0:00:03 > 0:00:05I'm on a journey around Greece.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08At the eastern edge of Europe...
0:00:08 > 0:00:10a land of mystery.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Look at that!
0:00:12 > 0:00:14SEAGULLS CRY
0:00:14 > 0:00:16With fabulous islands...
0:00:17 > 0:00:19..and rugged mountains...
0:00:21 > 0:00:25..it's one of the most beautiful and troubled countries in Europe.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29'After years of upheaval...'
0:00:29 > 0:00:30Bloody hell!
0:00:30 > 0:00:33'..people here are still having a tough time.'
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Petrol bombs being thrown. EXPLOSION
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'I'll see how Greeks are surviving
0:00:38 > 0:00:40'and enduring...'
0:00:40 > 0:00:41THEY LAUGH
0:00:41 > 0:00:44It's the only way to travel.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46'..in this stunning and dramatic land.'
0:00:48 > 0:00:49Oh, my good God!
0:00:51 > 0:00:53On this first leg of my journey
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I'll be visiting some of Greece's glorious islands
0:00:55 > 0:00:58before heading to the ancient capital, Athens.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06I'll discover how some islanders made their fortunes.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Look at them - they look disgusting.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I'll see a side to Crete that's normally hidden.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16GUNSHOTS
0:01:16 > 0:01:18All right, so this is a traditional greeting.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19It's OK.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22And in Athens,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26I come face to face with the fury of a betrayed generation.
0:01:26 > 0:01:27Can we...?
0:01:47 > 0:01:48Look at that.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53I'm starting my journey in the Dodecanese islands.
0:01:53 > 0:01:54It's a part of Greece
0:01:54 > 0:01:58that is visited and loved by millions of travellers every year.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03There are thousands of islands in Greece,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06scattered across the Eastern Mediterranean.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09'Sand and sea like this on the island of Kos
0:02:09 > 0:02:13'helps to lure around 25 million foreign holiday-makers to Greece
0:02:13 > 0:02:18'every year, more than twice the actual population of the country.'
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Now we all know that Greece is in a bit of a pickle at the moment,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24but this is an amazing place.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28I have to personally confess to being a big fan of Greece.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33I love the beaches, the people, the mountains, the ruins,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35the food, the way of life.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36I love Greece.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41As Greece endures an economic crisis,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44tourism is one of the few industries keeping the country afloat.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Tourism accounts for 20% of the national economy,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52but it's 60% for islands like Kos.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Of course, it's only in the last few decades that tourism
0:02:57 > 0:03:00'has become such a phenomenon, and many islands in the Aegean Sea
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'used to rely on a very different trade.'
0:03:03 > 0:03:04Look at these.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Not artificial. Real sponges.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13You see these for sale around the islands in this area.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15The sponge-fishing industry
0:03:15 > 0:03:17dominated these islands for centuries.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Sponge merchants made fortunes.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22One even dined at the court of Queen Victoria.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Agelis? Agelis! Kalimera!
0:03:25 > 0:03:28'I met up with Agelis Trakelis.'
0:03:29 > 0:03:32He's one of the last remaining sponge fishermen.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37There's not many boats out on the sea at the moment.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Hundreds of boats used to fish these waters for sponges.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Then in the 1940s, artificial sponges were invented.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49'Now there's just five sponge boats left,
0:03:49 > 0:03:51'and it can be tough to make a living.'
0:03:52 > 0:03:55IN GREEK:
0:04:00 > 0:04:01Can we come in and have a look?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06So, it's tight in here.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11What happens if you have a big row, a big argument?
0:04:11 > 0:04:13THEY LAUGH
0:04:15 > 0:04:17He's pointing to the knife!
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Sponges can't be fished using rods or nets.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45Agelis has to dive for them.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47AGELIS SPEAKS IN GREEK
0:04:47 > 0:04:49We're going to go down onto a shipwreck,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and you can see the top of it just there.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56So, he's going to use this tank of compressed air
0:04:56 > 0:04:59with a hose attached -
0:04:59 > 0:05:03a very basic, rudimentary way of diving.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05It's also extremely dangerous.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Hundreds of Greek fishermen have died diving like this,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11from decompression sickness, or the bends.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Two of Agelis's brothers fell victim.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35You must think of them every time you dive, surely.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Let's go down safely and slowly.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Come up safely and slowly, more to the point.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48HISSING
0:05:52 > 0:05:53Ready?
0:05:53 > 0:05:54HISSING
0:06:01 > 0:06:02'By using a compressor,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04'Agelis can stay underwater for much longer
0:06:04 > 0:06:07'than if he was using scuba tanks on his back.'
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Sponges are actually one of the simplest animal organisms.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20They're vital to the global marine eco-system,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23pumping and filtering seawater through their pores
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and providing a refuge for other sea-life.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31'Some live for more than 100 years.'
0:06:31 > 0:06:33In the past, there were millions
0:06:33 > 0:06:35covering the sea-bed in the Mediterranean,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37helping to keep the water healthy.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Oh, he's gone really deep.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Oh, much deeper than I can...free-drive.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55With a compressor, Agelis can dive to 70 or 80 metres.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58He's sucking air through a thin hose,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01and at those depths it can tear or get tangled.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04If something goes wrong and he surfaces too quickly,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07he could die from decompression sickness.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10It's dangerous, but the introduction of compressor diving
0:07:10 > 0:07:15in the 1800s enabled Greek divers to strip the sea of sponges.
