Are regularly subjected to violent attacks. Churches are burned, and copts are often murdered. And christians are not the only targets. In myanmar, the government is accused of persecuting the rohingya, a muslim minority. In Northern Iraq in 2014, Terror OrganizationIslamic State seized control of areas inhabited by yazidis, a religious community. The groups holiest site is located in the lalisch valley. The peacock is an important symbol to yazidis. It represents the angel melek taus, who for them acts as an intermediary between god and the faithful. Yazidism has about a million adherents worldwide. And in Northern Iraq, theyve been brutally persecuted by is. Were visiting refugee camps dotted around the province of dohuk in Northern Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of yazidis have fled to this kurdish region to escape the socalled Islamic State. This camp, called sharia, provides refuge to yazidi women and their children. Sewing courses offer a welcome diversion, at least for a few hours. We talk to susanne. She escaped with her four children just a few months ago. Other family members are still missing. While in captivity, susanne was raped repeatedly. They were disgusting so dirty, with matted hair, dirty weapons, barefoot, sometimes with just one arm. We were a group of 25 women. They sold us to the fighters. I tried to kill myself, but it didnt work. For the past two and half years, germankurdish psychotherapist jan kizilhan has come to Northern Iraq regularly to visit the refugees. The psychiatric problems have gotten much, much worse. Many of the refugees are severely traumatized. Theyve been mistreated and raped for three years. Women in particular and Young Children whove been forced to fight just arent coping. We need special approaches and experts who know how to deal with these things. Our next stop is the karbarto camp. Its home to 28,000 refugees and very overcrowded. Camp director saud najim is already waiting for the german psychotherapist. He shows him an eightyearold boy. Whats your name . Akrem. He was only released from is capitivity a few weeks ago. Can you sleep . Sometimes i have nightmares. Im afraid to sleep, but they keep telling me everythings ok. Akrem was just five years old when he got separated from his mother while on the run from i. S. He was badly wounded. The militants turned him into a child soldier. He had a number of gunshot wounds here, here, here and down there a graze. I. S. Fighters marched into the village and everyone fled. The militants opened fire, shooting at random. Hes been trained to use various weapons, and he was subject to constant threats. They said theyd cut our hands off from here, then from here, and here and then theyd cut our heads off. He was constantly beaten and kicked. Cigarettes were stubbed out on his skin. There are hundreds of others like akrem, who have been radicalized and trained to use weapons. Every member of society who is not a member of i. S. Is treated as an enemy. If the Kurdish Regional government doesnt take this seriously and if the International Ngos dont do something to help they will become a threat to the entire world. Akrems greatest desire is to go to school. But he urgently needs therapy. Sometimes he turns aggressive and loses all control. Professor kizilhan promises to return. Next, we accompany him to the camp at lalish, a village further east. He started coming here in 2014, driven by images that he just couldnt forget. In august 2014, i. S. Fighters invaded sinjar, the yazidis ancestral home. Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee. Thousands of others were killed. Women and children were kidnapped and raped. The un says Islamic States persecution of yazidis amounts to genocide. Since that massacre, a huge number of yazidis have been living in and around refugee camps. Between 450,000 and 500,000 yazidis have left their home area, which is very close to mosul. They dont dare to return because they feel theyve been let down, by the kurds, too. Many yazidis are calling for a safe zone. They cant just go back and pretend that nothing happened. The village of lalish contains the holiest temple in the yazidi faith. Its currently guarded by kurdish pershmerga fighters the same fighters who failed to help the yazidis when i. S. Mlitants overran their land. Since then, the yazidis have found it hard to trust the kurds. Inside the temple, the yazidis tie knots in colorful scarves each knot represents a wish. But its going to make more than wishing to improve their future as a religious minority in iraq. Back in dohuk, we visit the kurdish Governments Office for kidnapped affairs. Inside, staff process the files of the missing. Some get liberated by the army, others by paid smugglers. They charge up to 30,000 euros a mission. Its a controversial business. Sometimes the government pays directly. More often, family members have to come up with the money themselves. But critics say its not always clear where the cash goes. Were meeting abdullah sherew. 56 of his relatives were kidnapped by i. S. He paid for six of them to be freed. After that, he set up his own network of smugglers to free hostages. Wcontact ma whoive areas under i. Conol. There are phases where thefree smugglers live in raqqa. We have smugglers who cross the border, and we have another group that brings the hostages here. Sara is among those who were freed with his help. Her own attempts to escape failed again and again. When she tried to flee for the third time, her captor took what wamost dear to her he poisoned her children. The i. S. Militants then displayed the bodies of her three dead children on a big screen. I cried and said, you have enslaved us, you have taken away our husbands, why murder our children . And he said, they are children of kuffar, the unbelievers. My daughter was five, my son a year and seven months, and the youngest wasnt even 40 days old. Abdullah has so far rescued 312 women. Every mission is extremely dangerous, both for the smugglers and the hostages. The tiniest mistake can be deadly. Four of his men have been murdered, two are currently missing. But he has no plans to stop. Its dangerous, but im not afraid anymore. We have passed the phase