Posts
2011, 03-19:
Review of film: “PUSHING THE ELEPHANT” + PANEL DISCUSSION on REFUGEES
& VIOLENCE
For a great many years since its independence in 1960, terrible VIOLENCE was suffered by people in the onetime-Belgium-controlled areas in Africa now called the Democratic Republic of CONGO & the neighboring areas of RWANDA & BURUNDI...
... ... Besides the conflicts & corruption by Mobutu Sese Seko from 1965 on, things became especially bad in the 1990’s when other neighboring countries ALSO got involved in disputes with Laurent Kabila and then his son Joseph, plus various additional groups trying to control the area (which contains some hugely valuable mineral deposits)...
... It’s estimated that between 3 to 5 MILLION people died in the various ethnic, tribal & mineral-control conflicts, + 3 million OTHER lives were affected (as refugees, etc.) in fighting in the 1998-2003 civil war + a re-eruption of war in the Swahili-speaking eastern areas around 2008...
... This documentary movie tells the specific story of one family that fell victim to the violence in the late 1990’s. It tells the story of ROSE MAPENDO, a TUTSI from the Banyamulenge tribe in the eastern part of the D.R. Congo [where they’ve lived for like 500 years]...
... When the war came to Rose’s village, her (seemingly middle) daughter NANGABIRE (then 4 years old) was sent to live with her husband’s parents in Nairobi, Kenya, when they insisted on keeping one of the daughters (rather than a son) with them...
... Rose was imprisoned with the rest of her 7 children. Her husband was EXECUTED at one point, and she was already PREGNANT with twins. As she (with difficulty) tells in the movie, she was at wit’s end as to what to do to try to SAVE the rest of her family from being killed...
... Eventually, after difficult “negotiations” with her captors, Rose reluctantly made a “deal with the devil”, based on dealing with a guard who’d said the only way he’d help save her at-risk oldest son John is if she’d allow the guard to be with her oldest daughter at the prison...
... Then, in fear for her other children, she came up with the idea of naming her soon-to-be-born TWIN BOYS AFTER the army commander who controlled the prison camp (and that “honor” DID protect the rest of them)... During the 6 months in the prison, Rose taught herself to read & write...
... At one stage, Rose and her 9 children somehow managed to ESCAPE from the prison (it’s not detailed exactly how-- possibly to protect others), & eventually they made their way to AMERICA as refugees in 2000, & got citizenship in 2006. They settled in the PHOENIX area (where they were helped by numerous groups & individuals who assist refugees)...
... The movie introduces us to Rose’s family in Arizona. The kids are quite “Americanized”, & Rose (who had to learn English & how to live in a whole new culture) has been very active in trying to help OTHER refugees & victims of violence around the world, particularly those in Africa...
... As director BETH DAVENPORT commented in a PANEL discussion after the film (-- more about that LATER!--), she wanted to get an idea for how to “present” Rose’s story on film. It just so happened that -- around 13 years after being SPLIT from the family --, daughter NANGABIRE was scheduled by Rose to be REUNITED with them in Phoenix...
... That reunion was scheduled to occur around 1.5 weeks after Beth first met Rose. So, MUCH needed to be planned & done to “prepare” to start the film, which would be “based” around the efforts to help Nangabire “ACCLIMATE” to a whole new culture and a family she hadn’t been around for more than 10 years...
... After being met by Rose at the Phoenix airport, Nangabire initially has a ROUGH time-- not really “knowing” most of her family members, & not able to speak ENGLISH at all...
... The older kids could communicate with her in (seemingly) Swahili, but it was “slow” going for her to feel COMFORTABLE in such an “alien” surrounding...
... Rose is one of those super-rare people who, rather than being BITTER from what happened to her in life, instead works to be FORGIVING & makes special efforts to try to help OTHERS who are suffering from violence and difficult circumstances... She is particularly eager to try to help NANGABIRE to feel and act that SAME way...
