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 Archived page (may contain outdated information)24-08-2007 TV news footage DRAFT - SAVED for DC_ARCH - TV News Footage - Missing persons: an imperative to act ICRC video footage available for media professionals.
On the occasion of the Day of the Disappeared (30 August), the ICRC is calling for a renewed commitment of the international community to seriously address the neglected humanitarian tragedy of missing persons. This video contains testimonials from families of the Missing in Nepal, Georgia and Peru. Date & location: Georgia (June 2007), Peru (May 2007), Nepal (November 2006) In Nepal, nine months after the November 2006 peace agreement, more than 800 people are still missing. Around 200 people disappeared in the impoverished rural Bardiya district, in midwestern Nepal on the border with India. Most of these victims are members of the lower-caste Tharu ethnic group, indigenous to the region. When the hostilities subsided, a handful of families created an association for missing persons. With the assistance of the ICRC, this has grown into a district-wide committee comprising around 200 families, called the Conflict Victims’ Committee (CVC). A member of the CVC has a missing brother. He thinks the latter has been imprisoned and calls on the authorities to act: ''A family member missing is a big grief for all of us. During my brother's absence, there should be some form of compensation to our family by the government and they should take appropriate legal action. Our main request is to have our family member back" The pain is not just emotional; it can be financially crippling. Many times it is the breadwinner who goes missing. Left to support the family, wives and mothers often face a life of poverty as a spouse of a missing husband confides: "There is nobody at home to work. I have small children and I have to educate them . There is no income in the house and there is a huge financial problem. It's been five years since he went missing and there is still no news". The situation can be an administrative nightmare, since some countries allow years to pass before declaring a person officially dead or absent. This delay can seem like an eternity, as family members are unable to move on, sell property, remarry, or simply hold funeral rites. Justice is important The absence of information on the fate of a loved one makes it impossible for relatives to grieve and ultimately reach a sense of closure. Not knowing whether a loved one is alive or dead is the source of deep anguish. Often, what is lacking is the political will to tackle the problem. Teofilia Icha Izarbe, survivor of a massacre in Accomarca, Peru, which took place in 1985, says: "Even if it takes a long time for the truth to be revealed, I want the people who killed my mother to be brought to justice. My mother was innocent, My younger brothers who were 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 years old at the time were innocent, they had done nothing wrong. We still suffer greatly because of this." She adds: ''After all the necessary forensic tests take place, it is important that we are able to provide a Christian burial for my mother, for my brothers and sisters, but also for all the others." A recent notable achievement is the adoption of the United Nations International Convention Against Enforced Disappearance in December 2006, a legally binding document that prohibits enforced disappearances. An imperative to act While international organizations play an important role in the reconciliation process, national authorities must ultimately take the lead if a society’s wounds are to be healed. In Georgia, for example, the deadlock continues. In Tbilisi and in Sukhumi, memorials and a flame for soldiers missing in combat are being maintained by mothers of missing sons. The stones are engraved with names of young men, some with blank spaces for the dates of their deaths. "The previous head of state is responsible for the fact that we do not know anything about the fate of our children,'' says Nesta Dachiberidze, mother of missing son and member of Georgian State Commission in charge of searching for fighters lost in Abkhazia. She adds: ''The State does not have the means to assist either us or the commission. The commission has such meagre resources that it can only carry out burials and searches, but this is too little''. It is crucial that the families’ urgent need to clarify the fate of their loved ones be addressed. A difference can be made, as long as a far-reaching commitment exists. Though it may take a generation, it is vital to persevere and assist families of missing persons who deserve an answer. NEPAL Length: 2'08'' 00:00 cows in Nepal Teraï landscape country side 00:07 girl grinding cereals 00:17 people sitting on house roof 00:24 INTERVIEW member of missing relative who thinks his brother has been imprisoned "The disappearance of a family member is a big grief for all of us. During my brother's absence there should be some form of compensation to our family by the government and they should take appropriate legal action. Our main request is to have our family member back" 01:00 Women carrying straw in a basket 01:07 INTERVIEW spouse of missing husband Hukum Bahadur Sahi, village Sutaya, Thakurdwara, village community. "Nobody has been able to find him so far. Now there is peace in our country so there should be some kind of investigation. There is nobody at home to work, I have small children and I have to educate them. There is no income in the house and there is a huge financial problem. It's been five years since he went missing and there is still no news". 