Europe - Strangers On My Doorstep

Episodes

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Germany: At the Centre20160215

In the European migration crisis, Germany stands at the centre. Angela Merkel encouraged hundreds of thousands to move there in recent months, calling for a 'welcome culture' to show itself among her fellow citizens. It was meant to show that the Germans - partly because of their dark twentieth century history - were uniquely prepared to respond to the refugee's plight.

And Germany's recent history does offer a fascinating lens through which to understand the current crisis. Chris Bowlby visits the Friedland transit camp, now housing Syrians but which has received successive waves of refugees since the 1940s, beginning with some of the millions of ethnic Germans driven west by the Red Army. We'll hear how Germany absorbed these multi millions, and then millions more 'guest workers' from Turkey and elsewhere. Has this changed the country, redefining what it is to be German? In Cologne, Chris explores how these unresolved tensions are resurfacing today, as the country debates how far it can continue to receive refugees in such numbers, and how they will integrate into today's Germany

Producer: Shabnam Grewal.

Chris Bowlby explores how Germany found itself at the centre of Europe's migration crisis.

Series of programmes exploring migration in Europe

Hungary: At the Cutting Edge20160222

As more European countries follow Hungary's lead and fence their borders against irregular migration, Maria Margaronis explores Hungarians' responses to the refugee and migration crisis. She visits the prison factory that makes most of the razor wire used on Europe's borders, and hears how the crisis is affecting Hungary's Muslim minority. She travels to the Serbian frontier with solidarity activists who support the border guards, and meets the Two-Tailed Dog Party, an opposition group with a biting analysis. What's behind Prime Minister Viktor Orban's hardline response to migration? And is Hungary the cutting edge of a new, illiberal Europe?

Producer Shabnam Grewal.

Maria Margaronis examines Hungary's hardline response to migration in Europe.

Series of programmes exploring migration in Europe

03A Swedish Tale20160229

Sweden received more asylum seekers per capita than any other country last year. But an open borders policy was slowly rowed back as accommodation started to run out and the authorities struggled to cope with the arrival of so many newcomers.

It's not just cities like Stockholm and Malmo that have seen an influx of newcomers. ŀnge is a community of 9,000 people in the north of Sweden which is now home to 1,000 asylum seekers. An hour's drive away from the nearest big city, it's a place of picturesque natural beauty, but where in winter the sun sets as early as 2.30 in the afternoon and temperatures can plunge to as low as -30C.

In this programme, Keith Moore spends time in the community with locals and asylum seekers and tries to find out how one remote place copes with a big change change in such a short space of time.

Keith Moore hears how a remote community in northern Sweden copes with 1,000 new residents

Series of programmes exploring migration in Europe