... As the movie shows, Rose has for years worked not only in her local community but also with the UNITED NATIONS & additional groups to try to help OTHER refugees and violence-afflicted people in the world...
... The movie shows Rose SPEAKING to people in the Phoenix area, trying to encourage them to help OTHER people fleeing persecution...
... As Rose said, “We didn’t deserve what happened to us... I was full of ANGER—” about it all, but she felt, she’d achieve more if she acted in a PARDONING way towards the perpetrators & instead started to reach out to OTHERS who were victims of violence... She’s periodically shown with her brother, KIGABO, who also has those attitudes...
... At one point, Rose speaks of a desire to go BACK to the D.R. Congo, to try to achieve reconciliation & progress for people. As she says, “It’s better if we can still have HOPE...”
... But, her son John is very CONCERNED about that planned trip, worried that the government there might try to use some of her words [taken out of context] AGAINST her in her efforts. However, Rose’s attitude is, “Without sacrifice, nothing can be done...”
... As shown in the film, she makes the special trip to the D.R. CONGO, to try to encourage women THERE to try to fight the maltreatment they’re suffering...
... A discussion is held concerning various villages (seemingly around Minembwe) which were set on fire by combatants. But, as Rose says, “We all have to live together... NEVER give up!...”
... The women in the Congo meeting are amazed at her attitude and Christian religious underpinnings. Although they WANT to have a more active participation and effect in life in their villages, they initially feel sort of HOPELESS in that MEN control what goes on in their culture...
... Rose points out her feeling that, “One person alone cannot push an elephant... But many people TOGETHER can push an elephant... Unite, even if your husbands are fighting...”
... After her talk, although the village women are upset at the way the tribe tends to treat women virtually as “property”, from Rose’s words about how “The key is in YOUR hands—”, they are ENCOURAGED after meeting her & seeing what SHE has been able to accomplish...
... The movie speaks of the 2004 massacre of 166 people in BURUNDI (east of the Congo), & it shows Rose going to VISIT Gatumba there to try to help some reconciliation efforts and bring some PEACE to the area... She also goes to visit NAIROBI in Kenya, to see refuges from around Africa in that country...
... Back home, the film shows Nangabire, who has problems because she keeps remembering BAD things that happened around her in life-- the unfriendly attitudes of some people towards anyone who seemed “different”, etc.... But, in time, she says, “I’m getting used to being here...”
... Rose keeps talking about how its best to try to behave as JESUS might act towards others... At one point, she says she hopes Nangabire will CONTINUE HER efforts (at helping others) after Rose herself is gone...
... Following Rose’s RETURN from Africa, on a bed back in Phoenix, she at one point talks to Namgabire, saying things such as, “I don’t want you holding negative feelings in your heart... I speak out because I want to be be FREE...”
.... Rose is chosen to be honored for her work with a 2009 Humanitarian Of the Year award from the UNITED NATIONS Commission on Refugees. She goes to New York with NAMBAGIRE for that, & the movie shows her acceptance speech, including joking with ANGELINA JOLIE who’s on the dais there...
... Nambagire is quite PROUD of her mother & how Rose reiterates her belief that you should “never give up” in life, no matter how difficult things become...
... Back in Arizona, we see how oldest daughter Aimee has gotten MARRIED, & we meet her new son Joshua... The film relates how Nambagire hopes to become a NURSE in the U.S., and how Rose and her brother Kigabo have created a Foundation for PEACE [under Mapeno’s name, as mentioned below]..
... Overall, the film does not try to “stun” you with any technical or “flashy” elements. But, I found it to be is a great success because it so effectively shows the winning spirit of an indomitable woman who’s working hard to try to BETTER the world she’s living in...
... Because of the UPLIFTING tone chronicling the life of Rose Mapendo, I’m rating the film at 9.0 out of 10 stars...