of being afraid. If our women and children are there and being tortured and raped, my life isnt worth living anyway. He shows us videos of families being reunited after hostages are freed. Abdullah says its moments like these that give him hope and the strength to keep going. Jan kizilhan is also determined to carry on. With funding from the german state of badenwurttemberg, hes training 30 students at the university of dohuk to be trauma counsellors. Right now there are only 26 psychotherapists in the whole of Northern Iraq, an area with five million residents and two million refugees. I am a realist, but i also like to be an idealist. It may be just a drop in the ocean, but even an ocean is made up of individual drops, and this is the first drop. Over 3500 women and children are still in i. S. Captivity. But even those whove been freed, like akrem, will be scarred for the rest of their lives by the terror theyve suffered at the hands of the militants. Freedom of speech, religion, and conscience all fundamental human rights that are supposed to be respected worldwide. At least, thats whats written in the uns universal declaration. But one country that isnt exactly famous for abiding by the declaration is the united arab emirates. The government there censors the internet, Political Parties are banned, and dissenters can quickly end up behind bars. All the more surprising, then, that the uae has a ministry for tolerance. And that its led by a woman. Shes sharp, and likes to keep an open mind and a sense of humor. Lubna alqasimi is the niece of a ruling emir, but shes also a selfmade woman. We join her in abu dhabi. So, as you move from the mosque, right next to it is actually st. Andrews church, so you can see the name on top. Alqasimi is minister of tolerance in the united arab emirates. Shes a practising muslim, but has sought to reach out to members of other religions. Here shes meeting with christian leaders, and not for the first time. Ive travelled with some of the priests and the reverends from here to the vatican together. We went to National Prayer in washington, dc, and we went to Sheikh Alazhar as a visit with reverend andy here. And the idea is to say that we all are people. Tolerance, she says, begins in everyday life by talking to each other, by listening, and by understanding. And trying to give others a sense of belonging. Weve really experienced this in our church. The different religions get along peacefully, living side by side. Id like to see more of this back home in germany and switzerland. There have been some good initiatives, but we could learn a lot from here. Its certainly a far cry from what weve heard from al qasimis critics that her meetings are just window dressing for an authoritarian state. The minister is aware of the criticism. But she argues that its only religious extremists who are given short shrift in her country. They face at least five years in prison. We did make some laws, where we make sure that there is enactment of people who have racial discrimination, speaking foul of other people, or diminish their values in terms of racism or speaking against their religion. There are nearly 4 million Migrant Workers living in the emirates, and theyre often exposed to appalling conditions. But these members of the Sikh Community tell us they do at least enjoy religious freedom. They say theyre accepted here, and not stigmatized as unbelievers by the muslims. They hosted what they called a breakfast for diversity in dubai, and were delighted that the minister attended. She spoke on equality, she spoke of harmony, she spoke of tolerance. The uae governments policy of tolerance is unmatchable. Nobody in this world has ever thought of having such a Diverse Society altogether in one place. Back in her office in abu dhabi, Lubna Al Qasimi receives guests from all over the world. Representatives from governments and ngos who are intrigued that the notoriously undemocratic emirates have a state ministry for tolerance the first of its kind worldwide. Theres more of a rising negative sentiments, theres a lot of hate speech, theres a lot of inciteful talks and words. So it is time to start to preserve values, specially tolerance, coexistance, and diversity. Tolerance, she says, is not just needed in the area of religion, but also between the sexes. As president of the Zayed University in abu dhabi, al qasimi is particularly keen to promote women in the area of education. 80 of the students here are women. Men are a relatively rare sight. Thats very unusual in the arab world. Shes spread the knowledge of tolerance, specially lately, recently, in the country that were starting to be tolerant with people from different cultures and backgrounds, with people from different attitudes and behaviors. So this affects us me especially as a lady. Lubna al qasimi is now on her way to the grand mosque to meet with members of her own faith. She knows that tolerance has its limits here. The emirates, she says, dont just copy western values. Its still a strict muslim society. She cant change that, and neither does she want to. This weeks global snack is from bella italia, a tasty treat thats especially popular in one of its northern cities. The city of arched walkways called porticos good they scratch over 38 kilometers through the old town. In the middle of the historic city center, you find the snackbar. Every day, sylvia and her coworkers make fresh panzerottis here. Panzerottis are especially from southern italy. Made from pizza dough, pearshaped into turnovers and drop in the deep fryer. Panzerotti are small, but you know, they are amazing. Packed with so much flavor tomato, mozzarella, and a variety of natural ingredients. It is impossible not to enjoy them. Sylvia is starting bioengineering, but she would rather spend her time behind the counter than in a lecture hall. She can even imagine opening her own snackbar someday. Well, maybe someday, since ive learned so much here over the years. Why not . Im a real panzerotti girl. The shop sees lots of tourists, as well as locals. One regular is businessman fiore manzo. I come here because it is one of the best places in bologna for classic panzerotti. It is kind of funny, but where im