SIERRA LEONE / FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS
Type
Language
Format
Acquire
Description
STORY: SIERRA LEONE / FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS
TRT: 3.22
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CH 1 ENGLISH / NATS
CH 2 ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29, 30 JUNE 2005, Caritas Makeni, MAKENI, SIERRA LEONE
SHOTLIST:
1.Wide shot, Admire approaching loom
2. Tilt up, thread on floor to woman with baby spooling thread
3. Various shots, Admire at loom
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Admire Kamara, 23-year-old ex-child soldier:
"I joined the rebel force from 97'. They take me they go with me in the bush..eleven years (old) they gave me an AK 47, RPG for fights and they deploy me to surround the village for fights."
5. Tilt up, Admire weaving
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"There's estimates of minimally 10,000 to 30,000 children who are directly affected or associated with the fighting forces. Our challenge at UNICEF has been to identify with those children and to provide them with specialized programs for reintegration such as schooling, skills training and reintegration in their home communities."
7. Various shots, women at sewing machines
8. Tilt up, woman ironing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, UNICEF:
"The children were tired of fighting. This artificial structure of being a combatant of being in charge of a certain platoon section, was an artificial construction that was based on coercion and extreme violence. So, the children welcomed the war to be over, but that didn't mean that it was easy for them to transition back into civilian life."
10. Pull back, sign Caritas Makeni Primary School
11. Med shot, boys walking to school
12. Wide shot, classroom
13. Med shot, Foday Kamara at his desk
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Foday Kamara, 15-year-old ex. child soldier:
"I want to continue my education up to college. After college study about law, I want to be a lawyer."
15.Various shots, woman with their children
16.SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"You are an immediate asset as a child, so when it comes to war, it's not any different. You become and immediate asset to carry ammunition to carry a gun and to actually become actively involved in combat or you become abducted We would sort of look at a weapon, an AK47 a rifle used as a weapon. Here children were actively used as weapons."
17.Wide shot, little girl teaching class to little children
18.Close up, little girl calling out letters of the alphabet
19.Med shot, little children calling out the letters
20.Pan right babies sleeping on bed to little girl teaching
STORYLINE:
Sitting down at a loom, 23-year-old Admire Kamara begins to weave.
It's hard to believe that four years ago, this young woman was part of the rebel movement that terrorized this West African nation for a decade, its fighters raping, maiming and killing adults and children.
SOUNDBITE (English) Admire Kamara, 23-year-old ex-child soldier:
"I joined the rebel force from 97'. They take me they go with me in the bush..eleven years (old) they gave me an AK 47, RPG for fights and they deploy me to surround the village for fights."
Three years since the conflict has ended and like thousands of others, Admire is trying to reclaim her life torn apart by the scourge of war.
SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"There's estimates of minimally 10,000 to 30,000 children who are directly affected or associated with the fighting forces. Our challenge at UNICEF has been to identify with those children and to provide them with specialized programs for reintegration such as schooling, skills training and reintegration in their home communities."
Released into the care of aid agencies, many spent months at centers designed to ease their way back into civilian life and are now reunited with relatives. These children are often subjected to extreme brutality - including physical torture, sexual violence and rape. It is widely believed that the number of children, especially girls, who served in various capacities in the armed groups is actually much higher.
SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, UNICEF:
"The children were tired of fighting. This artificial structure of being a combatant of being in charge of a certain platoon section, was an artificial construction that was based on coercion and extreme violence. So, the children welcomed the war to be over, but that didn't mean that it was easy for them to transition back into civilian life."
UNICEF says many child soldiers find it difficult to stay with their families. Many are in regions that were destroyed by the war, with no schools, job opportunities or enough food to go around. Some are rejected by their communities -- including members of their own families -- because of the atrocities they were forced to commit.
Caritas Makeni is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been helping child soldiers in the Freetown area since 1991. When the war ended, it set up care centers for ex-combatants, running a process of counseling, recreational activities and skills training.
Now the priority is the reintegration of these young people into society. Caritas Makeni attempts to trace parents and relatives or find a suitable foster family for ex-combatants. Once settled, they are supported with regular outreach visits, year-long skills training, help finding jobs, and access to health facilities and counseling.
Foday has benefited from this program. He was 9-years-old when the rebels took him to the bush to fight. He lost most of his family during the war and now lives with his uncle.
SOUNDBITE (English) Foday Kamara, 15-year-old ex. child soldier:
"I want to continue my education up to college. After college, study about law, I want to be a lawyer."
According to human rights groups, the former abductees are usually scarred for life, constantly reliving their maltreatment, living permanently with the knowledge that they had been forced to beat, maim or kill others, even their own parents and relatives, so as not to be beaten, maimed or killed themselves. Some of the girls face the additional burden of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"You are an immediate asset as a child, so when it comes to war, it's not any different. You become and immediate asset to carry ammunition,to carry a gun and to actually become actively involved in combat or you become abducted We would sort of look at a weapon, an AK47 a rifle used as a weapon. Here children were actively used as weapons."
Last year, The Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled that the recruitment or use of children under age 15 in hostilities is a war crime under customary international law. This landmark ruling may result in the first ever conviction for the recruitment of child soldiers.
The Court's ruling comes at a critical time when both girls and boys continue to be recruited to fight as soldiers in adult wars. Tens of thousands of child soldiers across the globe are forced to commit atrocities or are used as cooks, porters and for sexual purposes.
