Name: MPW London 2019: Exploring the Crisis of Children in the Middle East
Uploaded: 2019-06-06
Duration: 19 min 31 s
Description: Exposing atrocities to change the lives of a generation with filmmaker Khadija Al-Salami and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International.

Might 3 might have said also that Haleigh was prime minister of Denmark for four years before taking this job that is her great passion. Tell me what's top of mind for you right now. Well when we talk about Yemen I think it's one of the most forgotten crisis on this planet. But as we will also talk about it is perhaps the worst humanitarian disaster going on right now. And what we're seeing in Save the Children is that Yemen is perhaps the worst place to be a child right now on the whole globe. And many of you will not know that because it is not covered in the media. And what we are trying to do today with Lena's help is to try and shed a light on this because so you also have the power to start talking about this wherever you go. And on our stage as well, we have a very courageous filmmaker Cateega. We are going to give you a glimpse of her work, right now. Roll the camera. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Sanna is one of the oldest cities in the world. With 2, 500 years of history. Today it is devastated. My country Yemen has been under bombs for three years. Few images have reached you. Few journalists can venture there. I wanted to make a film to testify what the population is going through. And then I met Ahmed, his sister, and his nephew. From his window, Ahmed tries to shoot the planes down. [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] Since March 2015, for the children, the threats come from the sky. [ SOUND ] Since the coalition of nine Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, the rebel held areas of Yemen have been pounded non- stop, causing thousands of civilian deaths. [ SOUND ] [ FOREIGN ] [ SOUND ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ SOUND ] Since the beginning of the bombings, [ UNKNOWN ] has been obsessed with war. Let us study! And if not? [ SOUND ] Let us study. Mommy Ahmed's is bothering us [ FOREIGN ] He's obsessed with finding a weapon to fight with. He has become uptight and at the same time very sensitive. It's true we children have changed. My name is Rima and I'm 8. I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up. I'm Ahmed, I'm 11. My name's Youssef, I'm 9. Ahmed is my uncle and Rima is my aunt. I don; t like to play war. If I survive this war, I want to be a dentist. [ MUSIC ] Wow. [ APPLAUSE ] Kadisha is from Yemin and before she left to go to school in the United States, before she started a 20- year career Making films about the plight of women. She was married at age 11, married off as a bride, and divorced and had to kind of get out of that situation. Tell us really briefly about your life and how you were able to get back into Yemen To tell that particular story. Well, if I tell you my whole story, we'll take it the whole day but I just want to tell you I mean a lot of you heard the human. So I grow up in this country where the weight of tradition marginalizes human rights. Where the personal freedom of women doesn't exist although we're supposed to be born free. And unfortunately I grow up in a family where my father was mentally ill so I witnessed all the injustice and the violence against my own mother. Who was beaten everyday by my father and one day he slapped her tongue in front of me. It was a horrifying experience. So as a child I was traumatized by what was happening around me. But then when I started school. I was very happy. It was almost my refuge from all these violence and abuses at home and I knew at that time my life would change through education but unfortunately it did not. Took long time. When my family Decided to marry me off at the age of 11. I was devastated. And. I have an 11 year old daughter. I just, I was saying to you, I just can't imagine. Can't imagine. And you find yourself as a child fighting your own family who's supposed to protect you. And then fighting the whole society at that time. Just for your basic rights to education and to live my childhood which I never had. So on the worst thing that I was disowned by my family twice. Once when I wads five, my paternal family disowned me because they didn't want to pay Child custody. And then the 11 years old when I asked for divorce by my paternal. So I would not get into detail by the divorce but yeah, and it's a it's an incredible story and again, you were you were educated in the United States American University. And then you started making films about women like yourself. What? And then just to fast forward to this film, how did you get back into the country? Because you weren't exactly a favorite child there? [ LAUGH ] Well, it's true at the beginning of my life. I wasn't a bad example. But later on when they saw the result, I became the best example. Not only for my family but for other families who encourage their daughter to follow into my step. [ LAUGH ] So New and to get back into Yemen to do a story about the war. You were with a UN organization? That was the hardest part, because it took me two years to get into Yemen, because as you know, all the airports were bombed. And not only the airport schools every infrastructure. The roads everything and that there is also the imposed blockade on Yemen. A total blockade by air sea and land