from, panzerottis are less expensive than they are here. That is because we eat so many of them. It is one of our favorite dishes. Panzerottis cost 2 euros 50 apiece here. Enjoy. Once again, its time to get to know some of the people out there who are committed to protecting the climate and environment. Climate change and overfishing are destroying ecosystems in the oceans and the livelihoods of people who depend on them. Our reporter Bastian Hartig took a trip to the philippines to talk with some of the fishermen who can no longer live from what the sea provides. Theyre facing threats on several different fronts. By the time the sun rises over the bay of pandan, louie salido has been out on the water for hours. Hes caught some squid to use as a bait to fish for tuna. But his chances of success arent great. There are very few tuna left in the bay. Commercial fishing fleets have exhausted stocks off the coast of pandan. Its very hard. We get by. But the most difficult thing is paying for the childrens education, and having enough money to buy rice. Its okay if you dont have other food. You can always find something in the shallows during low tide. But education for the kids and rice are both essential. One of the other fishermen has actually managed to land a tuna. Its worth around 30 euros. So for him, its a good day. The government in manila has increasingly restricted commercial fishing in the pandan area. The plan now is to ban it completely. That could offer a ray of hope to these fishermen. Louie salido had no luck today. Back on land, in libertad, at the northern tip of pandan bay, theres a party going on. A giant tuna and mackerel are the mascots in a Campaign Event organized by an Environmental Group called rare. The group is working with the local authorities and advising fishermen on how to use the seas resources sustainably. They need to report their catch, they need to use the right gears for the fishers and then the right place for the fishing areas and the right size of the fish. We want to encourage them to change their behavior so that they are responsible of their resources, and then they can catch more fish so that they can support their families. All the fishermen are being registered. They receive an id card with a photo. They are now the only ones allowed to fish in these waters. The fishermen also mark their boats clearly, to make it easier to monitor whos in the bay. But theres another threat to the fish this time in the sea itself. The coral reef off the coast of pandan is a spawning ground for many fish. But its under threat. A plague of starfish known as the crown of thorns is literally sucking the life out of the reef. Climate change is partly to blame, but also the animals lack of natural enemies. Overfishing has stripped the area of them. Arturo feburada and the team from rare have come on a dive to check out the situation. Theyre alarmed by what they find. The starfish are everywhere. They take one of the animals back with them to study. If there is too much crowns of thorns in the area, maybe all if you have healthy corals, the fish can grow, can spawn in that area, and if there is a crown of thorns, theres the threat of human activities, then the fish will go away. Louie salido is hoping it wont come to that. Right now, hes just happy that commercial Fishing Vessels are no longer allowed in the bay. He hopes that way therell be more fish left for him and his family. With long ropes, buoys, and palm leaves, he and the other fishermen are setting up a protected zone for smaller fish in the bay. Theyre hoping that will draw tuna. If everything that we have started gets implemented properly, i think theres a future in fishing. I was telling the other fishermen earlier, if there are fish in the sea that dont take the bait and you dont catch anything, maybe theyll take the bait when you come back the next day. Thats better than commercial fishing, because then theres nothing to get, no matter how often you return. The fishermen of pandan hope that by introducing more sustainable fishing practices, their fortunes will turn, so that they, and future generations here, will be able to continue to live from fishing. Life is a progression. Some would say the goal is enlightenment. And at some point, most people look for meaning. We took our search for the meaning of life to the streets of berlin. For me, there is no meaning of life. Were all here trying to do our best. So i think we just have to be as happy as we can and help other people and do no harm and enjoy what we have. A great way to do that, through laughter. Like these kids in a laugh yoga class in india. I think that life is when you make experiences in life, and everything like in family, with love, with studies, with everything. Perhaps meaning can be found in watching the sun set behind one of the worlds wonders. Lots of the people we asked had a simple answer to the question. What is the meaning of life for you . The meaning of life for me is love, for me. Others might find the same inner satisfaction in traveling or faith. So is it worth searching . The only purpose is that there is none. Thats the whole point. Tell me if you find a good answer. What about you . Whats your answer . Do you think life has a meaning and if so, what is it . Let us know on dw global society. The meaning of life thats what well be looking at next time on global 3000. Dont miss it. And if you have Something Else to share, you can also write us an email, or get in touch on facebook. We love hearing from you. Thats it for now. See you next time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] this program is made possible in part by the town of marion, historic marion, virginia, home of the Wayne Henderson school of appalachian arts, celebrating 21 years as a certified virginia main street community. The ellis family foundation, general Francis Marion hotel. The historic general Francis Marion hotel and black rooster restaurant and lounge providing luxurious accommodations and casual fine dining. The bank of marion. The bank of marion, your vision, your community, your bank. Wbrf 98. 1 fm. Bryant label, a proud supporter of our regions musical heritage. cherokee shuffle by gerald anderson