Its not just about Politics, though Politics is also important here.
Its not just about numbers, though Numbers are important too..
It’s about Faces, So many of them…..
Faces who have seen too much in too little a time. …
Here you see many slums , but no millionaires.
You will find travellers but no destination….
These are internally displaced People of SWAT.
Many of them settled in IDP camps established..
at Mardan, Nowshehra and other areas,
while the majority chose to stay independent.
A large portion of these displaced people arrived at Karachi
where they are living with their relatives, or rented houses
with high rents. This is there story.
Bonier is situated around 60 miles from Islamabad.
An idyllic place with a history full of traditions, simplicity and peace.
All this changed one fine morning….
The terror had finally arrived Taliban’s.
They came with colourful Promises.
The promise of quick justice,
Divine Law, Sharia.
Soon the terror removed its masks and unveiled its true face.
The recent Operation by Pakistan against Taliban forces
For them this was a ray of light, a glimmer of hope.
But everything comes with a price.
The army needed space,
the collateral damage too much a political baggage;
they had to be removed from the war zone.
With in few days more than 1.5 million people left their houses…
and settled for different parts of Pakistan.
Even here, their miseries are far from over.
The new place offers them nothing but a reminiscence
of what they have left behind.
What could have been theirs?
These children are a product of fear;
these faces the faces under terror.
These faces need to be seen,
these voices be heard,
for they tell a story not covered in any of the debate rooms.
They tell why a combination of poverty, ignorance, deception and ultimate terror alters the course of human lives in such a short span of time.
These faces need to be helped.
Because in the end, they are all human faces.
Kazim Raza, Karachi. PakistanIts not just about Politics, though Politics is also important here.
Its not just... more
Every morning while on the way to office or coming back in evening it’s not possible for the karachiets to ignore baggers, children with car screen wipers and drug addicts. But unfortunately hardly seen some one talking to them to share there grievan...ces, to know what turns them into a LIFE without SOUL.....
Directed and Produced by Kazim RazaEvery morning while on the way to office or coming back in evening it’s not possible... more
The youth of our age, surrounded by a swarm of difficulties and problems is in search of a solution, but what he eventually finds is more and more of difficulties and disappointments. When unemployed and poverty numbs all his senses, paralyzes all his muscles, he feels life is nothing but a futile effort, a bottomless pit of poverty and indigence. According to one estimate, in past 10 years, around 10 thousand Pakistanis have been killed by security forces, crossing Greece-Turkey border illegally. In pursuit of an ever evading happiness, who are these ill-informed people and who are the traffickers involved in this heinous trade of human trafficking. The real issue is how come the educated ones of our country fall prey to these human traffickers. Poverty and related problems are the main reasons behind human trafficking and illegal immigration. Your pursuit of happiness can bring this much misery and suffering, one can only know by meeting the people under Custody of FIA, who have recently been deported from the Turkey Border. It seems an obvious enough advice to have a safe albeit simple life at home, than to a have risky prosperous life abroad. But mired deeply in the troubled waters, it’s only dreams of a happy living that make these people go through all sorts of troubles.
I just pray that my country Pakistan finds a leader, a person who can improve the situation in our country, so that no one thinks about leaving this country and going through this humiliation This heinous crime of Illegal immigration, despite efforts by the State, is flourishing. One obvious contributors of this crime are the people who become a victim of agents’ treacherous promises, lost their lives’ savings and became a victim of dark alleys.
The question that haunts us all is till what time these traffickers would dupe the gullible of their livelihoods and till what time the carcasses of the youth of our country would be feasted by the beasts in unknown wildernesses.
Directed and Produced By
Kazim Raza
Masmedia Productions
Pakistan
923333705114Sans Papiers
The youth of our age, surrounded by a swarm of difficulties and... more
Amongst the most beautiful regions of the world, the picturesque valleys of Swat and Buneir used to be huge tourist attraction. The people of this land were remembered for their ethereal beauty and generous hospitality.
But all this changed in a short span of time. These valleys soon became a symbol of terror and insecurity for the tourists. Even the locals started feeling insecure in their homeland.
With a population of around 5 millions, these valleys became a burning inferno right in front of the eyes of the world, fuelled by religious bigotry and fanaticism.
To eliminate the menace of terrorism, Pakistan Army started its operation in the troubled region, the subsequent resistance by Taliban forces turned this halcyon patches into a war zone.