0:07:18 > 0:07:19Wow.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21These are sponges in their raw state.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Astonishing. Look at them, they look disgusting.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30How do you turn it into a sponge that people would recognise?
0:07:36 > 0:07:38You tread on it?
0:07:45 > 0:07:47God.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Over the last couple of decades,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06a disease has devastated the remaining sponge population.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15'Scientists and fishermen like Agelis
0:08:15 > 0:08:17'believe that climate change and pollution
0:08:17 > 0:08:20'have contributed to the spread of the disease.'
0:08:26 > 0:08:29How is the sea different now to when you first started?
0:08:42 > 0:08:44It's very depressing to hear,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and it's happened in such a short space of time as well.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Just a generation. Just a couple of decades.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58The Mediterranean's been emptied of life.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02To gather enough sponges to survive, Agelis now sails hundreds of miles,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05staying away from home for months at a time.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06And as the industry has collapsed,
0:09:06 > 0:09:11so has the population of many of these small Greek islands.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15One of them is Pserimos, the tiny place Agelis and his children call home.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22The island's also been hit hard by Greece's financial crisis.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Even tourism isn't saving them.
0:09:28 > 0:09:29So, who is this?
0:09:33 > 0:09:36People look at the Greek islands, particularly in the summer time
0:09:36 > 0:09:40when they think they're the perfect place to live.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Are they a sort of paradise,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44or are they quite a tough place to live?
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Thousands of people have moved from these islands
0:10:18 > 0:10:20to the mainland in search of work.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Some islands have lost half their population.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27What do you think will happen to Pserimos
0:10:27 > 0:10:30if sponge diving completely comes to an end?
0:10:52 > 0:10:53MUSIC PLAYS
0:10:55 > 0:10:58There was a buzz about the place when I visited,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01but that was only because it was a national festival.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Extended families had returned from across Greece.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Look, life goes on.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09People party.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11SINGING AND MUSIC
0:11:13 > 0:11:15But soon the visitors would leave
0:11:15 > 0:11:18and the island would become sleepy Pserimos again.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21The winter population on the island
0:11:21 > 0:11:25is now roughly 30 people, mostly retired.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28MUSIC FADES OUT
0:11:30 > 0:11:32If more tourists don't start visiting,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36some fear this current generation of islanders could be the last.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42The next morning, I said farewell to Agelis and his family.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47I'm heading on to another island.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I'm going to take a taxi.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03'Little Pserimos relies on small boats
0:12:03 > 0:12:05'to connect it to the rest of the Aegean.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07'Pottering between Greek islands by sea
0:12:07 > 0:12:10'still feels like an exotic adventure,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12'however large the ferry.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19'I was on my way to Lesvos, one of the biggest Greek islands.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Like every Greek island
0:12:23 > 0:12:25it's got its own character and traditions,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28along with fantastic beaches and wonderful tavernas
0:12:28 > 0:12:30that pull in the tourists.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34But it's also Europe's eastern border,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37and its position puts it on the front line
0:12:37 > 0:12:40of a humanitarian and political crisis.
0:12:42 > 0:12:43Look at that view!
0:12:43 > 0:12:44Straight ahead, look at that!
0:12:46 > 0:12:48That...is Turkey.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Greece has been receiving an influx of refugees and migrants,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56many of them coming from,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59or fleeing, the conflict in Syria.
0:13:00 > 0:13:01My God.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Look at this.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Thousands of life jackets spoke of the scale of what was happening.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11It was summer and the flow of refugees
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and migrants into Greece was just starting to soar.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Around 2,000 had been arriving on Lesvos most nights.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20But I'd arrived at a turning point,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24as people began crossing in broad daylight in huge numbers.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25Oh, my God.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28They're coming now.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31They're crossing now!
0:13:37 > 0:13:39I've got a slightly sick feeling in my stomach
0:13:39 > 0:13:42because some of these boats do not make it.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46If they don't, there is absolutely nothing we can do standing here.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51In 2015, more than 500 people drowned
0:13:51 > 0:13:53trying to cross from Turkey to Europe.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59I would say there's 40 people on that boat.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07There's some women, there's children as well on board.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Water! Water!
0:14:13 > 0:14:14My God, maybe...
0:14:17 > 0:14:18Look at this.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21You've come from Syria?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Where in Syria? Aleppo, or...?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:14:27 > 0:14:29He's got a child's toy around him.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34How long has it taken you to come across?
0:14:34 > 0:14:35- How long to come...?- One hour.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37One hour across the water.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- How much money did it cost?- 1,000.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- To go from there to here? - Yes. From, from Turkey.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46What do you think Europe will give you?
0:14:46 > 0:14:48I am studying pharmacy.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51You are studying to be a pharmacist?
0:14:51 > 0:14:52I am pharmacist.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57What have you brought with you? What do you have? Your possessions?
0:14:57 > 0:15:00You have this.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- Everything else had gone? - Everything. Yes, yes.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05'It was overwhelming.'
0:15:05 > 0:15:06Good luck.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09This crisis was part of the world's biggest wave of mass migration
0:15:09 > 0:15:11since the Second World War.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14There's just more and more coming.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19This is the edge of Europe and there are hundreds of people coming.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- Assalaamu alaikum. - Assalaamu alaikum.- Alleluia.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Water, find more water...
0:15:27 > 0:15:31It was particularly upsetting to see so many young children,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33their lives in complete upheaval.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40He's very tired.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41I bet they are.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44I am...cameraman.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46You're a cameraman?
