PICTURE

SOUND

Pre-title sequence

Saira in Military Helicopter

NARR: IN AT 00'00

'We're in Colombia, one of the most violent countries in the world.

There's a three-way battle going on between the government, rightwing paramilitaries and leftwing rebels. There should be good news though - because the country has oil. And multinationals are eager to exploit it.

But we've come to find out whether the oil the West wants is actually helping to fuel a conflict that kills over three thousand civilians every year.'

OUT @ 00'33

PROGRAMME TITLE

‘COLOMBIA's oil fix'

EXT PIPELINE GRAVEYARD

REFINERY MIST AND FIRE

MILITARY ACTIVITY

INT Helicopter - General Lemus

NARR IN AT 00'43

We were in the oil fields of Northern Colombia.

00'55

General Carlos Lemus took me above what he said was a battlefield

01'01

Down below rebels are fighting to control a pipeline carrying oil for the United States.

01'07

Oil has brought war to this part of Colombia.

EXT. Walking i/v General Lemus

SYNC IN AT: 01'13

He says it's almost impossible to protect the entire pipeline because it's so long and the land is so rough...safeguard the pipeline." SYNC OUT AT: 01'42

NARR IN AT: 01'45

Suddenly our interview ended. We heard the pipeline had been blown up 60 miles away.  They said they'd take us there.

HELICOPTER SEARCH

NARR 02'00

To keep the oil flowing to the outside world, the  Colombian Army must repair the pipeline faster than the rebels can blow it up.

INT HELICOPTER  CONT.

PIECE TO CAMERA @2'10

"You can see the crater just down there. It's where the rebels attacked just a few minutes ago. And already there's a huge oil stain on the countryside.'

OUT AT: 2'21

NARR 2'23

Already this year the rebels have hit the line more than 120 times. 

DE-MINERS BOARD Helicopter

NARR 2'36

at a clearing in the forest, a team of explosives experts joined us.

 We realised we were going in with the first troops to secure the area the rebels had attacked.

Helicopter leaves

NARR 2'50 2 58

We were dropped a few kilometres from the explosion.

Radio operator

WAITING WITH TROOPS

PIECE TO CAMERA AT 3'06

"We're having to wait here because there's one group of men gone ahead of us trying to secure the area, and this is a group of de-miners - there's a lot of mines left usually, and they're going to try and find out where they are."

OUT AT: 3'21

Ext I/V Army captain

NARR 3'26

An army captain warned us  the rebels    often ambush troops, or plant booby traps.

EXT. Walking with Army

NARR 03'42

The oil companies think there may be one and a half billion barrels of undiscovered reserves around here.

03'50

Two and a half million barrels have already been wasted - spilled into the farmland.

RIVER BLACK WITH OIL

PTC AT 04'01

It's absolutely black with oil - I think we're really close to the spill now.'

OUT AT 04'07

NARR 04'18

The soldiers thought the rebels might be lying in wait for them

Soldiers creeping through undergrowth

04'32

They said that this area was peaceful before the pipeline was built. The rebels came because of the oil.

04'49

Ext field by bomb site

PTC AT 05'02:

 'We're just in the middle of a field and everything is black, and that's the crater over there.'

OUT AT 05'08

ARRIVING AT BOMB SITE

NARR 05'09

The rebels had dug down to the buried pipeline, to plant their explosives...

WALKING AROUND BOMB SCENE

SYNC SAIRA AT 05'15:

"They've cleared this for mines, have they? And, if there are plastic mines without metal... have they cleared those?

05 27

Nobody seemed sure.

OK - I'm going to tread in those footsteps there."

OUT AT 05'39

PTC BY BOMB CRATER

PTC AT 05'40

"This is the hole that we saw from the air.

 It didn't look much from there - it just looked like a little black patch. But from here, it's complete disaster. It's sprayed everything. It just shows how easy it is to blow up this pipeline. You can see that's the contour of the pipeline in the land, it's really easy to spot where it is for the rebels, and it's 800 kilometres long, so a handful of rebels can run rings round the entire Colombian army." 

OUT AT 06'10

ABANDONED FARMHOUSE

NARR 06'15

Nearby was an abandoned house.

06'20

The soldiers thought they spotted

rebels hiding in the wood behind it.

06 24

They set off to flush them out -   we weren't sure what we were getting into.

SAIRA O O VISION @ 06. 27

don't go down there...

W/S SOLDIERS checking THE  WOOD

Soldiers fire into woods

NARR AT 06'42

The soldiers were almost casual - for them this was routine.

SAIRA SYNC AT 07'07:

"We shouldn't be in this area, we should be on the other side of the house. And we should be walking in their footsteps."

OUT AT 07'13

WALKING OFF

Ext. DUSK

PTC  in front of abandoned house

PTC AT 07'31

"The soldiers are a bit worried because the people who were in that house have fled - they're probably expecting some sort of fire fight tonight."

OUT AT 07'39

Walking at night

NARR 07'42

So we headed for a farmhouse where there were people. The soldiers said the rebels don't shoot at houses with civilians in.

Ext Night Farmhouse

Int Farmhouse with campesinos

NARR 07'53

A family home became an army barracks.

07'58

 08'06

The oil spill had poisoned their well.

