Title: ANGOLA's ORPHANS and ANGOLA MINE ACTION PROGRAMME

Duration: 9'16 mins
Date: 12 - 13 November 2005
Location: Mavinga (Provinces of Kuando Kubango) and Kuito and Andulo (Province of Bié )
Produced by: Philippe Dahinden - Patrick Mounoud
Source: ICRC - access all
Preview (RealMedia stream 56Kbs - 128kbs):
Angola-12-05

This report will be distributed free-to-air and rights free over the European Broadcasting Union Eurovision network and Eurovision Worldfeed on Thursday 24th November 2005, at 1400-1410 GMT.

For broadcast tapes and information on footage: Virginie Miranda, ICRC, Geneva,

For further information, please contact: Marco Jimenez Rodriguez, ICRC Geneva tel ++41 79 217 3217
70576

STORY

ANGOLA'S ORPHANS

ICRC HELPS FOUR ORPHANS OF WAR RE-UNITE WITH THEIR FAMILY

It was Angola's 30th anniversary of independence on November 11, but for many there has been little reason to celebrate. Twenty-five years of war may have ended three years ago, but the country is still struggling to get back on its feet, and many families continue to search for lost loved ones, including children. According to the ICRC over 18,000 people remain unaccounted for, and from January to May, 2005 it registered 35 new cases of unaccompanied children. The challenge is to re-unite these children with their parents or other family members.

On November 12, 2005, four brothers and sisters, Teresa, 13 years old, Amelia, 11 years old, Valentino, 9 years old and Andrade, 4 years old, were re-united with the family of their Uncle Frederico Baptista and his three wives, Magdalena, Victoria and Luzia, after three years of separation. Liv Halpern, an ICRC delegate, explains: "Those children were escaping some fighting with their parents, in more or less 2002, at the very end of the conflict in Angola. And the father was killed during the battle and the mother was very seriously wounded, so, she was taken to this hospital here in Mavinga with the kids, but unfortunately she died as a result of her wounds."

The children were taken in by a local orphanage and registered by the Angolan Red Cross Society. The eldest of the four, Teresa, was able to recall the name of one of her uncles, Joao Baptista, and the ICRC traced him to his home in Andulo in the neighbouring province of Bié.

In order to re-unite the family, the ICRC took the exceptional step of chartering a plane. Travelling by road wasn't an option as the region is littered with unexploded mines. Instead, the children took to the freedom of the skies, making a detour of 600 kilomtres via Kuito, rather than the 150-kilometre direct trip by road from Mavinga to Andulo.

On November 12, ICRC delegate, Liv Halperin, travelled to Mavinga to pick up the children and accompany them by plane to Kuito, the capital of Bié province. From there they travelled by jeep to their final destination, Andulo. They arrived in the dead of night, delayed en route because of a violent storm. Despite the late hour, and the darkness, the family was re-united amidst tears and shrieks of joy.

The next day, Francisco Savate, an ICRC tracing officer, saw that the children were already well on their way to making themselves at home with their new family, one which now numbers 17 children. As he says, the ICRC, in collaboration with the Angolan Ministry for Social Integration, will continue to visit the family to "make sure they have integrated well.

One of Joao Baptista's wives, Luzia Lulembo, said the reunion "was better than Christmas! Everyone stayed up late listening to the children's stories about what they had been through."

The children will now be able to fulfil a great wish, which is to go to school. The eldest, Teresa, who brought a chicken as a present for her new family, said her mother "was always encouraging us to study so we could become teachers, like our father." They are not alone; over a million children remain out of school in Angola.

One of ICRC's principle activities in Angola is to trace displaced people and those who have become separated by war. With the help of the Angolan Red Cross Society, the ICRC, has succeeded in finding children separated from their parents, or finding the parents of children who have been registered as orphans or unaccompanied minors. In these cases, the ICRC organises the re-uniting of the family, transporting the children back to their original or other family member's home. Since January 2005, 35 new unaccompanied children were registered (1'878 since 2002) and 31 unaccompanied children were reunited with their families, out of which 19 exclusively by the ICRC (1'060 since 2002, out of which 464 exclusively by the ICRC).