0:15:58 > 0:16:00- Thanks.- Thanks. - HE SNIFFS
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- Good luck to you.- Thank you.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06HE SPEAKS IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:16:09 > 0:16:10Thank you.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- I have no words, just good luck, OK? - Thank you.- Good luck.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- Whatever you do.- Good luck.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22'Most of the arrivals I met were Syrians fleeing conflict,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25'but there were also many other nationalities.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'One Afghan lad told me how he and his classmates
0:16:27 > 0:16:29'had left school in Kabul a month earlier
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'when they heard how easy it suddenly was to get into Europe.'
0:16:32 > 0:16:37When we were in Afghanistan, we were hearing that...
0:16:37 > 0:16:39the border is free, yeah?
0:16:39 > 0:16:44Everybody can go freely to the European country.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46I was stunned.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Thousands of miles away people were being told that Europe was open.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55There is another boat just coming, just here,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and there is nobody here helping them, stopping them...
0:16:58 > 0:16:59doing anything.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04There is no sign of the authorities, there is no European force,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06there is no Greek border patrol, there is...
0:17:08 > 0:17:09There are just holiday-makers,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and there are hundreds of people coming in.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Most arrivals were refugees from conflict.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Some were economic migrants.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Europeans often focus either on their right to sanctuary and asylum,
0:17:21 > 0:17:22or their impact on us.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Rarely do we debate the consequences of migration
0:17:25 > 0:17:27on societies people have left,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and the old, sick and poor who can remain behind.
0:17:31 > 0:17:37But if we absorb millions of people from struggling countries,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40we may never give those struggling countries a chance
0:17:40 > 0:17:42to stabilise and succeed,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46because so often the people who make it here...
0:17:46 > 0:17:49It's like an obstacle course, it's the brightest and the best who often
0:17:49 > 0:17:53are the ones who make it, the ones who would be most likely to...
0:17:53 > 0:17:56help build a country...
0:17:56 > 0:18:00are the ones who quite naturally...
0:18:00 > 0:18:02need, want to leave.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Many of the new arrivals were young men travelling alone.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Often they come from traditional conservative communities.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14They were heading into a Europe increasingly adopting values
0:18:14 > 0:18:17like gay marriage and women's rights.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19I wondered if they knew what lay ahead.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25'The next stage of their journey is the 40 miles to the port
0:18:25 > 0:18:27'where ferries go to Athens.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31'Many refugees walk in 35-degree heat.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34'I saw a woman struggling with a child.'
0:18:34 > 0:18:35I have to stop.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42How old is this one?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44He's five.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45Five years old.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- Are you OK?- No.- No.- I will die.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- Have some water.- Thank you. - Just breathe slow.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56- We'll put you in the car. Breathe slow.- Thank you.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58SHE GASPS
0:18:59 > 0:19:03We're giving a lift to a mum and her son and daughter.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09They don't want their faces...shown, quite understandably.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12- Is that from, from Syria?- Yes.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- Terrazul.- Terrazul.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20'Her English-speaking sister was also in the back.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23'We caught up with some men from her family.'
0:19:25 > 0:19:27We're not sure what's going on.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30We think it's possible that one of the men is saying
0:19:30 > 0:19:32that she cannot travel with men.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38'But the woman's sister explained what happened.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41'The men forced the children and their mother out of the car
0:19:41 > 0:19:43'and back into the heat and the long walk
0:19:43 > 0:19:46'because the mother hadn't sought their permission to accept my help.'
0:19:46 > 0:19:48SIMON EXHALES DEEPLY
0:19:50 > 0:19:53In that crazy...little situation,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57you have a sense of cultures...
0:19:57 > 0:19:58colliding, I think,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02in a way that frightens some people and worries them.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Europeans, it concerns them, and I can completely understand why.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Just a few miles down the road was a popular tourist town.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Well, now this gets really surreal.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Them coming into Molyvos now.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Castle on top of the hill,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23beautiful houses scattered around it.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Now you get Syrian refugees meets Greek...
0:20:30 > 0:20:32..holiday village.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37COUGHING
0:20:37 > 0:20:38BELL RINGS
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I think I've lost numbers on the scale
0:20:46 > 0:20:48to express how surreal this is.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50We are...
0:20:51 > 0:20:54..an offensively short distance
0:20:54 > 0:20:57from beaches where people... are landing...
0:20:59 > 0:21:00..as refugees and migrants.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06I'm just astonished by...
0:21:06 > 0:21:09how worlds collide.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29The next morning, refugee boats kept coming.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Lesvos depends on farming and tourism,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37and locals were worried holiday-makers would stay away.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I went for breakfast...
0:21:41 > 0:21:44'..and found a local boat moored in the harbour.'
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- Are you still running boat trips? - Yes, I do.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50And are you still going out regularly during the day?
0:21:50 > 0:21:51I'm trying.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54- Can I come on board?- Please.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55'Stratis Kabanos earns his living
0:21:55 > 0:21:57'taking tourists on snorkelling trips.'
0:21:57 > 0:22:01- Have a seat.- Thank you.- Stay in the sun.- Stay out of the sun, I think.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03- You paid for it! - THEY LAUGH
0:22:03 > 0:22:05I'm not sure I have, to be honest.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07How does this season,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11this summer compare to summers over the last 20 years?
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I don't have numbers, but it's definitely down, much down.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16I don't know, maybe... 50% down or something.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- To my feeling.- 50% down? - To my feeling. I'm going to check.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Does that make it one of the worst? - I think so, yes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26How have people here in the community reacted
0:22:26 > 0:22:30and responded to the migrants and the refugees coming in?