and Yemenists cannot get in or out so we have to take the permission from the Saudi authority in order to get into your own country. And that it took me two years after unsuccessful attempt, finally I was able to go with the humanitarian [ INAUDIBLE ] And I was able to go and make this film. And [ UNKNOWN ] tells us as CEO of Save the Children Tell us about your personal experience with Yemen, you've had some personal experience. Yeah, I've been there as well and I think it's amazing that you could know the country a little bit. It's amazing you could get in there and I'm sure there was also issues around your Own personal safety. So I just want to thank you for sharing your story. I think it's immensely important for all of us. And I was in Yemen, because Save the Children is very large, and we work in Yemen. We have been working in Yemen for years. And many of you might not know this But some part of Yemen is controlled by the government, which is like the Aden read region and then there's a sauna region which is controlled by the who sees and they've been fighting for for more than five years now Is this is the fifth yera Yes five years now. So we're in the fifth year of this completely man- made war. Yemen is a country that was never self- sufficient in terms of food. And now it's in a stage where they need to have everything from outside. And it's impossible to get into Yemen with things because there's a blockade. So this is a very hard war. It's being fought in a very hard way on both sides, both the who sees and the government which is supported by the the Saudi government and the United Arab Emirates. It's a stalemate situation right now, even though they happen Peace talks. The suffering comes from the fact that there is not possible to get in with supplies. Medicine, health services, food, Save the Children has been aught in a blockade for many, many months now, and we spend more time In checkpoints then we do actually getting access with things and that means all this means that the people who are suffering most are children. Children in Yemen are dying from hunger. A very low estimate says that at 100, 000 children has died from hunger. I sat with one of those children in my arms. She was eight months old, she had the weight of a new born. And if her mother had not found courage that day to come to the health clinic that Save the Children is running I'm not sure that that baby had survived the day or the week, and that is the situation. That is how children are dying of malnutrition and hunger. And what's interesting about the film too, there's the death, there's the kids being bombed, but there's also that emotional psychological- Yeah. Toll on these kids that wanted to be a dentist and a pediatrician and What do you see worldwide when children who grow up in that environment. It's so interesting with children and you would have seen that when you made the film as well. Because I mean I traveled in Yemen. I saw makeshift Camp, that was even a refugee camp. It was just like a piece of land where people have put their top holdings it wasn't even tents. And we were given vaccinations under a tree. I mean this is 2019 and these are children who gets vaccinations under a tree, not hygienic, not anything that it should, Basically, but at least we got to those children. But the other thing is then you meet sometimes we we have this chat trap child friendly space that we make in those kinda settings. And then you see the children and that's what you caught on camera as well. Where you see that there is still hope in the eyes of these children and you ask them what are you going to do like little girls, 11 years old. What are you going to do when you grow up. I always ask that question and they always say, I want to go to school, I don't want to marry. They say that quite freely to me perhaps because I'm a woman, I don't want to marry, I want to go to school. Even though whatever they've been through, there's still that glimmer of hope in their eyes as you've caught on camera as well. What did you find in the? What was the biggest revelation to you being with as children? And I you said you just. You found that boy with the rifle shooting at the jet fighter, which is quite a powerful image. And you knew that was a story, yeah. Exactly, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do when I went to Yemen. But I knew that I had to lift the veil of this world, because it's deliberately hidden. They don't want you to see the crime, and what's happening over there. So as I walking to my home, and I saw this kid [ UNKNOWN ] Strength issue down the [ UNKNOWN ], the bumbling, and I was traumatized. This boy is carrying a gun. I knocked the door and I want to talk to the mother, and I said how can you give your son a gun? She said don't worry, it's an old rifle. He thinks he's been traumatized since the war so other than he thinks he can shoot down The Palmer Police. He's trying to protect us, it's not that he has some violent impulse. Yes. In some ways it's a protective impulse, he's trying to protect this unity. Exaclty that's when I got the idea to do a throham and because we didn't have time I had to film with. With three cameras spontaneously and they were the real reporters of the film. They were the one they would go and ask questions. But what made that interesting like you said, there is glimmer of hope in these children. And they want to do something. And then this project gave them a great hope