Following the re-arrest of terrorist mastermind Abu Bakar Bashir, this report secures rare access to the prison for Indonesia's most deadly terrorists. Why are inmates leaving more radical than ever?
With recidivists emerging in Aceh and from behind the smoking ruins of the Marriot in Jakarta, we meet those terrorists on the brink of that crucial choice of whether to re-offend. "If I was still outside now it's possible I would join the network again. Hate against the police has grown deep in my heart." Anif Solchannudin volunteered to carry an explosive back-pack into a beachfront restaurant in Bali's Jimabaran in the second wave of attacks in Bali. He now paces the prison courtyard and prays alongside other, more radical terrorists, their religious zeal strengthening as they do their time. "What the police are doing today is just cutting the tip of the iceberg", says Cdr. Tito Karnavian from the Counter terrorism Unit. Having watched many inmates return immediately to the terrorist fold, he and a group of reform activists are asking for a shift of emphasis to re-education. Yet the authorities say they don't have the resources or the experience to do so. Until they do, the rate of recidivism remains shockingly high. "These people are driven by ideology. You can't kill ideology by simply locking them in jail."
Coverage of On-Going News Story - Finalist Certificate - New York Festival (2011)
ABC Australia
(Ref: 4919)
UK - Female Genital Mutilation
- 8' min 40'' sec [31 August 2010]
Doctor faces trial for girl's death after circumcision
The controversial tradition at the heart of African culture has now reached the shores of Europe. Today, over 500 British girls are estimated to have undergone the procedure of female genital cutting.
Many young girls would get excited at the prospect of going on holiday but Jamelia knew that the plane she boarded was taking her to be 'circumcised'. Jamelia was cut in an empty mansion by an old woman, strangers held her down and a clean razor was only used when more money exchanged hands. "I remember the blood everywhere", Jamelia says, "one of the maids actually saw her pick up the bit of flesh they cut out." Miriam's womb was accidentally sealed when she was cut and now she cannot have children. "It will stay with me until the day I die." Now, the NHS confirms that cutters are flown over to the UK to cut girls in batches - a cheap alternative. The UK has more girls at risk of bring cut than any other European country and as yet no-one has been prosecuted for the crime.
Guardian Films
(Ref: 4918)
USA - Ground Zero Mosque
- 13' min 52'' sec [31 August 2010]
The proposed construction of a mosque close to the World Trade Center site has whipped conservative America into fever pitch. Is this islamophobia? Or respect for the dead? We get to the heart of the debate.
The people of downtown New York have been in uproar in recent weeks over the pending decision to build a mosque close to the 9/11 Ground Zero location. The project, led by Islamic scholar Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, has sparked vigorous protests from those who believe that it will incite another terrorist attack. "Where we weep, they rejoice. That mosque is a monument to their victory". Another protester adds, "not every Muslim is a terrorist but it seems that terror comes out of mosques". As the association of fear and Muslims remain intertwined and the lines between extremism and Islam become blurred, we will have to wait for September 11th to see how this historical verdict turns out.
SBS
(Ref: 4917)
DRC - Water Is Life
- 5' min 30'' sec [31 August 2010]
The fabled Congo waterways have long been celebrated as a vital commercial lifeline for the people of the DRC. Yet the idyllic image is deceptive - the contaminated water is killing the population.
The well in the village of Kapumba has been unusable for over two years, forcing residents to drink from the contaminated river. The result is a horrifying level of infant mortality: "They have stomach cramps and fever. They often cry the whole night through". The work of European NGOs and local charities offer a glimmer of hope, but with no help from the state this fragile infrastructure is just a drop in the bucket.
ORF
(Ref: 4916)
Brazil - Renewable Home
- 10' min 03'' sec [31 August 2010]
Brazilian couple Luiz and Edna Toledo have a home made from rubbish, literally. Not content with building themselves a recycled mansion, the couple now plan to construct an entire community from waste.
With walls made of bottles and a roof of bamboo, Luiz and Edna's house cost a fraction of a normal building. And now an ecologically sustainable village is on the drawing board. "It's definitely ecologically and economically sound, I think it's fantastic. This house is life", says local Government architect Laura. Could this be an alternative to Brazil's disease-ridden favelas?
SBS