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Majority of the people, they see it negatively.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36The majority of Greeks here?
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Yes. I mean...
0:22:39 > 0:22:40Yes, please, sorry.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Say it in English. Say it...
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Say it in English.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52Say it in English.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00This is exactly what I was describing to you.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03- That's the feeling of the people, is they're worried.- Mm.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07My feeling is, I have to deal with it, because...
0:23:08 > 0:23:11You see people suffering, guys.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12What are you doing?
0:23:12 > 0:23:14STRATIS EXHALES DEEPLY
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I just, I can't do much.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Just yesterday, I saw a boat with 33 people,
0:23:18 > 0:23:23I had a couple of ladies from Holland, we stopped, we helped them.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26We cleaned the beach, we gave directions to the people.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30What do you say to people who would say,
0:23:30 > 0:23:35look, by helping them you are encouraging more to come?
0:23:35 > 0:23:38If you are desperate, you will come.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40You will swim, you will walk.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42We can't stop them.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44That's for sure. They can't be stopped.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Either we are helping them or not.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48They will keep coming.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51If I keep running behind you with a knife,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53you will keep running too.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57You find a wall, you will try to climb it. This is how it is.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59For me it's that simple, you know.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02- Yeah, fair point.- Yes.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Unless the crisis in the Middle East is resolved,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07along with poverty, repression, population pressure
0:24:07 > 0:24:09and conflict even further away,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13these small islands will remain a beacon for the desperate.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16With 60 million people displaced by conflict around the world,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19more than ever before, it seems likely the flow of refugees
0:24:19 > 0:24:23and migrants trying to get into Europe isn't going to stop.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Migrants and refugees here want to get a ferry
0:24:26 > 0:24:29from the port down there to take them on to Athens,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32from where they can continue their journeys on to western
0:24:32 > 0:24:36and northern Europe, which is where most of them seem to want to go to.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I continued my journey south, to the island of Crete,
0:24:41 > 0:24:46the largest Greek island, sitting halfway between Athens and Africa.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Crete has its own unique history and geography.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53While most tourists stay by the beaches,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55the distinctive character of the people here
0:24:55 > 0:24:58has been forged up in the mountains.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I'm excited about this.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10SIMON LAUGHS
0:25:10 > 0:25:11It's a flying trike.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Bonkers but brilliant.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- This is Jogas.- Hello.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19AKA Big George.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Working the guns there.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Yeah, sorry, we're just about to take off. Yeah, that's a parachute.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29Wow.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36I can't believe I'm going to take off on the road.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55SIMON LAUGHS
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Oh, my good God!
0:26:05 > 0:26:07600,000 people live on Crete.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10The biggest cities are on the coast,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14'but thousands still live in remote villages up in the mountains.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:19These mountains, this extraordinary landscape,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22this has helped to define the people of Crete.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27It's tough to move around in. Hard to farm.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31It's a harsh land.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39- Oh...- BLEEP.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Don't do that.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49SIMON CHORTLES
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Woo-hoo! APPLAUSE
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Very impressive, mate.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05SIMON LAUGHS
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- Flipping 'eck!- Whoo!
0:27:11 > 0:27:15The mountains, the lonely position of the island in the Med
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and Crete's history have hardened the locals.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20They breed them tough here.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Here's a sweeping statement -
0:27:22 > 0:27:25people in the Mediterranean are just a little bit more passionate
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and fiery than most northern Europeans.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31People of Greece are more passionate and fiery
0:27:31 > 0:27:33than most Mediterranean types.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35And the people of Crete
0:27:35 > 0:27:38are even more passionate and fiery than most Greeks.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43'But luckily, the calming influence of the church
0:27:43 > 0:27:45'plays an important role in Cretan life.'
0:27:45 > 0:27:47BELL RINGS IN BACKGROUND
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I was off to meet a local priest.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Father Andreas!
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Kalimera.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01Kalimera.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Very nice to meet you, sir.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06So, this is Father Andreas.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07ANDREAS LAUGHS
0:28:07 > 0:28:10CHORAL SINGING Geia sas. Geia sas, geia sas...
0:28:17 > 0:28:18- Hello.- Hello.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20As well as being the local priest,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Father Andreas is also a trained bodyguard
0:28:23 > 0:28:25and president of the gun club.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29He was keen to show off his skills on the club's urban warfare course.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30GUNSHOTS AND CHORAL SINGING
0:28:40 > 0:28:43So, Father, can we ask...?
0:28:43 > 0:28:46You're a priest with a gun.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50How normal is that in Crete? How normal is in that in Greece?
0:29:02 > 0:29:04I mean, you don't carry one, do you?
0:29:04 > 0:29:06You don't normally carry a weapon with you
0:29:06 > 0:29:08when you're ministering to your flock?
0:29:29 > 0:29:31'We didn't think it was a good idea
0:29:31 > 0:29:33'to invite schoolkids onto the range.
0:29:33 > 0:29:34'Next best...was me.'
0:29:34 > 0:29:35- All right.- OK.
0:29:38 > 0:29:39Face that way. I see, OK.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44This is a very alien thing to be doing, for a Brit, now.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48It's just not part of our, our culture.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51But here, it absolutely is.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53OK. So, load?
0:29:53 > 0:29:55- Are you ready?- Yeah.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59'It's hard to know exactly how many guns there are in Crete
0:29:59 > 0:30:02'because most of them are unlicensed.'