SHOTLIST

00:00 two aerial shots from plane, flying from Luanda to Mavinga
00:07 interior of plane
00:14 ITW Liv Halperin, ICRC delegate, speaking from plane seat:

"C'est toujours des cas de séparations par la guerre, mais il y a différent scénarios, il y a des enfants qui ont été simplement perdus dans une attaque, dans la confusion générale, tous le monde est parti dans des directions différentes, et là l'enfant s'est perdu. Il y a avait aucun moyen pour les parent de retrouver cet enfant, donc l'enfant a souvent été accueilli, par exemple, par un tuteur ou par une famille d'accueil, parfois il était emmené comme enfant soldat, parfois il s'est engagé, et il a perdu contact avec ses parents. Parfois les parents meurent en présence de l'enfant et l'enfant est accueilli par un proche, en fin par le tuteur. Il y a plusieurs scénarios, mais c'est toujours assez dramatique."

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: "It is always the case that people get separated in war, but there are various ways it can happen. Some children simply get lost during the general confusion of an attack, when everybody is running in different directions. The parents have been unable to find their child, so often the child is taken in, for example, by a guardian or by a foster family, sometimes they are taken on as child soldiers, other times they volunteer to fight – these are children who have lost contact with their parents. Sometimes they witness their parents being killed, and are then taken in by a relative, or by a guardian. There are various outcomes, but it is always dramatic".

00:53 End of Liv Halperin soundbite
00:54 view of sky out of plane window
01:02 view out of plane window, plane just landed
01:07 Woman with baby walking in village Mavinga, where orphanage is
01:11 Other woman in orphanage building shelter with sticks and tarpaulin
01:16 Little orphan boy runs out of tent past old woman
01:20 Three orphan children in shot, bottom left (Andrade) and top middle (Valentino) boys are part of family ICRC is re-uniting.
01:27 Liv Halperin talking with volunteer from Angolan Red Cross at orphanage
01:32 Eldest sister (Teresa, wearing a yellow skirt) with live chicken in her hand to offer to her foster family.
01:36 Three orphan boys looking at camera
01:38 Elsest sister (Teresa, yellow skirt) carrying little boy places him on back of pick-up truck, to go to Mavinga Airstrip.
01:42 exterior of truck
01:46 drives past school with mortar shots on wall
01:50 Liv Halperin holding one of the children and others in back of pick.up truck

01:54 ITW Liv Halperin on Mavinga airstrip with plane in background:
"Those children were, they are from the region here, they were escaping some fighting with their parents, in more or less 2002, at the very end of the conflict in Angola. And the father was killed during the battle and the mother was very seriously wounded, so, she was taken to this hospital here in Mavinga with the kids, but unfortunately she died as a result of her wounds, and the kids were taken to the orphanage and that's where we found them, the orphanage. Our volunteers that you've met today, registered these kids in the orphanage and we started looking for the family because we realised they had lost everything."

02:28 Liv Halperin and younger sister (Amelia) looking out plane window
02:32 Brother (Valentino, who was top middle at 01:20) sitting in plane seat, flying to Kuito
02:34 Teresa, eldest sister (yellow skirt) on plane holding younger brother, Andrade
02:38 Liv Halperin and other plane passengers seated on plane
02:41 Teresa on plane holding younger brother Andrade (wider shot than before)
02:45 Four children and Liv Halperin disembarked from plane in Kuito. Andrade is picked up by the ICRC tracing officer (Francisco Savate), they are being handed over to ICRC field team who will take them to their uncle's home in Andulo.
02:49 Younger sister Amelia
02:51 Liv Halperin says good bye to the children, just outside of plane
03:00 exterior of ICRC Land Cruiser on road, which is taking children on a two-hour trip to their Uncle's home in Andulo
03:03 Eldest sister Teresa and brother Valentino seated in car
03:12 View through windshield of grey stormy weather, lightening, and rain
03:22 Night shot, ICRC vehicle arrives at Uncle's home in Andulo, children get out of vehicle, and wives of the uncle rush towards the children to embrace them, older sister has chicken in her hand as a present – scene is lit by vehicle's lights.
03:43 Children walk towards the house
03:50 Next day (13 November), daytime, younger sister Amelia is washing her little brother Andrade
03:57 Filming through doorway of younger sister washing her little brother with all of family looking on. The addition of these four children will make the uncle's family one of 17 children.
04:01 Magdalena, one of uncle's wives carrying baby.
04:04 Luzia, third one of uncle's wives carrying youngest brother.
04:10 ITW ICRC tracing officer, name Francisco Savate:

