25/03/2016 Reporters

Welcome to Reporters, I'm Philippa Thomas.

From here in the world's newsroom, we send out correspondents

to bring you the best stories from across the globe.

In this week's programme, Miami blues - as President Obama

becomes the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years,

Nick Bryant finds many Cuban-Americans are still

against any ties with the Communist island.

I never thought that I would see a day where Air Force One,

with the United States of America President on board,

would land in a Communist Cuba.

Jump-starting Japan, Mariko Oi investigates how an ageing

population could be a silver lining for the Japanese economy.

And pitch perfect, Catrin Nye finds out how one of England's

top football clubs, Arsenal, is helping children in Iraq

to rebuild their lives.

Look at the cheers and the smiles on their faces today,

it's like they are forgetting all the violence and the war

that they've come through.

When President Obama steps aside in ten months' time,

one of his biggest foreign-policy successes may be seen as Cuba.

America's hostility to the country had looked anachronistic,

even plain silly.

This American leader has changed all that,

opening relations with an historic presidential trip to Cuba this week.

But not everyone is happy back home.

Many Cuban-Americans are still against any engagement

with the Communist island.

Nick Bryant has been to Miami's Little Havana

to speak to some of them.

Protest is a way of life for the Cuban-American exiles

of Little Havana, and for decades they've been venting their fury

at the Castro brothers and any American president who has even

flirted with the idea of rapprochement.

Human rights for Cubans! Human rights for Cubans!

President Obama's visit is seen as a betrayal of them and American

values, one that legitimises a Communist government they despise.

I never thought I would see a day where Air Force One,

with the United States of America president on board,

would land in a Communist Cuba.

I always hoped it would be a day where the president,

aboard Air Force One, would land in a free Cuba.

Just around the corner, mid-morning mojitos and cigars

for those who didn't take part in the protest.

Many younger Cuban-Americans especially

think it's time to move on.

I think it's a good thing, let's see what comes out of it.

If it's going to help the people,

I think that is the most important thing.

It doesn't worry you that he is there? No.

At this time of new departures, America has signed an agreement

with Cuba to re-establish scheduled air services between two countries

separated by only a small stretch of water.

Soon there should be over 100 daily round-trip flights.

It's just 15 minutes flying time between the southernmost tip

of mainland America and Cuba, but the countries

have been estranged now for more than 50 years.

Many Cuban-Americans believe the embargo has not just been

ineffective but counter-productive.

It allowed the Castro brothers to blame America

for Cuba's economic woes.

There haven't been any good changes in the past 50 years...

Our pilot was born in Cuba,

and he's delighted to see President Obama make the flight.

It's time, it's time for us to connect once again.

I mean, we are all Cubans.

Some of us are living here and some there,

but we are one family.

What's been noticeable about the protests is their scale.

This arch lasted only a couple of streets,

because the exiles are so old and so frail,

and it attracted hundreds rather than thousands,

a pale imitation of demonstrations from decades past.

Gone are the days when the exile community dictated America's

policy towards Cuba.

Nick Bryant, BBC News, Miami.

When governments worry about an ageing population,

they normally think of rising health-care and pension costs.

But in Japan, they are starting to take a more positive view.

Many companies and communities are starting to see the benefits

of a rapidly growing number of older people who are still keen to work.

As Mariko Oi reports,

Japan's ageing population is helping to jump-start its economy.

Tending to a client's rooftop garden in central Tokyo.

Three years after retiring from his lifelong employment

with Tokyo Gas, this 68-year-old signed up for part-time work.

This is the company which got him the gig.

Koreisha means "the elderly" in Japanese.

Its mission is to help retirees who are still keen to be part

of the country's workforce.

Today it has over 750 registered members.

The average age is 69, with the oldest at 81 years old.

They can choose from various assignments,

such as cooking at restaurants or being personal drivers.

TRANSLATION: At our age, most of us don't want to work full-time,

but putting in two or three days a week doesn't affect pensions,

and being able to earn an extra 1000 US dollars a month is nice.

But more than that, our members say it's great to be able to work again,

because myself included,

we feel like our energy and talent is wasted.

Japan has one of the fastest ageing populations in the world,

and it is a burden on the economy, with a falling birth rate,

it means there are fewer people paying social security.

Spending on health care and pensions already accounts for a third

of the national budget, and it's ballooning fast.

But instead of doing away with the old, the Government wants

companies and communities to see them as a silver lining.

Here in Kashiwa, these retired businessmen greet the children

every morning and make sure they get to school safely.

75-year-old Masatoshi Tsuneno is the leader of the group,

and he's been volunteering for ten years.

He says the key to a successful transition after retirement

is to shake up the hierarchy entrenched in the working world.

"I was an engineer for a company," he told me.

But he won't discuss his professional past.

He says it's important for people in his group to be able to treat

each other equally, even if someone was a chief executive or diplomat.

put together this surprise ceremony to thank the volunteers.

It is the end of the economic year, and the schoolchildren have

put together this surprise ceremony to thank the volunteers.

The mix of young and old has been a hit for this community,

but it's still a rare success story.

Mariko Oi, BBC News, in Kashiwa.

Professional footballers don't always get a good press about how

they spend their money, but Arsenal players have donated

a day's pay to help build pitches at camps for the children fleeing

war in Iraq.

The English club has teamed up with Save the Children

to fund the project, which will train both boys and girls.

Catrin Nye travelled with the Arsenal women's football

captain, Alex Scott, as she helped to train young girls

in how to play football.

The tragedy of children forced to flee their homes by war in Iraq,

and the wealth and fame of Arsenal Football Club.

These two things don't obviously have much in common.

But a new project is trying to change that.

For me, growing up, football was more than a game to me then,

and it's given me so much.

Alongside Save the Children, Arsenal have built two pitches

for children who fled war - boys and crucially also girls.

It's a very powerful statement that a club like Arsenal can come

in and say not just that you are a part of our community,

but also that we care.

So this is Kurdistan in northern Iraq, and relative safety compared

to the rest of the country, but we are still just a few hours

from the front line, from territory controlled by Isis.

Esra, whose name we changed,

is one of more than 6,000 people living in this camp.

Since January 2014, more than 3 million Iraqis

have fled their homes - half are children.

Are there any good things about the camp, about living here?

And this is that pitch.

Today with Alex Scott as an extra player.

Boys and girls are learning to play football here.

Why did you decide today that Alex would teach the girls?

To them, she's a big source of inspiration,

the fact that she's a woman and she's made it internationally.

Look at the cheers and the smiles on their faces today,

it's like they are forgetting all the violence and the war

that they've gone through.

Bye!

You'd never think people would be living like this.

We are in the middle of nowhere, there's nothing around.

But they just carry on with their life every day,

hoping for something better.

Hi!

And that is all from Reporters for this week.

From me, Philippa Thomas, goodbye for now.