0:30:03 > 0:30:06'One expert told me the island was flooded with weapons
0:30:06 > 0:30:10'when it was a smuggling route for arms heading to the Balkan wars.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11'A study suggests
0:30:11 > 0:30:16'there are an astonishing 600,000 unregistered guns here.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20'That's roughly one for every man... GUNSHOT
0:30:20 > 0:30:22'..woman... GUNSHOT
0:30:22 > 0:30:24'..and child on the island.'
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Bravo, bravo, Simon!
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Ah, thank you, Father. APPLAUSE
0:30:32 > 0:30:34You have two bullets in A zone.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38- That's good.- Ten points. - Ten points?!- Ten points.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Oh, I like the sound of that.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43So, Father, when on earth would you need to be...
0:30:45 > 0:30:49..well, shooting this number of people twice in the chest?
0:30:58 > 0:31:01To really understand why guns mean so much to Cretans,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03you have to look back to history.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06'For centuries, Crete's position in the Med
0:31:06 > 0:31:08'made it strategically vital.'
0:31:08 > 0:31:11It's been attacked and invaded endlessly
0:31:11 > 0:31:14by the Romans, Arabs, Vandals, Slavs, the Ottomans.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16But it's the Germans during the Second World War
0:31:16 > 0:31:18that locals really remember.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22When they invaded in 1941,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Cretans attacked them with old rifles and clubs. The first time
0:31:26 > 0:31:29the Germans encountered serious civilian resistance.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Father Andreas took me to his village, Anogia,
0:31:32 > 0:31:34a base of the resistance movement.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37'From here, fighters attacked Nazi troops
0:31:37 > 0:31:39'and helped British agents kidnap a Nazi general,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42'acts for which the Germans took brutal revenge.'
0:31:44 > 0:31:47So it's got an order from the German general commander
0:31:47 > 0:31:52of the garrison of Crete, "We order the complete destruction of Anogia
0:31:52 > 0:31:55"and the execution of every male person of Anogia
0:31:55 > 0:31:58"who would happen to be within the village and around it
0:31:58 > 0:32:00"within a distance of 1km."
0:32:03 > 0:32:05'Villagers were killed
0:32:05 > 0:32:07'and every house in the village was burnt down or blown up.'
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Goodness me.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16- That's your family name, is it? - Yes, and another. Oh...
0:32:16 > 0:32:19'More than ten members of Father Andreas' own family
0:32:19 > 0:32:21'were killed during the occupation.'
0:32:40 > 0:32:43'The German occupation of Greece was savage.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48'Up to 300,000 Greeks died of starvation alone during the war.'
0:32:58 > 0:33:01What would happen if a person came here
0:33:01 > 0:33:03and defaced the flag?
0:33:08 > 0:33:10So they wouldn't leave the village alive?
0:33:18 > 0:33:20'What happened here during the war
0:33:20 > 0:33:24'still affects the way many Greeks feel about Germany.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28'Father Andreas took me to meet some younger men from the area.'
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Here we are.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52GUNSHOTS
0:33:56 > 0:33:58SHEEP BLEAT IN BACKGROUND Bloody hell.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03So this is a traditional greeting.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04It's OK.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Geia sas.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10'These shepherds spend much of the year up here in the mountains.'
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Shepherds' huts like this were used as hideouts
0:34:13 > 0:34:16by resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Do you think it is, it is the land
0:34:26 > 0:34:29that has made Cretans tough,
0:34:29 > 0:34:32or is it events that have happened here?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52The people of Crete fought heroically in the war.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Even after the Germans massacred locals,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58the Cretans carried on fighting.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01THEY TALK IN GREEK
0:35:01 > 0:35:03- Simon!- Eviva!- Eviva!
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Thank you.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11CLICKING AND GUNSHOTS
0:35:14 > 0:35:16You do love your guns.
0:35:16 > 0:35:17THEY TALK IN GREEK
0:35:22 > 0:35:23That's spectacular.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27This is absolutely spectacular.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Do you want to play?
0:35:29 > 0:35:31- Do I want to play?- With a gun?
0:35:31 > 0:35:33SIMON LAUGHS
0:35:40 > 0:35:44We think of the Second World War as being - some people do, anyway -
0:35:44 > 0:35:48as being such a long time ago, from a different era.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51But here, this carries a lot of memories with it,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54carries a lot of emotions for the guys here.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57It's still very much part of life here today.
0:35:58 > 0:35:59It's not history.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02It's here in the now.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07Many Greeks blame their current financial crisis on Germany,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10and I think politicians and bankers in Germany and Brussels
0:36:10 > 0:36:13should shoulder some responsibility.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17But these Cretans view the crisis as an extension of the War.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21IN GREEK:
0:36:36 > 0:36:40Does it really feel like that to you, then, that Germany now is
0:36:40 > 0:36:43trying to do what Germany failed to do during the Second World War, that
0:36:43 > 0:36:48it's trying to take over Greece and perhaps the rest of Europe as well?
0:36:48 > 0:36:50IN GREEK:
0:37:19 > 0:37:25THEY PLAY BOUZOUKI
0:37:25 > 0:37:31THEY SING CRETAN SONG
0:37:33 > 0:37:37GUNFIRE
0:37:50 > 0:37:53Where I'm staying tonight, it's like a...I suppose,
0:37:53 > 0:37:58a fortified little stone shepherd's hut, almost.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00It's quite an astonishing construction.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Come and have a look inside.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Look at that - hole in the roof.
0:38:08 > 0:38:09Amazing.
0:38:13 > 0:38:19As long as this inflatable mattress doesn't burst, I'll be all right.
