One Day the Soldiers Came - Charles London [118]
As for films, Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk’s documentary account of the Lost Boys coming to America, Lost Boys of Sudan, gives an insightful look at the resettlement process as it is experienced by Sudanese youths.
Burma: State of Fear, a film by FRONTLINE/World reporter Evan Williams, provides a look into the repressive nation of Myanmar. Williams traveled undercover to Burma (also known as Myanmar) to expose the violence and oppression carried out by Burma’s government against its own people.
Total Denial by Milena Kanev, is the inspiring story of fifteen villagers from the jungles of Burma whose quest for justice eventually lead them to bring suit in a U.S. court against two oil giants—UNOCAL and TOTAL—for human-rights abuse. The filmmaker’s “guide” during this journey was Ka Hsaw Wa, described by Kerry Kennedy in her book Speak Truth to Power as “a man of incredible courage and commitment, with the firm belief that one man can make a difference.”
A sensitive look at the lives of three different children around the world can be found in Living Rights by Duco Tellegen, which explores dilemmas facing three young people on three different continents.
One of the most affecting films relating to issues of war and forgiveness is Videoletters (http:www.videoletters.net), which creates lines of communication between former enemies in ethnic conflicts. Beginning in the Balkans, the project has now spread to Rwanda and the volatile Caucasus region.
Finally, Promises, a film by Justine Shapiro, B. Z. Goldberg, and Carlos Bolado, follows the lives of seven Israeli and Palestinian children filmed over four years as they develop a sense of who they are and who they are supposed to become. Its sequel, Promises: Four Years On, is a sobering return to the children’s lives and a study of what happens to children of conflict as they grow up.
Of course, donating money to the organizations listed above is an essential way to help, as is learning about these issues and speaking out to policy makers to create more effective global responses to humanitarian crises and ensuring that children’s concerns are not overlooked by those in power. You can organize reading and discussion groups, write to your local paper and to your representatives in Congress, and organize community support for refugees living in this country. The only real solution to these problems, however, is for each and every one of us to work towards a society where opportunities abound for every child and where the next generation will inherit peace as their birthright.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
One doesn’t write a book like this alone. Since the project began, I have benefited from the kindness, wisdom, patience, and generosity of countless individuals and organizations, some of whom I would like to thank here, in what paltry way these end papers can. I assure the reader, the best parts of this book I owe to the following people and organizations, while any and all errors are entirely my own.
Travel and research were made possible by the generous financial support of Jay Gouline, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and Ed Vinson and the Mills Corporation.
The staff of Refugees International has been unbelievably helpful in every step of this project. Ken Bacon’s initial faith in the idea and in me made the entire endeavor possible. Without the amazing support of the development team over the years—Michelle Kucerack, Antonia Blackwood, Scott Shirmer, and Haida McGovern—I never would have gone on that first mission. It is, however, the advocates who took me into the field with them to whom I owe my greatest debt. Their hard work and patience in the face of surly militiamen, lazy bureaucrats, foreign bacteria, traumas real and imagined, and the odd volcano, as well as their sharp insights and amazing sensitivity to affected