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PANEL Discussing the Film & Efforts to Help REFUGEES & Combat VIOLENCE
After the special screening of the film at Chicago’s Cultural Center, there was an extensive hour-long PANEL discussion of matters touched-on in the movie:
... The moderator was NAOMI WALKER ( Naomi_Walker@itvs.org ) of IVTS (which can be seen at www.itvs.org/films/pushing-the-elephant ). They were one of the presenters of the film, along with Human Rights Watch ( www.hrw.org/chicago ); and United African Organization ( www.uniteafricans.org )...
... Also presenters were: IFP/Chicago (Independent Film non-profit group: www.ifpchicago.org/ ); [Rose] Mapeno New Horizons ( www.mapenonewhorizons.org ); and The Friends of the Congo ( www.friendsofthecongo.org )...
... And: The Chicago Dept of Cultural Affairs; plus WTTW Channel 11 (which worked in collaboration with an exhibit on the 4th Floor called Off The Beaten Path: Violence, Women and Art)...
... Besides Naomi (on the far left in the photos below), the panelist guests were (from left to right): MARTINE SONGASONGA (a Human Rights Advocate from from the University of Notre Dame, born in the D.R. Congo)...
... And the filmmaker / director BETH DAVENPORT...
... Also (as seen on the right side in the above photo): MARY FABRI, PsyD, Director of the Torture Treatment Services & Int’l Training of the Heartland Alliance’s Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture ( www.heartlandalliance.org )...
... Plus: Dr. MARIO VENEGAS, Human Rights Advocate and Torture survivor from Chile (who left there around 25 years ago for London before settling in the Chicago area)...
... Naomi announced that there would be a Human Rights Festival in Chicago from May 25th thru June 9th, with gatherings at the MCA and Facets Multimedia...
... To start the discussion, Naomi asked Beth how she got involved in telling Rose’s story. She related how a friend told her about Rose (& how she learned that Rose was soon to reunite with her daughter Nangabire, which was decided would be the “linchpin” of the film)... The money for the documentary came from the ChickenAndEgg group, and she followed Rose and her life for 2½ years to make the film...
... Martine spoke of how she hoped the movie would help draw attention to the women in the D.R. Congo who -- by tradition -- are purposely kept as UNeducated as possible, particularly by the men in “charge”... She commented on Rose’s situation, & how rape is used in the Congo as a means of DESTROYING families...
... Martine was especially impressed with the way Rose had been working to try to EMPOWER women in the Congo, touching on how women there had been hurt by “traditional customs” wherein they are DISCRIMINATED against. For example, a woman there can’t enter into contracts lawfully unless she has the permission of her HUSBAND to do what she wants to do...
... Mario related how he himself was in a “concentration camp” run by the military in Chile for 2½ years. He was especially impressed by Rose’s story, in part because “I was tortured there, too...” He hopes people will LEARN from the way Rose had courage and was passionate about SURVIVING her situation and then working to try to help OTHERS in similar circumstances...
... Mario said, he firmly believes in Rose’s concept of how, “All together, we can ‘push’ that ‘elephant’...” He made reference to how, from today’s actions, America seemed on the path of an upcoming “involvement” in LIBYA [via sending missiles to stop dictator Qadafi there], & feels we have to learn to STOP going to war...
... He said, from his own situation, he in-effect has been able to partially FORGIVE those who tortured him-- but it’s still difficult in certain ways, because those who did it are still “HIDING out” and didn’t ever say they were even sorry for what they’d done to him and loads of others...
... As Mario commented, he knows first-hand that Rose is right when she says “we can SURVIVE” things-- but it remains difficult to move forward when the justice system can’t even bring the perpetrators to TRIAL for what they’d done...
... MARY talked about her work to try to HELP people who’d been tortured in various ways. She commented: “This is Rose’s story-- but, it’s the story of so MANY women in the world!... Rose is speaking for so many women who CAN’T speak!...”