0:38:20 > 0:38:21Night-night.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29BLEATING
0:38:40 > 0:38:42Well, the bed didn't pop and deflate,
0:38:42 > 0:38:45which I'm very relieved about.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Oh, but it was so cold!
0:38:50 > 0:38:53It's quite weird, in sunny Greece, to have your feet
0:38:53 > 0:38:55turn into blocks of ice.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00And it's daylight. Up and on.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08It's not surprising that Crete
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and the whole of Greece is dominated by its past.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15I headed to one of the most extraordinary
0:39:15 > 0:39:17archaeological sites in the country.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23The Palace of Knossos was the centre of the Minoan civilisation,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26which was at its peak around 4,000 years ago.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Back then, around 100,000 people lived here.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32It was Europe's first city.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Much of what was built here was constructed
0:39:35 > 0:39:391,000 years before the heyday of classical Greece.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45Many scholars think this was the first great European civilisation.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Knossos and countless other wonders across the country
0:39:52 > 0:39:56are why Greece is considered the bedrock of Western civilisation.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02And it was very that sense of history that meant Europe
0:40:02 > 0:40:07was desperate to incorporate Greece into the eurozone, the euro project.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Even the euro symbol was based on a Greek letter,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14and that was to give a sense that this was the inevitable
0:40:14 > 0:40:18consequence of the evolution of European civilisation.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23So Europe wanted Greece inside the euro project.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26The trouble was, many now think
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Greece wasn't economically or politically ready.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33When Greece gained entry to the single currency in 2001,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36its economy was still relatively undeveloped.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Greece didn't actually meet the requirements for membership
0:40:39 > 0:40:42of the euro, but Europe turned a blind eye.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I headed to Athens, Greece's capital, to see the consequences.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Once inside the euro,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58Greece was able to borrow money at very low rates
0:40:58 > 0:41:01from bankers who were only too keen to peddle huge loans.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07The ancient city of Athens had huge sums spent on it as the country
0:41:07 > 0:41:11went on an astonishing spree of borrowing and spending.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16Successive governments spent as much money as they could get hold of.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Hospitals, roads and airports were all upgraded,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22and the Athens subway got a costly makeover.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32So this is the very clean, very cool Athens subway system - built for
0:41:32 > 0:41:37the 2004 Olympics at enormous cost, you will not be surprised to know.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Very well air-conditioned down here.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41It's like a fridge compared to the furnace outside.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43It's got one very peculiar characteristic
0:41:43 > 0:41:46that you notice immediately as a traveller from abroad,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49which is that it's basically run on a sort of honesty system.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51There are no turnstiles here.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54You get your ticket over there and then you validate it,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57but strangely, not everybody seems to get a ticket.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03Many massive projects like this cost a fortune, were run badly
0:42:03 > 0:42:04and racked up huge losses.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09Between 2000 and 2010, government spending rocketed.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12The public sector wage bill doubled.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Almost everyone wanted a piece of the pie.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Politicians and the media completely failed to alert the public
0:42:18 > 0:42:22to what was going on as the country went a bit bonkers.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24One of the biggest drains on the public purse
0:42:24 > 0:42:27became the ludicrously generous pension system.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32Millions of Greeks got caught up in this system, in this madness,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34because hundreds of professions
0:42:34 > 0:42:38managed to get themselves classified as arduous,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41including hairdressers, musicians,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44waiters, even TV presenters.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47And that classification meant they could retire
0:42:47 > 0:42:51much earlier than normal and with most of their final salary.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56It's a fantastic idea, but how the hell do you pay for it?
0:42:57 > 0:42:59Sadly, they couldn't.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03People didn't pay their taxes, especially the wealthy,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06and there was rampant corruption.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The Greek financial crisis really got going in 2009
0:43:09 > 0:43:12when the government finally admitted its vast debt
0:43:12 > 0:43:16was hundreds of billions of euros, much more than anyone realised.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18The Greek government needed a bail-out,
0:43:18 > 0:43:23and in return, European creditors demanded swingeing austerity.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Pensions and benefits for the poorest were cut.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28Riots and strikes followed.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Unemployment in Greece has soared to 25%.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Among the young, it's even higher.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Goodness me, look at this place!
0:43:37 > 0:43:40A fifth of the population now live below the poverty line.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45I headed to the outskirts of Athens to a community of homes
0:43:45 > 0:43:47made largely from shipping containers.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51Many residents here rely on donations of bread to survive.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56How would you describe the health of this community at the moment?
0:43:56 > 0:43:59IN GREEK:
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Irini and Petros live in a converted shipping container
0:44:22 > 0:44:23with their children.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29And this is the home?
0:44:29 > 0:44:30So you've got the shipping container there
0:44:30 > 0:44:33and then you've built out from it?
0:44:33 > 0:44:38IN GREEK:
0:44:45 > 0:44:47But this is where you're sleeping in here? Can we have a look?
0:44:49 > 0:44:52'The entire family sleep in this tiny home.'
0:44:55 > 0:44:59So you can see you've got beds here, a couple of beds here.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01Are people sleeping here?
0:45:01 > 0:45:02IN GREEK:
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Obviously, on planet Earth, I have seen worse,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08but not, frankly, in Europe.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12IN GREEK:
0:45:27 > 0:45:31It's the poor and the weak who are suffering most in this crisis.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34The rich elites are insulated in wealthy suburbs.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39Meanwhile, the city of Athens has seen its budget slashed by 40% in
0:45:39 > 0:45:44five years and some of its essential services are starting to crumble.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47I went to visit a local landmark, a symbol of the rotten state of
0:45:47 > 0:45:52the Greek establishment - a hill that's been steadily growing.
