many are caught attempting to cross the border. but others make it over. around 11 million undocumented migrants live in the u.s. most are from mexico, el salvador and guatemala, others from as far away as india. and since president donald trump took over, life for many people without papers has grown grim. >> for the last several months, javier garcia has called this church cellar home. since trump's election victory last year, it's the only place where the mexican national feels safe. he came to the us illegally twenty years ago and has been living and working without a residence permit ever since. his family visits him at his hideaway. >> it's really tough, especially for the kids. they cry a lot and they complain. they don't have a carefree life the way we used to. was caught driving under the ininfluence of alclcohol, and d up on the deportation list, he was even fitted with an electronic ankle monitor. his partner alma faces deportation too. only their children, who were born in the us, have a legal right to stay. but how could they cope without parents? >> i feel so sad that i can't change our situation, i can't provide our children with even a tiny bit of happiness. when they ask why we're in this situation, i just answer "you'll understand when you're bigger. >> "fear not, for the lord will protect you from evil!" it's a message of comfort. pastor robin hynicka is critical of trump's deportation policies he says they're godless. what really happens on the street isn't a about trying to t quote-unquote criminals off the streets it's about trying g to meet quotas and numbers and to satisfy votiting bases. that's not justice, that's immoral, that's unjust. >> but trump is bent on taking tough action. across the us special agents from the department of homeland security are on the hunt for illegal migrants. bullet proof vests with the acronym 'ice', familiar from obama's time. the armed immigration and customs enforcement agents pull over suspected criminals, demanding to see their documents. those who are unable to prove they're in the country legally can be taken into custody traffic offence or not. we asked the ice for an interview -- but the agency refused. >> not everyone supports trump's deportation policies; here in philadelphia there is growing resistance. together with other us cities, its local police deliberately don't ask to see a person's papers. the city authorities are determined not to create an atmosphere of fear. >> philadelphia cannot be safe if communities feel afraid to report crimes to the police, if they don't feel secure going to the hospital to get medical treatment, or if they don't feel safe taking their kids to school. and so the sanctuary city policy was really put in place to ensure and make a promise that we will not enforce federal immigration laws. that is not our job, it's meant for the federal authorities. >> kennett square near philadelphia: more mushrooms are harvested here than anywhere else in the us, by contract workers in windowless halls. most are migrants without legal status. now farmers are afraid of losing their cheap, hard-working labourers. companies are bracing themselves in the face of trump's deportation policies. >> in a few months if things don't change a third of us may not be here. we don't know what's going to happen to be honest. we've had some labour shortages in the past but we fear for the future with this one because we don't really see a good solution to the problems that we're having right now and that may just put a lot of us out of business. >> the number of workers is already dwindling. mushroom farms are being targeted in the hunt foror undocumented migrants. like ever domingo. he came to the u.s. from guatemala and is now in custody pending deportation. his wife, loida, lives with their children in their small apartment. but she has no residence permit either. a lawyer is helping her fight for the right to stay -- but things look bleak. like so many, ever was stopped by ice officials at a traffic patrol. loida is aware of how police have been tearing families apart. >> when i hear the newews abot people being deported, particularly about mothers, then i fear the same fate. and i'm desperately afraid of leaving my children behind. >> their oldest child witnessed her father being arrested. since then, the seven-year-old has been terrifed of anyone in uniform. back at the methodist church where javier garcia is being granted sanctuary, there's a feeling of hope. the pastor and his congregation are working to help the family. they're collecting signatures for a petition, demanding a visa for javier. >> if this system chooses to do the wrong thing, we will not be deterred. we will continue this movement of liberation and freedom together. >> it's time to say good-bye again. the signatures are being taken to the us immigration authorities. javier's children are going too, in the hope their presence will add some pressure. this is the family's last chance to stay in the us. javier worries he could be arrested any minute. so with a heavy heart he stays in the church's cellar and prays for a miracle. >>europe is another popular destination for those seeking a better life. in the first six months of this year alone, over 100,000 people risked their lives crossing the mediterranean. africans are rarely granted asylum. around 96% of senegalese applications were rejected last year for instance. the only option then is to go back home. but returning presents its own challenges. >> matar had plans for his future. he wanted to open a self-service laundry. that's why he volunteered to come home to senegal -- after living as a migrant in spain and germany. he was given a start-up grant from the eu -- 3 thousand 500 euros. he used it to buy six used washing machines, and bring them over from germany. but his plan didn't work. >> there are hardly any laundrettes in senegal. it would have taken a year or 2 for word of my place to get around, and for it to become a success. but i didn't have enough money. i could only pay rent for 3 months. so i had to close down. i had no more capital. >> matar appreciates the grant he was given. but he would rather have had someone to advise him on his business plan back in senegal. he's unhappy h how things turnd out. his parents got into debt so he could go to europe. they hoped he would find a job and send money home. now, nearly 8 years later, he's back, empty-handed. his mother has a small kiosk. most of the money she makes goes into paying off their debt. she