish is that nothing like that ever happens again if you. Die nor open yanna and her mother made it back to lithuania at the end of the one nine hundred forty s. And this is where di nora later wanted to be laid to rest beside her mother. In the Czech Republic memories of the past are also being k