0:45:52 > 0:45:53I can't quite believe this,
0:45:53 > 0:45:59but I'm starting to think we might be driving up a mountain of waste.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Oh, my God!
0:46:02 > 0:46:066,000 tonnes of rubbish arrive here every day.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11So this is one of the largest landfill sites in the world.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Shambolic political leadership is a major reason
0:46:14 > 0:46:18Greece has one of the lowest recycling rates in Europe.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23The Greeks send 80% of their waste to landfill - double the EU average.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27The most extraordinary thing happens here when a lorry goes past.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30Just look - watch the earth underneath it.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31Look at that!
0:46:31 > 0:46:36The ground is bouncing, because the ground isn't earth.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38It's compacted rubbish,
0:46:38 > 0:46:43it's thousands of plastic bottles under there.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45This site's an environmental disaster
0:46:45 > 0:46:47that should have been closed long ago.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51Greece has a national rubbish problem,
0:46:51 > 0:46:54with scores of huge illegal dumps.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57The government isn't forcing Greeks to recycle, so this mountain
0:46:57 > 0:47:01of rubbish just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06The scale of this place is extraordinary.
0:47:06 > 0:47:12It covers square miles, and it is said to be half a kilometre deep.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Imagine that!
0:47:16 > 0:47:20Rubbish pickers go through the garbage - deadly work.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24Several pickers have been killed here, buried under waste.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Oh, my God! There are children working here.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31There are allegations of corruption around the landfill, of local
0:47:31 > 0:47:36businessmen making vast profits by dumping waste here illegally.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38Dangerous medical waste and toxic chemicals
0:47:38 > 0:47:41have also been found here - even radioactive waste.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43And high levels of carcinogens
0:47:43 > 0:47:45have been recorded in the surrounding area.
0:47:48 > 0:47:54This is not a country in sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56This is Europe, 2015.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02As the Greek establishment fails to resolve the country's problems
0:48:02 > 0:48:05and austerity measures bite deep, people are getting angry.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19I headed to an area of Athens called Exarcheia -
0:48:19 > 0:48:23the heart of the city's protest movement.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25I met up with an activist called Antonis.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32If you think of the way democracy has, you know, been involved
0:48:32 > 0:48:38and what has become of it in terms of nonsense and parliaments,
0:48:38 > 0:48:42people with no respect to their voters and so on, it's very easy
0:48:42 > 0:48:45to understand that there are some hundreds of people
0:48:45 > 0:48:46deciding for millions.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50So people say, no, we need to decide for ourselves!
0:48:51 > 0:48:55The anger many people feel with the status quo has led to a growth in
0:48:55 > 0:48:59support for the anarchist movement, which is centred in Exarcheia.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Riots and clashes with police have become common here.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08'Exarcheia's central square is a kind of spiritual home
0:49:08 > 0:49:11'for anarchists, and this area's played a huge role
0:49:11 > 0:49:13'in bringing change to Greece in the past.'
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Would you say, actually, some of the most important events
0:49:19 > 0:49:23in modern Greek history happened around here, then?
0:49:23 > 0:49:26It's a place that combines all that political thought
0:49:26 > 0:49:29with all that history,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32and it's very difficult for someone to see...
0:49:34 > 0:49:35IN GREEK:
0:49:43 > 0:49:44Can we ask what he's upset about?
0:49:44 > 0:49:46Because of the camera.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49We should...we should...we should...we should...we should...
0:49:49 > 0:49:50- We should leave now.- OK.- OK?
0:49:52 > 0:49:56'A few rich people control almost all of Greece's media,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58'ensuring even a foreign TV crew are hated by many here.'
0:50:00 > 0:50:02OK, all right. Let's put the camera down, then.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05- Yeah.- Is there a card you can take out?
0:50:05 > 0:50:07IN GREEK:
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Explain to these guys, until...
0:50:26 > 0:50:30We've basically just been run out of Exarcheia by a couple of...
0:50:30 > 0:50:33teenage scumbags, frankly,
0:50:33 > 0:50:35threatening to...threatening to kill our cameraman.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40Is there a significant part of young people in Greece who are heading
0:50:40 > 0:50:43in that direction, who are so angry, they're just raging against it?
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Of course it is, of course it is, of course it is.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50Because when you have all these pillars of the establishment
0:50:50 > 0:50:55being torn away and being rotten, whatever relates to
0:50:55 > 0:51:00the establishment is automatically a target to attack.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02- The enemy?- Of course.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07That evening, I headed with Antonis to a different part of the city
0:51:07 > 0:51:09where a protest march had been planned.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Yeah, we need to be careful with the camera now, guys.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18And are we OK here or shall we stop?
0:51:18 > 0:51:20- We should stop now.- OK.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23The protest had already turned violent.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28We're holding the camera down because there are, God knows who,
0:51:28 > 0:51:32demonstrators with petrol bombs and a lot of young masked men.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37The protesters headed up the street, starting fires.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Athens had seen a lot of this.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Normal life is going on around us and there's, you know,
0:51:45 > 0:51:47even a bar on my left.
0:51:51 > 0:51:52The cafes are open here.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02So now we're going to have a confrontation.
0:52:02 > 0:52:03They're ready to do stuff.
0:52:06 > 0:52:07Here we go!
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Petrol bombs are being thrown. EXPLOSION
0:52:11 > 0:52:14CHANTING
0:52:18 > 0:52:19Watch this side.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Those police are going in for an attack now.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28Police running in, bottles being thrown.