can't t hide her disappointment. >> i thank god that my son made it back alive. but i wish he'd returned with more -- with money, or a good job. so he could help us. but he can't. he has nothing. >> for many migrants, the main deterrent to returning home is the fear of looking like a failure. matar is now stuck doing the same job as before he left. he helps his father at his car repair workshop. he once dreamed of buying his father a bigger place. but in europe, he hardly earned enough to feed himself. that's a painful realization for his father -- like many here, he believed europe offered their only chance of a better future. >> we africans are hard-working people. we aren't lazy. but our polititicians don't lok after usus. no-one would leave the country if they had work. but there are men of 30 here who can't even afford a cup of tea. they see no alternative. >> t that's why matar left. today, though, he knows better, he says europe isn't the world ofof glittering promise that television often suggests. >> no matter how little i earn, i'm just happy to be here again, earning my money here. i think i can make a go of my life in my country. i like to work, i'm young and i've got my whole life ahead of me. >> more and more migrants like matar are returning to senegal. nowhere else is that so apparent as in the fishing village thiaroye-sur-mer. almost every family has a son or daughter who journeyed to europe. now, some 340 of them have returned. they have formed an association, to offer each other support, and warn the next generation not to leave. the group's president is moustapha diouf. on his voyage, he saw his own brother drown at sea -- he wants no-one else to go through that. many of the men here returned of their own free will, with the promise of a start-up grant. but they've received nothing. >> a few years ago, a delegation from the european union was here. they promised to buy us new fishing boats, so those returning could find work. but nothing happened. instead, they signed deals with our government and sent them the momoney. how much do you think got to us? nothing! >> the german government is planning fresh deals with african countries, as part of the eu's migration partnership framework. senegal is one of them. moustapha diouf is worried that once again, the money will be syphoned off -- and won't reach those who need it. for mamany young peoeople here, europe stitill has an allure. despite the odds, they hope they can make it big there. but as more and more migrants return, a different story is being told. senegal is hearing from a new generatition; a generation thas learned d from bitter experiene -- and is warning people to stay. >> and now to britain, where it's evident that europe is anything but a paradise. a fifth of the country's population is considered poor -- that's 13.5 million people. rents are so high that there's barely anything left for other expenses. low earners often spend as much as two-thirds of their income on housing. many can't even afford to heat their homes. the socially-deprived say the chasm between rich and poor is growing too wide to bridge. >> the royal borough of kensington is one of the wealthiest areas in britain. famed for its pristine streets lined with upscale bars, bistros and boutiques. residents here earn almost four times the national average -- and have the country's highest life expectancy. but next door is the other side of kensington -- a far poorer population living in run-down and overcrowded housing estates. people here have a life expectancy 11 years shorter than their neighbors just a block away. simon webb used to be a teacher in kensington. he's written a a book about te area, where socicial divisions pre-date the grenfell tower fire by decades. >> it's like another world. it really is the story of two worlds. >> a story that has been amplified by recent events. the burned-out ruin of grenfell tower now stands as a stark monument to that inequality. five weeks after the devastating fire, locals are still mourning. >> i was absolutely horrifieie, because it's such a terrible thing. the people who live around here are among the poorest in society, the mosst disadvantaged in the country. it's inevitable. whenever a disaster happens in this country, it always happens to a working-class area. >> for many residents, the horrific tv images illustrated to the world what they've felt for years: that their safety and well-being were always of secondary interest to the local authorities. >> this has brought a lot of issues to the forefront that, if it weren't for this tragedy, would just be ignored anyway. >> hammed, a native londoner, has been living right next to grenfell tower for twenty years. he still feels sickened by that fateful night in june. the park attendant pays the equivalent of 700 euros a month for his small apartment in another estate. he's had no hot water since the disaster. >> it's summertime now, but duringng the winter months it wl be like living in the arctic the arctic tundra. they just see us as a dollar bill. we're more than that. >> residents and the families of victims took to the streets after the fire to protest at the conditions that led to it. grief turned to anger and demands for justice in what many see as a class issue. >> this austerity is now killing people, obviously, but it has been killing people throughout. people who go to the food banks or die when their benefits are cancelled and they have nothing to live on. >> people want to feel like they live in a society that is fair, and clearly it's not. this is like a class attack on working-class people, so everyone now can see what's going on. >> there's resentment among locals over the situation. >> do you think the people up that way around notthing hill station would take something like this? do you think anything like that happens in kensington palace, where prince william lives? >> emma dent coad became kensington's member of parliament just days before the fire, after campaigning on an anti-gentrification platform. >> the council has massive reserves. we have people queing up for food banks. they wouldn't even give us the space to set up another food bank. this is where we're living, this is what it is. the mask has fallen, and everyone has now seen the reality of what this constituency is like in kensington -- of super-rich and super-poor, and that is absolutely avoidable. there's no need for that. >> she says it's time for britain to close the gap between rich and poor. unsightly concrete housing