UNifeed: HAITI / GANG VIOLENCE

no video available

HAITI / GANG VIOLENCE

A Brazilian NGO is teaching the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira to youngsters in a tough neighborhood of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, as a way to promote peace between warring gangs. MINUSTAH

Duration:01:49Date:06 March 2009

Categories:

United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

Downloads:

Broadcast-quality video for UNifeed stories is available online for two weeks. Should you wish to request older material, please contact the agency source of the material. For UNTV or peacekeeping stories, please contact the UN Video Library.

Full Script

STORY: HAITI / GANG VIOLENCE
TRT: 1.49
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLE / PORTUGUESE / NATS

DATELINE: 26 FEBRUARY 2009, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

SHOTLIST:

26 FEBRUARY 2009, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

1.	Med shot, man walking with a drum
2.	Wide shot, man and boy doing capoeira â€“ Brazilian martial arts
3.	SOUNDBITE (Creole) Project Coordinator, Viva Rio:
"The role of this project is keep the community accessible, keep schools open, traffic moving, and hospitals running."
4.	Wide shot, Belair streets
5.	Wide shot, woman getting water
6.	Med shot, kid in a doorway
7.	Tracking shot, Belair streets
8.	Med shot, Brazilian peacekeeper on patrol
9.	Wide shot, Brazilian peacekeepers in a jeep
10.	Wide shot, peacekeepers patrolling the alleys of Belair
11.	Med shot, soldiers' feet passing through an alley
12.	SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Sergeant Gustavo, Brazilian Battalion, MINUSTAH:
"The goal of our patrols is to maintain a secure environment. We keep a constant visible presence in the streets. When the population sees us, it helps to keep the peace."
13.	Med shot, man playing a "birimbau" â€“ capoeira instrument
14.	Wide shot, kids playing capoeira
15.	SOUNDBITE (Creole) Magdala Marc, Capoeira participant :
"Capoeira is fun, it gives us something to do. And violence seems to be happening less, people choose to do this program, and not violence."
16.	Wide shot, kids doing capoeira
17.	SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Flavio Saudade, Instructor, Viva Rio:
"So now it's a different sort of fight. Before, capoeira was used by slaves to fight for their freedom. Now the freedom is about the human spirit. So we develop ourselves."
18.	Wide shot, kids doing capoeira

STORYLINE:

With a project called "Drums for Peace", the Brazilian NGO Viva Rio is bringing the martial art of capoeira to youngsters in Belair, one of the toughest neighborhoods of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince.

The idea is that teaching the kids discipline and respect through martial arts will help integrate a community fractured by warring gangs.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Project Coordinator, Viva Rio:
"The role of this project is to keep the community accessible, keep schools open, traffic moving, and hospitals running."

For years, the streets of Belair were plagued by violence, as armed gangs fought to control the neighborhood.

But in May of 2007, Viva Rio negotiated peace accords between eleven gangs. For every month of peace, Viva Rio awards educational scholarships for three children in each gang territory.

UN troops are also an important key to keeping the peace. As the national police recruit to increase their ranks, the more than 7,000 peacekeepers are providing daily patrols in unstable neighborhoods - like here in Belair.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Sergeant Gustavo, Brazilian Battalion, MINUSTAH:
"The goal of our patrols is to maintain a secure environment. We keep a constant visible presence in the streets. When the population sees us, it helps to keep the peace."

Promoting culture is an important part of the peace-building process. As more than 200 kids from opposing neighborhoods come together to learn capoiera, they also make friends â€“ and stay out of trouble.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Magdala Marc, Capoeira participant :
"Capoeira is fun, it gives us something to do. And violence seems to be happening less, people choose to do this program, and not violence."

As these kids learn to kick and punch, they are taking home an important lesson.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Flavio Saudade, Instructor, Viva Rio:
"So now it's a different sort of fight. Before, capoeira was used by slaves to fight for their freedom. Now the freedom is about the human spirit. So we develop ourselves."

Viva Rio is taking its innovative approach to combating gang violence in Brazil, and is applying it to rebuild gang neighborhoods in Haiti - from the bottom up.

Breadcrumb Trail

HAITI / GANG VIOLENCE

UNifeed Archive

UNifeed Outlook

About

Connect to Unifeed

Connect to UNTV

Other UNTV Products