Documentaries keep Burma concerns alive

Long drawn internal conflicts are often overlooked or completely ignored by the global media that often chase the latest stories as they unfold. It often takes a few dedicated activists and committed film-makers to sustain focus on conflicts that no longer grab headlines - but continue to affect hundreds of thousands of people.

As Burma and the struggle of its people, especially its ethnic minorities, against four decades of military dictatorship begin to fade from international attention, a number of new television documentaries are attempting to keep the issue alive.

Some have been made by television professionals for international broadcast. Others have used amateur or activist footage and aim at mobilising public concern and supporting campaigns to maintain pressure on the regime.

During the past two years, at least three new videos have been produced about the plight of minority groups like the Karen, Shan and Karenni who live along Burma's borders with Thailand, China and Laos. These minorities are the target of repressive policies of the ruling military junta in Rangoon.

A short documentary made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Forgotten War, was shown on its Correspondent programme in July 2002. The programme followed the work of Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a group of young medics, soldiers and nurses working along the Thai -Burma border running missions behind Burmese lines to help the internally displaced.

FBR has been involved with medical relief work in Burma's Karen, Karenni, Shan and Arakan states since 1997, when thousands of refugees swept across the Thai-Burma border after intensified clashes between rebel groups and the Burmese regime. The rebels are fighting for autonomy. The FBR team, shown in the BBC documentary, was made up of an FBR staff member, rebel Karen National Union (KNU) activists, a chief medic, a nurse and two American volunteers.

It was not easy to film inside Burma, especially in volatile areas like the Karen state where the FBR team usually operates. It took much caution and care to ensure that the team kept a safe distance from the hundreds of Burmese army troops that patrol the area. Judging by the impact of the documentary, however, all this risk and effort have been worth it.

"Many people don't even know what's happening in Burma", explains a member of the FBR who wanted to remain anonymous. "After watching the film, people sent us numerous emails thanking us for informing them about these issues. Overall there has been a very positive response."

For the BBC team involved in the film, this was the first time they had worked with the Karens and their first crossing of the border. The shooting was done over a period of three months.

There are both pros and cons of foreign camera crews visiting politically volatile parts of the world. While the resulting programmes do expose many instances of human rights violations, military excesses and civilian suffering, the filming can place the local people at considerable risk.

The FBR official believes it is sometimes worth taking such risks. "These production people going in are professionals. So they provide some assistance to the locals. For sure, there is a risk involved. But BBC undoubtedly does provide credibility and reaches a wider audience. This is also very important for this kind of work".

Meanwhile, two videos made by amateur film-makers are also drawing attention to the plight of Burma's ethnic minorities and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Key footage used in these films were shot by ethnic minority activists who were given cameras by media NGOs to document human rights abuses.

Dispossessed is a 15 minute video produced by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) in January 2000. It deals with the forced relocation and extra-judicial killings of IDPs in Shan state, but also aims to raise awareness about the massive Shan refugee situation in Thailand - which is largely ignored by the Thai media and public.

Dispossessed was made by an American volunteer in collaboration with a young Shan medic working with refugees in Fang district, in Thailand's northern Chiang Mai province. Much of the factual information for the video came from the Shan Human Right's Foundation (SHRF), while editing was done at studios of Images Asia, a non-profit media group based in Chiang Mai.

Images Asia, which has been documenting human rights issues inside Burma since 1992, also provided a lot of the footage. The film is being used by people advocating Shan rights with Thai and international NGOs, the diplomatic community and United Nations organisations.

Made in 2001, No Peace, No Mercy is a 14 minute video that provides an overview of Burma's IDPs and the military regime's continuing policies of ethnic cleansing, forced labour, forced relocation and various other human rights violations, including rape and torture of ethnic minorities. The film was made to raise international awareness about the plight of IDPs inside Burma and to exert pressure on the regime to lay off innocent civilians in the conflict areas.

"With international press attention, there has also been increased awareness of the forced relocations in Shan state and the abuse of the rights of ethnic populations", says an activist working with Burmese refugees who was involved with the film. She too did not wish to be named.

This article was written by Teena Amrit Gill, a freelance journalist and film-maker based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

She can be reached at: teena@asiaaccess.net.th