0:52:31 > 0:52:32- PROTESTOR:- Zito!
0:52:40 > 0:52:43This is the sort of story of Athens at the moment, isn't it?
0:52:43 > 0:52:45I mean, there is a lot of chaos
0:52:45 > 0:52:48and lawlessness, in the conventional sense.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52People are raging from all sides against everything, it appears.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58The youth unemployment rate in Greece is more than 50%.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01It's not hard to see why so many young Greeks are lashing out.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08Many of the young are very politicised.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11They are very angry and particularly angry at the older generation here
0:53:11 > 0:53:14who they think have screwed up Greece.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25SIRENS BLARE
0:53:32 > 0:53:35If any one group's mostly to blame for Greece's situation,
0:53:35 > 0:53:37I'd pin it on the wealthy elite who helped themselves to
0:53:37 > 0:53:41vast portions from the Greek gravy train.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43The crisis has hardly touched the rich.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47The gap between wealthy and poor here has actually widened recently.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Greece now has the highest income inequality in Europe.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56God, this is a nice-looking area. Lovely houses.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00Good smattering of pretty expensive vehicles.
0:54:01 > 0:54:02A very nice place.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08To get a sense of how much the elite have taken this country for a ride,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11I wanted to take a look in their back gardens,
0:54:11 > 0:54:12but they don't make it easy.
0:54:13 > 0:54:15This is discreet wealth.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19Lots of fencing and quite high bushes
0:54:19 > 0:54:22slightly obscuring the view in.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27It's difficult to get a sense of what lies behind, but we have a way.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31Since the crisis began,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34the wealthy have been a bit more reluctant to show off their cash.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41So we're just going past a place here
0:54:41 > 0:54:45that's got CCTV cameras outside and a security booth.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49I'm just seeing... I want to go somewhere in the middle.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52- OK, OK.- Somewhere on the left. - So we go left here, then?
0:54:52 > 0:54:53Yeah, left here.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Hopefully we won't get spotted.
0:54:56 > 0:54:57I think we're good here.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04We're going to try and have a look at this area from up high...
0:55:07 > 0:55:08..over the fences.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14I'd enlisted the help of a drone pilot called Tassos.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20This is already giving us
0:55:20 > 0:55:23a quite extraordinary view of the neighbourhood.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26The houses are massive!
0:55:26 > 0:55:27Flipping 'eck!
0:55:27 > 0:55:29'Of course, there's no suggestion
0:55:29 > 0:55:31'anyone here has done anything wrong.'
0:55:31 > 0:55:33Look at the size of that swimming pool!
0:55:33 > 0:55:36So just in that frame, I can see one, two, three,
0:55:36 > 0:55:38four swimming pools.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42Now, that is interesting because there is a tax
0:55:42 > 0:55:46or effectively a tax on swimming pools in Greece,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48and one of the revelations
0:55:48 > 0:55:52that came out during and after the financial crisis was that
0:55:52 > 0:55:58only 300 households in this area, in Kifissia, had admitted,
0:55:58 > 0:56:02declared, that they had a swimming pool and paid the proper fee.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05And when investigators started looking,
0:56:05 > 0:56:08they started to realise there were considerably more.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11MUSIC: Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard and The Shadows
0:56:15 > 0:56:19# We're all going on a summer holiday
0:56:19 > 0:56:22# No more working for a week or two... #
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Look at this! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
0:56:26 > 0:56:3011, 12, 13, 14, 15! More are coming in.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33Looks like every house here has got a pool.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39The estimate now is that there are 20,000 in this area.
0:56:40 > 0:56:45So just a few hundred households of those tens of thousands
0:56:45 > 0:56:47were paying the appropriate tax to the state.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52When the economic crisis hit the country, the response of
0:56:52 > 0:56:55many rich Greeks wasn't exactly patriotic.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58They shifted billions out of the country,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01buying property in London or stuffing it into tax havens.
0:57:04 > 0:57:09The reaction of many of the elite who live in this sort of area
0:57:09 > 0:57:14wasn't, "All right, fair cop, we haven't paid the tax, we will now."
0:57:14 > 0:57:17No! What they did was go and cover them
0:57:17 > 0:57:21with artificial turf or plywood to disguise them.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32The financial crisis here exposed the many failings of the state.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36It's clear to me Greece needs profound political
0:57:36 > 0:57:38and social change to recover and thrive.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42And now, the traditional ruling parties here,
0:57:42 > 0:57:44which mismanaged the country and the economy
0:57:44 > 0:57:47so badly for so long, have been thrown out of power.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Greece is trying to move on.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59I've come to the end of the first leg of my journey around Greece.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01It's been a real surprise for me.
0:58:01 > 0:58:06The place is more beautiful and the people are more passionate
0:58:06 > 0:58:08and angry than I realised.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12I'm really looking forward to the next leg of my journey,
0:58:12 > 0:58:15which is going to take me to the rugged, mountainous north.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19'Next time, I'll meet some of Greece's wonderful wildlife.'
0:58:19 > 0:58:21We're in Greece - there are bears here!
0:58:22 > 0:58:25'I'll see how the country dug itself into a hole...'
0:58:25 > 0:58:29It's gone, it's gone! Let's go! Quick, quick, quick, quick!
0:58:29 > 0:58:30EXPLOSION
0:58:30 > 0:58:33'..and I'll spend time with some rebel monks.'
0:58:33 > 0:58:36God, it looks like we're arriving at a medieval settlement.