"Après ce qu'on a fait, on aura pratiquement deux visites de courtoisie, pour voir comment les enfants se sentent, si ils sentent vraiment intégrés ou pas".

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: After this, we will do two follow-up visits to see how the children are doing, and whether they have integrated well with their uncle's family or not.

04:23 Magdalena, Luzia and Victoria, the three wives of uncle Joao Baptista, singing
04:29 ITW One of uncle's wives, name Luzia Kulembe, in Umbundu (local language).

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"Yesterday was better than Christmas! Everyone stayed up late listening to the children's stories about what they had been through."


04:38 Face of eldest daughter Teresa pans to face of younger sister Amelia
04:47 ITW Eldest sister Teresa speaks in Umbundu (local language)

"Our mother was always encouraging us to study so we could become teachers like our father."

04:55 Wives singing
04:58 Youngest brother Andrade dancing to their song
05:06 END of SEQUENCE


ANGOLAN CITY IN RUINS

VARIOUS OF KUITO CITY DEVASTATED BY YEARS OF WAR

Date shot: 14 November 2005
Duration: 1'11''

00:00 Truck drives past camera on its way from Andulo to Kuito
00:13 Various buildings in central Kuito all severely damaged
00:17 Little children playing in street
00:23 A collapsed building
00:25 Women carrying parcels on their head walk past battered building wall
00:29 Damaged exterior of what remains of Kuito train station, lone man leaning on wall at entrance
00:32 Train, not moving, on train line which leads from Benguela, Angola on the coast, to Zambia and South Africa
00:34 Destroyed church
00:41 Damaged buildings, street intersection in foreground, people walking across
00:43 Close-up of damaged walls
00:45 Industrial quarter, also in ruins
00:48 Men re-surfacing building exterior
00:51 Severely damaged apartment block, where people are still living and can be seen on the balconies
00:55 Pan from attractive Angolan woman to a damaged wall
01:01 Collapsed building, people walking by
01:11 END of SEQUENCE


ANGOLA MINE ACTION PROGRAMME

ICRC RAISES VILLAGE CHILDREN'S AWARENESS OF LANDMINES DANGER

Date shot: 13 November 2005
Location: Village of Calumbulo, 12km from Kuito (Province of Bié)
Duration: 3'06''
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In the centre of Angola, in a village called Calumbulo, 10 kilometres away from Kuito. Angolan Red Cross volunteers are educating children about the dangers of landmines and explosive remnants of war. These mines lie scattered across the Bié province region, a legacy of decades of war which ended only three years ago. Through art, game and song, the children learn about the risks of being mutilated from setting off a mine, and precautions to take in case they come across one.

Among the volunteers is Alfredo Luzo, a 36-year-old teacher who himself lost a leg twenty years ago when, unaware of the danger, he jumped on a mine on his way to school. Before the accident, he had dreamed of joining the army or even the ministry of defence. Now, thanks to a prosthetic limb given to him at an ICRC orthopaedic centre, he can teach and also cultivate his land. "I am contributing to peace by warning people of the dangers of mines, unlike some amputees who would like everyone to be like them," he says.

The mural the volunteers paint in Calumbulo is another way of raising awareness among the children of the dangers posed by unexploded mines. The colour green represents mines, and red, danger signs. "In this region, it is crucial children know the risks," explains Leonardo Gonçalves, communications officer at the ICRC's Luanda offices, who at the age of six also lost a leg when he was struck by a piece of shrapnel. "We have to let children know where it is safe to play," he says, "because they often play with unexploded mines when they find them." The title of the mural is "Andar Nos Caminhos Seguros", which means "Walk the safe way". Children are taught to return home and alert other villagers if they come across a suspicious object.