... Moderator Naomi wondered if, when speaking of forgiveness, are there any DIFFERENCES in how men & women act in that regard?... Mary felt, “We can’t generalize—” in such situations, since there are so many possible variables in peoples’ circumstances...
... Martine agreed with that, commenting on how, in the Congo, torture and violence serve to DESTROY the “social context” in peoples’ lives... As to Rose, “I don’t know where resiliency comes from. She’s trying to find MEANING for her LIFE again...”
... Martine remarked that, many refugees had almost the SAME type experiences as Rose, & many of them tend to pray a lot (as Rose does): “The family gives a MEANING to their lives...”
... When asked whether going thru torture eventually requires a “COPING” type of “mechanism”, Mario replied, “DEFINITELY!...”, working thru a “healing” process has helped him in that regard. He himself works to counsel others who’ve gone thru such violent situations, particularly people from Guatemala and Colombia, partly thru the Illinois Coalition Against Torture (ICAT)...
... Mario observed that, as Rose said, she and her family feel “different” in terms of what they WENT thru, in part because “You lose trust in people...”
... He also tries to help bring JUSTICE & PEACE to people who’ve suffered thru such things, which seems important because, as others (such as Amnesty, Int’l.) have pointed out, there are at least 160 countries where people have been tortured in some way ...
... Director Beth commented that, after meeting Rose, what she especially feels is “the call to ACTION” to illuminate the problems to others. She feels that all the panelists today offer great RESOURCES to try to IMPROVE difficult situations such as had been discussed that afternoon...
... One of the panelists spoke of how, on a national basis, certain people had tried to pass a LAW for fighting violence against women-- tho, for now, the efforts had been “tabled”...
... Beth spoke of how her film will be screened for a US AID group (& others)...
... Words were spoken of how (in the film) Rose talks to the Banumalunge women in the Congo, & Beth was pleased that, AFTER the talk, NUMBERS & INFORMATION were exchanged between the parties -- a potentially hopeful sign for the “future”. The women saw, it could help to just sit down & TALK about problems...
... Martine spoke of how there’s a situation where conflicts over valuable MINERALS helps fuel the problem of violence in the Congo (with different groups acting for their own “agendas”). Thus, the problem in the Congo & elsewhere is not just an ETHNIC conflict, but also an economic one due to the conflicts over the mineral resources: “There are so MANY factors...”
... As a sort of “overall” thought, Mario said, he wants the public to understand about violence & torture problems that, “This is REALITY—”, not a TV program “inventing” things for dramatic purposes. What he hopes is that today’s movie & panel discussion will encourage people to “be PROACTIVE” about the situations...
... Panelists recommended that people feel free to contact the various ORGANIZATIONS mentioned on the flyer we got about the movie, plus (as Mario pointed out) there are other good ones such as the Human Rights organization here in Chicago, the AMTA US org., and others. Many can be found doing “Google” type searches on the internet...
... As Mario said, with the problems we face, he’d urge people in the audience to “Talk to your FRIENDS—”, & keep in mind about fighting violence & torture and refugee problems that “We have to DO it”...
... Martine from the Congo spoke more about how multi-national corporations are EXPLOITING the minerals in Africa & especially in the Congo area &, in some cases, that involved arming MILITARY groups that will further their ends, Thus, in many cases, “They are not SOCIALLY responsive...*
... Mary gave some details about her work with the KOVLER Center wherein they give services to torture survivors. She spoke of how, in the movie, Rose valued EDUCATION, whereas her in-laws who raised Nagabire did NOT value it, which is why they didn’t encourage her daughter in that regard...
... As Mary stated, it’s her feeling that, “We can always help people to do what they NEED to do... You try to help the WHOLE person...”
... A man in the audience asked if there was a thought to reflect on the anti-immigrant feelings in the country, & Beth said, that was never their goal in making the film, it’s mainly a story about REFUGEES rather than immigrants...