Lush green fields turned into deadly bunkers, happy faces suddenly plagued by death stricken silence. The ensuing uncertainty culminated into the biggest exodus of human history. Around 3 million people left their homes to taste the bitter tastes of homelessness, settling in the Tent Villages at Mardan, Naushehra and Swabi.
Leaving the war zone was an unavoidable decision, the migration inescapable, but in these testing times, the true essence of people came out. Armed with the sense of compassion, sacrifice and devotion came out the helping hands. And pretty soon many a new shelters started appearing. The sense of homelessness started giving way to a glimmer of hope, peace and security.
A huge contingent of IDPs in Swabi was welcomed b y Mr Liaquat Taraki, the chairman of Tarakai group and Head of Liaquat Khan welfare trust. The aim and mission of Trakai trust is to make Swabi a prosperous district, and to help elevate the living standard of Swabi people by eradicating poverty and backwardness.
Directed and Produced By " Kazim Raza"Amongst the most beautiful regions of the world, the picturesque valleys of Swat and... more
Juliet Soukup is a 21-year-old Navy Wife, her husband Michael left for Iraq in March. He was deployed a month after they were married in February and, with no family near by, Juliet has been here alone since then. She finds ways to fill her time, mostly spending her days with the other wives. Most of the women in this story are no more than twenty and many are pregnant or already have children. They are the ones who are left behind when the person they love goes to war, to take care of the children, the house, the bills, and live alone as if they were single parents for months at a time. Michael came home two weeks ago, he and Juliet are currently trying for a baby.
This is their story...Juliet Soukup is a 21-year-old Navy Wife, her husband Michael left for Iraq in March.... more
Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, an estimated 20 million gallons of Agent Orange were deployed in South Vietnam.[1]
Agent Orange's usage from 1961 to 1971 was by far the most used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" utilized during the program. Degradation of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) released dioxins, which have caused health problems for those exposed during the Vietnam War. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.
Studies of populations highly exposed to dioxin, though not necessarily Agent Orange, indicate increased risk of various types of cancer and genetic defects; the effect of long-term low-level exposure has not been established.
Since the 1980s, several lawsuits have been filed against the companies which produced Agent Orange, among them; Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and Diamond Shamrock (which produced 5%[2]). U.S. veterans obtained a $180 million settlement in 1984, with most affected veterans receiving a one-time lump sum payment of $1,200.
American veterans of the Vietnam War were seeking recognition of Agent Orange syndrome, compensation and treatment for diseases that they and their children suffered from; many exposed to Agent Orange have not been able to receive promised medical care through the Veterans Administration medical system, and only with rare exception have their affected children received healthcare assistance from the government.
Vietnam veterans and their families who brought the original Agent Orange lawsuit stated 25 years ago that the government "is just waiting for us all to die". They alleged that most of those still alive would succumb to the effects of toxic exposure before the age of 65.
In Australia, Canada and New Zealand, veterans obtained compensation in settlements that same year. In 1999, South Korean veterans filed a lawsuit in the Korean courts. In January 2006, the Korean Appeal Court ordered Monsanto and Dow to pay US$62 million in compensation. However, no Vietnamese have received compensation, and on March 10, 2006, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against the chemical companies which produced the defoliants and herbicides.Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S.... more
Winter, 2004. I am in a U.S. combat hospital near Balad, Iraq when a Marine is rushed in with a horrible wound to his leg. Someone tells me that he has been hit by mortar shrapnel, on duty somewhere near Ramadi. Myself and another journalist follow the gurney into the operating room and I swing my camera up as the doctors start flushing out the wound. I can hear him groaning before the sedative finally knocks him out. I film almost the entire operation. After a little while I stop noticing the blood and raw tissue; one gets used to it. At the end of it they wheel him away with his leg in bandages but later one of the medics tells me that theyd had to amputate. War is a very sick business and is nothing to be taken lightly.
8.22.05 thanks to everyone for their comments. i'm sorry i just put up this explanation today, i agree that the piece works best with context. but remember, the 'current challenge' was for 30 seconds of unedited, raw footage, so that's a rather limiting structure. ---dmzAbout the footage:
Winter, 2004. I am in a U.S. combat hospital near Balad, Iraq... more
The citizens of Lebanon are constantly bombarded with propaganda, explosions and gunfire. The BlakkBox team goes to the streets to look into the effect that the environment has on the people. An interview with Sharif, a theatre teacher who looks after a group of children in Lebanon, sheds a dark light on the consequences of living in a place like Lebanon.The citizens of Lebanon are constantly bombarded with propaganda, explosions and... more