Local authorities, such as the traditional chief, or soba, work in association with the efforts of the Angolan Red Cross Society, supported by the ICRC. They know the dangers left in the ground around them. Bié province, situated on a high plateau in the centre of Angola, was one of the most badly affected regions during the civil war. What was once the church and train station in the provincial capital of Kuito have all but been destroyed. It is here that the ICRC is supporting an orthopaedic centre.

The ICRC supports three orthopaedic centres of the Ministry of Health, the one in Kuito, and two others in Huambo and Luanda. Since 1979, when the ICRC started its activities in Angola, over 29,000 prostheses have been manufactured in these orthopaedic centres.

ICRC technical and financial support contributes to around 50% of the prosthetic and orthotic services currently provided in Angola. These services, which also include physiotherapy and accommodation, are available free of charge to the disabled, notably to mine victims.

In addition to rehabilitation, the ICRC supports the Angolan Red Cross Society's mine action programme in the Provinces of Bié and Benguela.

The objective is to make communities affected by mines and other unexploded ordnance sensitive to the dangers. Angolan Red Cross Society volunteers work mainly with groups particularly at risk such as children, farmers, hunters and people collecting firewood.

The forty mine action programme volunteers visit approximately 30 villages every month. Their first task is to make sure that people understand how mines and unexploded ordnance affect them as they go about their daily and seasonal activities. ICRC also works towards creating safe areas for children to play and for farmers to cultivate in coordination with Angola's National Inter-Sectoral Commission for De-mining and Humanitarian Assistance (CNIDAH).

______________________________________________________

For up-to-date information about mine issues in Angola, the following can be consulted:

Landmine Monitor http://www.icbl.org/lm/2005/angola.
E-mine network http://mineaction.org
ICRC's landmines focus section

- The war has left an estimated 6 million unexploded explosive devices scattered across the country.
- As of 30th March 2004, Angola's National De-mining Institute has estimated there are 4000 mine fields in the country
- According to estimates, 75 per cent of the population is considered to be at risk from mines and explosive remnants of war

Source: Explosive remnants of war and mines other than anti-personnel mines – Global survey 2003-2004, a joint publication by Mines Action Canada, Actiongroup landmine.de, and landmine action UK

______________________________________________________

SHOTLIST


00:00 Wide shot of villagers with Angolan Red Cross Society staff, singing and clapping
00:09 Various close-ups of children singing
00:20 Adult villagers looking on
00:24 Additional various close-ups of children singing
00:31 Alfredo Luzo, Angolan Red Cross Society volunteer, talking to the children
00:42 ITW in Umbundu language. Name: Alfredo Luzo, 36-year-old teacher and volunteer at Angolan Red Cross Society:
"I am contributing to peace by warning people and making them aware of the danger of mines, unlike some amputees who would like everyone to be like them."
01:04 END of ITW

01:05 Various of mural being painted with red paint representing danger, and green paint representing mines.
01:20 ITW in English. Name: Leonardo Goncalves, communications officer, ICRC Luanda:
"Here in this region the children must to be informed about mines risks, because these villages are very affected by mines."
01:33 END of ITW

01:36 Second ITW clip with Leonardo Goncalves, referring to the title of the mural:

"To walk on safe side, on the safe way. It's mean that children must be informed where they have to play, because sometimes in this area they used to plays with UXO."
(UXO = unexploded ordnance)

01:57 END of ITW

01:57 The soba or traditional chief of Calumbulo, Gabriel Mbeu, speaking in Umbundu (no translation), explaining to the children why not to pick up mines, telling them if they happened to see such a device they should return immediately to the village and indicate to them where they saw it.
02:22 Various of village children jumping and singing
02:32 Feet of child dancing
02:34 Feet and crutch of Alfredo Luzo as he dances
02:39 Various of children singing and jumping
02:47 Little girl starts hopping on one foot as if to symbolise people who have lost a limb
02:51 Various of children singing
03:06 END of film