... MARY commented that new anti-terrorist & similar laws in this country haven’t been fully “UNDERSTOOD” by the public. She feels those new laws will have “a huge impact on people seeking political asylum”, because many people are immediately being sent BACK to where they left due to being at risk without proper time being spent truly considering their case...
... Or, in a number of cases, they’re being detained in JAIL while the authorities supposedly “deliberate” their case!... Thus, instead of a real “evaluation” being done about their individual situation, due to “unfounded FEAR” of “terrorism”, they’re still being kept in JAIL here-- which is often the same type of treatment the refugees were trying to ESCAPE from in their home country!...
... Yes, she’s found in her work that that’s been the result of new “IMMIGRATION” regulations. She feels, most asylees would want to go home, if their country wasn’t a DANGER to them & their families...
... MARIO related a situation he personally knows: he has a friend in the New York area. He’s a refugee (trying to escape a dangerous home country situation). But, because he’s “undocumented”, his case has dragged thru the courts for 2 years while the U.S. government is trying to get him sent BACK to the home country, claiming as an excuse that he’d supposedly belonged to a “terrorist” organization back in Chile!...
... But the man wasn’t any “terrorist”— he’d simply been fighting for FREEDOM in his country in the 1970’s & ‘80’s, for the right to be treated with the basic freedoms we have here in the U.S....
... Sadly, those people (like his friend) who’d decades ago been seeking liberation from military-run governments are now being treated as supposed “TERRORISTS” as an excuse to not deal with them here (& allow them in as refugees)... He said, that’s an especially big problem with refugees from CENTRAL AMERICA...
... From the audience questions, a black senior citizen guy came up to the microphone & commented on how he’d just come in from an ANTI-WAR demonstration downtown, re the anniversary of the start of the latest war in Iraq + the increasing U.S. involvement in LIBYA against Qadafi...
... So, the audience guy hadn’t seen all of today’s program about Rose... But, he wanted to offer the thought that, America has at times promoted violence towards others in areas of the world, in part because he feels “our TAXES pay for the WARS” we’ve gotten involved in...
. Also, he feels it’s important to realize that the U.S. has at times even INSTRUCTED people, like certain ones in the Congo area, how to DO torture & violence, such as having trained Rwanda President [Paul] KIGAME...
... Mary agreed with his statement, saying the strongman he’d mentioned HAD indeed received military training in the U.S. (seemingly in Kansas)... She feels people here are not always aware of connections we have to various military leaders... The man urged that people ask that their taxes be put in “ESCROW” rather than be used for military purposes...
... A lady in the audience spoke of various helpful organizations, such as Detention Watch and an Exodus services one that helps people acclimate to life in the U.S., +, there are numerous “advocacy” groups helping people impacted by violence and the like...
... Beth urged people to “Try to spread the word” about today’s MOVIE [which was also directed by Elizabeth Mandel]. She’s pleased that PBS will be BROADCASTING the movie on Tuesday, March 29th (to be shown at 10 PM on WTTW in Chicago)... Then, it’ll be available for sale on DVD in April, from their [ itvs.org ] web-site..
... A lady in the audience spoke of what a pleasure it was to see Rose’s “indomitable spirit” & her attitude of forgiveness. She herself is a Buddhist, & she likes Rose’s attitude which is in-effect like saying “chant for your ENEMIES”...
... Naomi asked the panel to offer any “final” thoughts they may have. Mario offered his feeling that he’d like to “encourage people to get INVOLVED in some way” with fighting against violence and problems that refugees have...
... He urged people to simply “Google” the subject of “CONGO” to find various organizations they could get engaged with. Overall, “Commit yourself to do SOMETHING!... Just think about Rose... We ALL can ‘push’ this ‘elephant’...”
... Martine (from the Congo) urged people to “ Help spread the word... We can have a world free of WAR...”
... Clearly, a fascinating discussion, with heart-felt feelings from the panelists...
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