because they found themselves that they can exit. And they can do something, and they changed You see along the film, if an amateur was violent, he became totally different and he start crying and before there is no way that you can make him cry from meeting everybody and asking questions About the war, why this war is happening to them. It's just amazing. They made me laugh all the time and the same time I was crying. So that's the hope, still and these children and these youth, but this war had stop. Is there any questions about this hidden war in the audience? I wanted to get your perspective on why isn't this on the front page of newspapers? Why is it going on without world attention? Because no one cares about Yemen. And there is so much interest in this work. Pardon? There is so much interest, money in this work. Yeah, there's always an economy of war when a war has been going on for long enough, there's always an economy of way that people out there who are making money. It's the same in Syria, it's the same in Yemen, anywhere there's a war There's a big war economy that's thriving from the fact that it's there. Because there's a black market for food and tobacco and [ UNKNOWN ] and there's so many things that comes with a war where there's so much money. So there's always a strong interest to stop a war, but what the case in Yemen in my view is that no one cares really about Yemen. The Saudis don't care. The Iranians don't really care. Americans don't care. There are no big interest, and as long as that is the case, it is actually the plight or the responsibility for the rest of us To be there and talk for anyone to go in and stop this war. And for the international community to do that. You will have met the same. When I went there I met so many mothers, and children actually, who just said to me, you're here now, you're going in a few days. Go and tell people what's happening here and when you guys asked do I want to be here, yes of course because it's our obligation once we've been there on the ground in Yemen to tell you what's happening so everyone can know This can no longer go on. It's a man made war entirely. There's no reason for this war to happen. And we all have a responsibility just a tiny responsibility to try and speak up for those children The noise registers that what they said I was so surprised with their monies they still have so much of course they didn't have the hope and the airports or the leaders, but they have so much open the European People and also the American people. They said, well, the they have resistance. These people are attached to the human values and they are the one they're hoping that they would make pressure on their politicians. And a whole world make pressure on Saudi Arabia and their collisions stop this war. But this hope is still there and I hope they are right. How can people see your film? How can these people in this audience in your audience see this film. I can send a link to it if anybody is interesting but it's been showing out, hopefully And the French TV, German, Australian, Japanese, Chinese, it's all over. And I was happy that it's been seen. Since it's been shown on French TV, all the journalists start talking about the war. And some were able to go there, even though they have difficulty, it was not that easy. But at least they were harassing the politicians with their questions and also asking them to stop this war. And [ UNKNOWN ] final thoughts on the importance of storytelling and humanizing these situations in order to change policy and to get the attention of Political leaders which you were. [ LAUGH ] Yeah, I just think we have to put faces on the wall, the child that I said she had a mother just sat next to me. They love their children as much as we do. They have done nothing to deserve this, and the victims of war, or the hardest hit victims of war are the people who have nothing to do with it. Yemen is actually a lovely country, nice food, lovely, lovely people, and nice coastline. Her Majesty the Queen of this country went on her honeymoon, I think, to Yemen. Quite a few years back, it's a lovely country with an amazing culture, so obviously, it's where the three wise men did their shopping before they came to Jesus. [ LAUGH ] If you read your Bible. So it's a lovely country with a big story, so I just think we have to Recognize that this is a neighboring country of Europe, like Syria is. These are people that didn't. Some people were telling me out there, they also got a lot of jokes in German, they're saying before we didn't know who was Sunni and who was Shia. We didn't discuss it like this and now they've been put into these boxes. So actually very fun, cool people that want to engage with the rest of the world and we can do things. I also think we can't let ourselves be stopped by hopelessness. There's nothing to do Of course a man made war can be stopped by men and women. And we just have to do a little bit to talk about this to, and that's why your film I'm so in awe of what you've been doing. Your life story I think is amazing, that you get to tell this story. And we should all see your film. Thank you. And Hello. Thank you both for bringing this to light. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: Exploring the Crisis of Children in the Middle East 

Leadership

Exposing atrocities to change the lives of a generation with filmmaker Khadija Al-Salami and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International.