01:45 Family working on their roof top 01:47 Girl sieving flour 01:58 Country-side landscapes 02:08 END Nepal story ABKHAZIA-GEORGIA Length: 3'30'' 02:13 Abkhazia. Various inhabited buildings in ruins 02:32 Kichba Guli decorating the war victims memorial in Sukhumi, with flowers and the stone with the name of her missing son. 02:42 INTERVIEW During the war, there were numerous battles and in one of the attacks to liberate Sukhumi, on 15 -16 March 1993, my son Arzamet Tarba went missing. 02:58 close-up on names of missing soldiers 03:00 INTERVIEW Since then, I have had no information as to his whereabouts, where he is buried, my family and I do not know anything about his fate. 03:14 INTERVIEW Because of the uncertainty as to the fate of my son, my husband who is his father died prematurely. 03:25 INTERVIEW .The fate of mothers like me is unfortunately widespread. We all visit this memorial site and place flowers on the tombs of unknown soldiers. Mothers of missing sons decorating memorial in Sukhumi 03:52 Guards parading in front of unknown soldier flame in Tbilissi, Georgia 04:02 Nesta Dachiberidze decorating the war victims memorial in Tbilissi with flowers. 04:20 INTERVIEW Nesta Dachiberidze, mother of missing son and member of Georgian State Commission in charge of searching for fighter lost in Abkhazia ''We did not need this war. The result is that our children went missing and we have to continue living with deep suffering in our hearts'' 04:34 Meeting at the GCRT office in Tbilisi. Various 04:49 INTERVIEW Nesta Dachiberidze. ''The previous head of state is responsible for the fact that we do not know anything about the fate of our children'' 05:15 ICRC delegate Christopher Selbach 05:18 INTERVIEW Nesta Dachiberidze (as above) ''The State does not have the means to assist either us or the commission. The commission has such meagre resources that it can only carry out burials and searches, but this is too little''. 05:35 Nesta Dachiberidze decorating the war victims memorial in Tbilissi with flowers 05:43 ENDS of Abkhazia – Georgia story PERU Length: 3'46'' In May 2007, a mass grave was exhumed near the village of Accormarca in Peru. The remains of 62 people were unearthed, mostly women, pregnant women, elderly persons and children. They had been assassinated in August 1985 at the height of the conflict between the Peruvian army and the Marxist Shining Path movement. The victims were taken from the village of Accomarca and brought to a mud house where they were executed with machine guns and grenades. Dismembered bodies were then set on fire and put in a nearby grave. The process of exhumation is very slow and the ICRC is encouraging the authorities to speed up the process. The ICRC also helps the families financially so they can come to the exhumation sites. Family relatives, many of whom fled to the capital Lima during the war, camp on the site while anthropologists from the National Legal Medical Institute are at work for 10 days. 05:47 Various. Children looking at mass grave exhumation. 06:20 INTERVIEW Carolina Quispe, human rights lawyer supporting the victims’ association. "It is an important event, not only for the families but also for the community. After 22 years, they are starting to believe that they might see justice done, that those responsible for this massacre will be punished and that this episode in the country's history will be known to everyone and never be repeated." 06:43 crane 06:51 INTERVIEW Carolina Quispe, human rights lawyer supporting the victims’ association. ''Look at the bodies totally destroyed, some of the bones and human remains are burnt similar to their clothing. We found grenades embedded in their bones and we found a lot of childrens' bones as well as bones of new-born babies.'' 07:14 various shots of people, children watching exhumation process 07:36 boxes with identified human remains 07:41 close-up of paper bags containing human remains 07:41 ICRC delegate and forensic officers sieving earth to find human remains. various. 08:04 village meeting around the mass grave with Accomarca community official speaking to villagers SOUND IN "We have fought a hard battle against impunity, we have struggled long and hard thanks to NGOs and other entities that have supported us.'' 08:16 INTERVIEW Teofilia Icha Izarbe, massacre survivor "When they opened the mass grave, we started crying. We remembered everything that we had gone through. It was very sad to see the fate of our loved ones. After all the necessary forensic tests take place, it is important that we are able to provide a Christian burial for my mother, for my brothers and sisters, but also for all the others." 08:40 Landscape of Accomarca area, villagers on camping site near the mass grave for the day 08:47 INTERVIEW Teofilia Icha Izarbe, massacre survivor "Even if it takes a long time for the truth to be revealed, I want the people who killed my mother to be brought to justice. My mother was innocent, My younger brothers who were 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 years old at the time were innocent, they had done nothing wrong. We still suffer greatly because of this. Right now I remember all that happened and it hurts. I don't want to stay here (crying)…" 09:11 Camp site with villagers 09:33 ENDS |