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TRT: 3.22
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CH 1 ENGLISH / NATS
CH 2 ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29, 30 JUNE 2005, Caritas Makeni, MAKENI, SIERRA LEONE
SHOTLIST:
1.Wide shot, Admire approaching loom
2. Tilt up, thread on floor to woman with baby spooling thread
3. Various shots, Admire at loom
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Admire Kamara, 23-year-old ex-child soldier:
"I joined the rebel force from 97'. They take me they go with me in the bush..eleven years (old) they gave me an AK 47, RPG for fights and they deploy me to surround the village for fights."
5. Tilt up, Admire weaving
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"There's estimates of minimally 10,000 to 30,000 children who are directly affected or associated with the fighting forces. Our challenge at UNICEF has been to identify with those children and to provide them with specialized programs for reintegration such as schooling, skills training and reintegration in their home communities."
7. Various shots, women at sewing machines
8. Tilt up, woman ironing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, UNICEF:
"The children were tired of fighting. This artificial structure of being a combatant of being in charge of a certain platoon section, was an artificial construction that was based on coercion and extreme violence. So, the children welcomed the war to be over, but that didn't mean that it was easy for them to transition back into civilian life."
10. Pull back, sign Caritas Makeni Primary School
11. Med shot, boys walking to school
12. Wide shot, classroom
13. Med shot, Foday Kamara at his desk
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Foday Kamara, 15-year-old ex. child soldier:
"I want to continue my education up to college. After college study about law, I want to be a lawyer."
15.Various shots, woman with their children
16.SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"You are an immediate asset as a child, so when it comes to war, it's not any different. You become and immediate asset to carry ammunition to carry a gun and to actually become actively involved in combat or you become abducted We would sort of look at a weapon, an AK47 a rifle used as a weapon. Here children were actively used as weapons."
17.Wide shot, little girl teaching class to little children
18.Close up, little girl calling out letters of the alphabet
19.Med shot, little children calling out the letters
20.Pan right babies sleeping on bed to little girl teaching
STORYLINE:
Sitting down at a loom, 23-year-old Admire Kamara begins to weave.
It's hard to believe that four years ago, this young woman was part of the rebel movement that terrorized this West African nation for a decade, its fighters raping, maiming and killing adults and children.
SOUNDBITE (English) Admire Kamara, 23-year-old ex-child soldier:
"I joined the rebel force from 97'. They take me they go with me in the bush..eleven years (old) they gave me an AK 47, RPG for fights and they deploy me to surround the village for fights."
Three years since the conflict has ended and like thousands of others, Admire is trying to reclaim her life torn apart by the scourge of war.
SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"There's estimates of minimally 10,000 to 30,000 children who are directly affected or associated with the fighting forces. Our challenge at UNICEF has been to identify with those children and to provide them with specialized programs for reintegration such as schooling, skills training and reintegration in their home communities."
Released into the care of aid agencies, many spent months at centers designed to ease their way back into civilian life and are now reunited with relatives. These children are often subjected to extreme brutality - including physical torture, sexual violence and rape. It is widely believed that the number of children, especially girls, who served in various capacities in the armed groups is actually much higher.
SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, UNICEF:
"The children were tired of fighting. This artificial structure of being a combatant of being in charge of a certain platoon section, was an artificial construction that was based on coercion and extreme violence. So, the children welcomed the war to be over, but that didn't mean that it was easy for them to transition back into civilian life."
UNICEF says many child soldiers find it difficult to stay with their families. Many are in regions that were destroyed by the war, with no schools, job opportunities or enough food to go around. Some are rejected by their communities -- including members of their own families -- because of the atrocities they were forced to commit.
Caritas Makeni is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been helping child soldiers in the Freetown area since 1991. When the war ended, it set up care centers for ex-combatants, running a process of counseling, recreational activities and skills training.
Now the priority is the reintegration of these young people into society. Caritas Makeni attempts to trace parents and relatives or find a suitable foster family for ex-combatants. Once settled, they are supported with regular outreach visits, year-long skills training, help finding jobs, and access to health facilities and counseling.
Foday has benefited from this program. He was 9-years-old when the rebels took him to the bush to fight. He lost most of his family during the war and now lives with his uncle.
SOUNDBITE (English) Foday Kamara, 15-year-old ex. child soldier:
"I want to continue my education up to college. After college, study about law, I want to be a lawyer."
According to human rights groups, the former abductees are usually scarred for life, constantly reliving their maltreatment, living permanently with the knowledge that they had been forced to beat, maim or kill others, even their own parents and relatives, so as not to be beaten, maimed or killed themselves. Some of the girls face the additional burden of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Robert Shaw, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF:
"You are an immediate asset as a child, so when it comes to war, it's not any different. You become and immediate asset to carry ammunition,to carry a gun and to actually become actively involved in combat or you become abducted We would sort of look at a weapon, an AK47 a rifle used as a weapon. Here children were actively used as weapons."
Last year, The Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled that the recruitment or use of children under age 15 in hostilities is a war crime under customary international law. This landmark ruling may result in the first ever conviction for the recruitment of child soldiers.
The Court's ruling comes at a critical time when both girls and boys continue to be recruited to fight as soldiers in adult wars. Tens of thousands of child soldiers across the globe are forced to commit atrocities or are used as cooks, porters and for sexual purposes.
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Series
Category
Corporate Subjects
Creator
UNTV
Asset ID
U050802a