blocks can be found all over london. in some areas, they're in the middle of exclusive villa communities. if the idea back then was to bring the rich and poor closer together, then it was poorly planned. the fire could wake up the political establishment -- that's what hammed hopes at least. >> it takes disaster for them to realize that it's not all about them. >> as local historian simon webb can confirm. he remembers previous protests by residents going back decades that fell on deaf ears. >> temporarily, people come and look and say they'll make ththis better -- and when t the world forgets about it, they go away and leave it as it was. the proletariat will get the short end of the stick, and those above them will do better. that's the way a society like this is structured. >> so..does he think society can change? >> in britain? no, not in my lifetime. >> the authorities have announced that 68 families displaced by the grenfell tower fire are being offered housing in this luxury apartment complex in the more affluent, southern part of kensington. it's a short-term solution to a long-term problem. >> check us out on dw global society. how do you see the gap between rich and poor in your country? come and tell us on dw global society. and now we meet people dedicated to protecting our planet's natural world in global ideas. palm oil production is o on te rise worldwide. but monocultures can be devastating for tropical regions: l leading to deforestation and farmers losing their land. that's a problem in sierra leone in west africa, too. our reporter ruth krause headed there and looked at some very different approaches to palm oil production. >> to get to the villages around sahn malen you have to pass a checkpoint. this land belongs to a luxembourg-based agricultural company. here, where local people used to farm, "socfin" is growing oil palms -- a massive monoculture that requires large amounts of an assessment not shared by all of the local villagers. they say the plantations are ruining their lives and the environment. sima mattia used to farm a large stretch of property hehere, ad was able to grow what he wanted -- and live off it. > our family y land extendedm here to o the boundary betwewn malen n and babobo, and going s wais abobout 4 mililes to join e other village. >> that propererty has shrunkk drastically in the meantime, since socfin took out a lease on it. the company pays 12 us-dollars per hectare per year a pittance. the contract was signed not by sima mattia ... but by local chiefs who themselves pocketed from the deal. a a lot of villagegers have bn redud d to grong t the be nessititie becau they have ben the ase paymts he recees are miniscul s saysima mata. the be chacompanurviva eith way, iteans cpletely penden for local >> t familiethat ud to pendnd on is plantation were over0. but now e landnd igone, the monethey ge is gon andnd ving cdiffult for usgettg >> we nted ttalk to cfin, but were tned down. the company cited what it called negative media coverage in the past. 120 0 kilometers away, we findn alternrnative scenarario. farmrmer sorie sesesay has not leasased his land.d. he growsws palm fruit himself, along with other crops. the oil palms bear fruit for 25 years, but they can only be harvested three or four years after planting so it's a long-term investment. >> i decided to go into oil palm production 9 years ago. this will be my pension. we can harvest it until i die. >> he has a large family, and they can harvest the fruit all year round. what they've gathehered today earns them a around 10 eururos. >> i don't have any plans to lease or sell this land. that wouldld mean deprprivinge whole family. whwhen otherers members of the family arere in need, i can gie them the fruit for cooking. while partsts of the plants that cannot be eaten are usetoto make natural fertilizer. these oil palms are organically grown -- out of necessity. today sorie sesay has a visitor. it's mohamed kamara from dutch palm oil company natural hahabitats. the group produces its own organic palm oil fruits, but also buys from farmers like sorie sesay. >> embarking on their plplantatn in a form of developing g themo that it also supports your meal is really, really advantageous. how long does it take you toto grow a plantation and ththen stt processing? so we decided to go ststraighto the farmers who o already have plantations and then assist them, develop p their skills ultimatetely they increase ther yield. >> the fruits are then heated ul out. oil palms are high-yield generating four times as much oil asas sunflowerers per hect. that makes the product cheap, and widely consumed. half of all items on supermarket shelves, from cookies and ice cream to shampoo and face creams, contain palm oil. the mill also makes use of the otherwise unwanted fruit waste -- as a heating fuel for keeping the mill's vats at the right temperatature. most of the raw oil pressed here is exported, but the amount is just a fraction of that produced by large companies. can organic palm oil compete? >> we can definitely compete with them, the reason being we have a completely different form of production. we are orgrganic, they are conventitional. and being organic gives you a premium on the market. >> sororie sesay alrlready has official certification as a member of a network now numbering 1,400 farmers a figure the c company is s eageo inincrease, given the growing global demand for organic palm oil. >> and that's all for today! we'll be back next week, and in the meantime, do write to us! send us a mail to global3000@dw.com or visit us on facebook -- dw global society. take care and see you next time! [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] man: : ladieses and gentlemen, pplease welcome "bioioneers" assocociate producer j.p. harprpignies. [applause] harpignieies: welcome, fellow creatures. um, so i i have the great privilege of serving-g-- ahem--on a team that reviews hundreds of projects from around the world. very inspiring project, in a way, very similar to what you've just seen, for the buckminster fuller challllenge, whicich is an annul prize that has been called, um, socially responsible e design's highehest award. of course now, with the

Related Keywords

Mexico , United States , India , Germany , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Kennett Square , Guatemala , Spain , Senegal , London , City Of , United Kingdom , Britain , Mexican , German , Simon Webb , Mohamed Kamara , Ruth Krause , Javier Garcia , Moustapha Diouf , Sima Mattia ,