Cry Freetown: “The Price of Bearing Witness”

“Cry Freetown” What the Papers Say
“THE PRICE OF BEARING WITNESS” THE STAR - JOHANNESBURG, 26/01/00 Sierra Leone was a no-go zone for journalists after rebel forces attacked Freetown early last year. Word was out that journalists were being hunted, and when one of their number was burnt by the rebels, the foreign media fled. It was left to a remarkably brave, lone UNICEF cameraman to cover the horrors that were happening in his own country, and Sorious Samuraís deeply disturbing images of the devastation were aired on Special Assignment last night onSABC3. Sierra Leone: Out of Africa is very different to other TV documentaries which have investigated African wars. Its uncensored level of violence shows, for the first time, the full extent of human suffering ñ and it is precisely those images which drew massive debate abroad. This shocking truth on film stalled the screening of the documentary until a couple of weeks ago, when Channel 4 finally aired it in Britain with minor cuts. The fact that Samura won two major awards for the documentary alerted global networks such as CNN International to its importance. But the question that broadcasters felt they had to ask before they could put it on air was this: are viewers ready to see real violence and unexpurgated brutality on screen? Itís a serious polemic, as The Sunday Times in London noted earlier this month. Is the televising of maimed and dead bodies and the torture of human beings voyeurism of the most evil kind ñ or is it bearing witness? Also: can the presence of a camera encourage ruthless killers among the ranks of soldiers and rebels to commit even worse atrocities? Samura believed that since the West had effectively abandoned Sierra Leone and no one outside the country knew what was going on, he had to show them everything in an effort to stop the carnage. Our belief is that Samura has shown tremendous bravery, which deserves our respect. And one way of showing that respect is to face up to the truth about events on our own continent.

“Cry Freetown”

What the Papers Say

THE STAR - JOHANNESBURG, 26/01/00

Sierra Leone was a no-go zone for journalists after rebel forces attacked Freetown early last year. Word was out that journalists were being hunted, and when one of their number was burnt by the rebels, the foreign media fled. It was left to a remarkably brave, lone UNICEF cameraman to cover the horrors that were happening in his own country, and Sorious Samuraís deeply disturbing images of the devastation were aired on Special Assignment last night onSABC3.

Sierra Leone: Out of Africa is very different to other TV documentaries which have investigated African wars. Its uncensored level of violence shows, for the first time, the full extent of human suffering ñ and it is precisely those images which drew massive debate abroad. This shocking truth on film stalled the screening of the documentary until a couple of weeks ago, when Channel 4 finally aired it in Britain with minor cuts.

The fact that Samura won two major awards for the documentary alerted global networks such as CNN International to its importance. But the question that broadcasters felt they had to ask before they could put it on air was this: are viewers ready to see real violence and unexpurgated brutality on screen?

Itís a serious polemic, as The Sunday Times in London noted earlier this month. Is the televising of maimed and dead bodies and the torture of human beings voyeurism of the most evil kind ñ or is it bearing witness? Also: can the presence of a camera encourage ruthless killers among the ranks of soldiers and rebels to commit even worse atrocities?

Samura believed that since the West had effectively abandoned Sierra Leone and no one outside the country knew what was going on, he had to show them everything in an effort to stop the carnage.

Our belief is that Samura has shown tremendous bravery, which deserves our respect. And one way of showing that respect is to face up to the truth about events on our own continent.