Of migrants have been transferred onto a ferry to relieve overcrowding on the italian island island of lampedusa theyll be in quarantine for at least 14 days Reception Center on the island with space for 300 had been packed with over 1000 migrants. Risk you is in the lebanese capital beirut say there is no longer any sign of life in a collapsed building in the port hopes had risen off the senses registered a pulse under the rubble from last months massive explosion Emergency Services will double check there is no one left alive. This is d. W. News from berlin follow us on twitter and instagram at d w news or visit our website at w dot com. A caravan in the northern sarra led by barbers a group of european tourists when their way across the scorching sounds most of the visitors have been here before. They know the magic of the desert but this trip is different but the end of the week their exchange their camels for picks and shovels and hundreds of trees. They want to repave us a hora for the ecological damage theyve caused by traveling here. If this gets become very important to me to give Something Back to the desert my to restore the balance for everything it has given us because. 6 am the mornings in southern moral still cold in february its nice to have something hot to drink these travelers have more in common than a shared love of the desert theyre also deeply concerned about the future of our planet as are the new value bailed out with forest fires breaking out everywhere and Natural Resources dwindling at an alarming rate its vitally important to ask what can be done now yes it will. Could we cant bargain with the earth and say were prepared to reduce Greenhouse Gases by 2 percent in 10 years it has to happen now. Its both ian. The 15 members of the group all feel a sense of urgency thats why theyre here they arrived yesterday by boss and jeep from american ash. Many of them spent the 1st night under the stars. The youngest is 19 the eldest 81. Thank you i have 2 children grandchildren and great grandchildren and i feel responsible for what i pass on as. I want them to have a chance to experience and know this beautiful planet. With. Respect to the integrity of creation agnes from helmholtz has a spiritual commitment to the environment that supports and nourishes us thats why she wants to spend these 1st few days with a group in the solitude of the desert. 6 baba guides accompany the caravan they saddle and load the animals they also coke for the Group Traditional moroccan food. One. Of. Each of the travellers is assigned a camel. Route. From. The north. They can either ride or leaders who. If you sit here in the desert there are no distractions tranquillity. Of course its challenging. Traipsing across the sand for hours in the heat with the camels and always seeing the same thing is also a challenge. But this monotonous walking in silence is also a stimulus from agitation there. Is everywhere and you can definitely get close to god in this landscape the desert is particularly suitable for that its more difficult to do at home there are too many distractions but here you have a chance to contemplate reflect on your life think about what youve done wrong and what youd like to change. After 4 hours the caravan reaches the spot where theyll spend the night while some take a moment to recover from the heat and exertion of the main tent and prepare a meal as a mini. Me here in the desert is traveling in a caravan looking for a place to spend the night creating a new temporary home staying a while and then packing your things the next morning and setting off again. The food is simple mostly vegetarian and eaten in silence. Toward evening when the heat of the day subsides is a special time the silence and the vast june landscape are entrancing. To me and for you and. That being i feel such a sense of happiness its like nothing else matters. I could die at this moment and know that my life is fulfilled it was worth living that is what will i have such a feeling of fulfillment and gratitude of joy and emotional kind of take that. Many people feel sheltered by the desert some interpret this as experiencing god. But ive noticed from helm alters also aware of the dangers of the desert. As some biblical texts reveal it can also leave people disorientated. When i read how jesus fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days and was tempted by the devil i think its a good illustration of what to expect in a self encounter in the desert isle is everything i do is thrown into question here and because the desert has so few landmarks and orientation point i think it also invites this kind of demon i need it. Before the sun goes down the Group Gathers together on top of a tomb. This much more so for they also in times when we are up on a huge dune i feel as though i am a tiny grain of sand and insignificant grain of sand and yet at the same time i feel deeply centered and everything surrounds me and for me creation is expressed in experiences like that i feel like a part of creation or that creation is at work within me for. A new day begins before setting off on each stage of the journey agnes found helm of gives the group a few thoughts for along the way this morning she quotes from Pope Franciss and cyclical love dato see dimension i visit humanity still has the ability to Work Together in building our common homes most of. The young People Demand Change and they wonder how anyone can claim to be building a Better Future without thinking of the Environmental Crisis and the sufferings of the it was polluted. Went on to lighten their lives had been. Agnes fun helmholtz has been organizing excavations into the desert for more than 25 years. But although she loves the work shes troubled by the Environmental Impact for years she wonders whether to abandon such journeys altogether then she decided to repay the desert with a concrete gesture the dream of planting trees in an arid corner of morocco gradually took shape. I heard agnes talking about it and i thought id like to be a part of it. Contribute some of my time my energy my passion my strength to give Something Back to nature. And after 4 days the caravan encounters a Mountain Range soft dunes give way to rocky. Its all going even for the camels. Around midday they reach an oasis and hear the travellers say goodbye to their camels jeeps are waiting to take them to the planting area. Of greater has prepared a strip of land on the mountainside its hard to believe but this is where they want to create a garden with date palms and marring good trees. As. Its very dusty and desolate i only see stones. Are more contemplative part of the trip is now over the group have several days of hard work ahead of them and some will stay on for weeks but 1st they have to set up camp 3 barbers will be staying with them the 1st task is to clear a spot for the main intent. On this location wasnt selected by chance the project site was made available by brahimi a 100 solid american desert guide. He has a company to agonise fun helm of tom extractions into the desert for many years but he was after us to see him Hector Brahim said heres 10 hectares i cant cultivate the site if i turned it into something beautiful. And the question was then could we plant trees that would provide some climate protection and make the site fertile. And. If done over the past 2 or 3 years weve worked out a plan to. Plant poems and mirroring a tree of. All and. That is this well develop an infrastructure that will enable the berbers to plant vegetables posters beans or melons according to what they want or the mid or the imbecile rush to. This area of the desert belongs to pry him a hansal streib when he was given a plant he planted palms and melons on it but because he didnt have enough money to cultivate all of the land he offered agnes farm help some of his hectares for a project. Shes also provided to. One of bright hymns workers assembles the packs. Then the work force sets out for the conservation site about a kilometer from camp. Farm car things are ready and waiting to be planted. Thats right. That. Date palms will be interspersed with marengo trees. Bry hymns german wife carla grew the seedlings shes familiar with the benefits of the drought resistant. Almost all parts are edible and trees help reduce Global Warming but. In. Over the years respect for the integrity of creation has become very important to me. Is for me creation is a gift that was given to us. But its also something that i helped to create. Because its a continuing process and i helped to shape it. So the question becomes how do i do this in a way that is. One of the barbers shows the european style but cuttings have to be planted. Hes employed by bryan him to take care of his property and hell also be responsible for this new plantation agnes found helmholtz environmental project. Evolved is also a member of the team with a doctorate in agriculture and many Years Experience with