08'10

In a few days, they'd have to abandon their farm.

08'13

They let us film, but asked us not to use their names.

08'17

They said since oil brought the war here, people die and nobody knows why.

EXT Farmhouse MORNING

INT DAY Farmhouse - PTC

PTC AT 08'30

"The old man told us that the rebels were there for three days, they couldn't turn for help anywhere, and they just had to let the rebels blow up the pipeline."'

OUT AT 08'40

NARR 08'43

Nearby I met one of their neighbours, another farmer.

He agreed to talk to me, but only if he could stay on his mule.

Ext I/V GUILLERMO BARRANGAN on his mule

NARR 08'56

He said   that out in the fields he ALWAYS rode.     

That way a mine explosion would kill the mule instead of him.

None of us can escape the war he said.

OUT AT 09'06

SOLDIERS TAKING LUNCH AT VILLAGE

Sync SAIRA AT 09'08:

What's the oil pipeline brought?

I/V MOTHER AND DAUGHTER AT 09'10:

Nothing, they said.

DAUGHTER AT 09'14

They told me the attacks on the pipeline poisoned their soil, and their cattle got sick when they drank the water.

EXT Pipeline repair seq

NARR AT 09'26

Soon, the repair crew were on the scene.  Despite their efforts, the pipeline only works one day in five.

09'36 

The oil belongs to the state oil company and to Occidental Petroleum - an American company. 

09'45

Colombian reserves may not be huge but as the Middle East becomes more unstable, the United States is desperate to secure the oil on its doorstep.

PIPELINE REPAIR - CONT

PTC AT 09'54

"Both sides have got this down to a T. This lot are going to finish repairing the pipeline, that's all it's taken. And probably in another one or two days, the rebels are going to come back and blow it up again in a day or so.'

OUT AT 10'07

RUNNING  BACK TO HELICOPTER

NARR at 10'10

It was time to leave.

10 24

Our destination was the town that's the centre for oil exploration around here - Arauca.

helicopter

ARAUCA TRACKING SHOT AND ROAD MUSIC

NARR 10'34

Oil has brought wealth to Arauca - but it's attracted the rebels. 

10'41

You don't see them, but they influence everything.

INT HALL WAY

MAYOR WALKING WITH BODYGUARDS

NARR 10'50

The mayor  (Jorge Cedeno) was surrounded with armed men.

He said he always travels in a bullet-proof car.

SYNC SAIRA TO MAYOR at 11'02:

'You have a lot of bodyguards...you have some very big men with guns looking after you."

MAYOR:

 "Security."

OUT AT 11'08

EXT WALKING TO RIVERSIDE WITH MAYOR

NARR 11'13

He took us to the waterworks. The town's got no drinking water because the attack on the pipeline poisoned the Arauca river.

EXT I/V MAYOR:

 SYNC I/V: MAYOR AT 11'24

Q: Does the oil money pay for the war?

Yes he said, for example, when the rebels blow up the pipeline, afterwards, they often extort money from the repair companies.  What's more, they do the same on some of the building projects paid for by oil money. Anyone who argues risks death.

SAIRA AT 11'33

OUT AT 11'48

INT CAR TRAVELLING WITH MAYOR OF ARAUCA

NARR 11'49

The rebels get involved in everyone's business.

 Q: SAIRA  11'54:

'We've heard there's a big argument about Coca Cola. What's the problem with Coca Cola?'

SAIRA TRANSLATION 12'09:

"The rebels are blockading Coca cola because the company is refusing to pay extortion...but you can't even get water."

OUT AT 12'25

EXT LAND

INT RODRIGO PEREZ' (JOURNALIST) OFFICE

RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT

NARR 12'29

Colombia's civil war started long before oil.

12'37

The rebels say they want the poor to get a fairer deal.

But the oil money they extort also helps fund their war in this region.

12'46

The rebels wouldn't talk but they sent  me a communiqué.

12'58

The local radio station ran it as a news flash.

13'06

 the rebels said they opposed foreign multinationals exploiting the oil.  

But they didn't answer my questions about how they used oil money to pay for their war.

NARR 13'17

We left Arauca. Our destination - a town called Barranca to the south.

The rebels controlled it for years.

But in December a shadowy force of right wing paramilitaries threw them out. 

13'32

The lure - the country's biggest oil refinery.

Oil should have brought riches to the people of Barranca.

Instead it's brought fear and death.

BARRANCA REFINERY PIX

NARR 13'28

The paramilitaries kicked the rebels out in December: 

13'35

13'42

Among other things, the paramilitaries say they're safeguarding the oil.

13'47

But they're not just killing rebels.

DEATH LIST PIECE TO CAMERA

PTC at 13'54

'Look at this. This is the morning newspaper, and on page nine there's a death list. About thirty people. An electrician, a hairdresser. Number three on the list is Francisco Jose Campo - he's a member of Credhos, a human rights group.

I'm going to go and see him.'

OUT AT 14'17

WALK UP STEPS INTO CAMPO'S OFFICE

14'21

The paramilitaries were started by rich landowners - to protect their business interests.

But nobody can control them.

SAIRA TO CAMERA AT 14'32:

'I don't know much about this group - it's human rights organisation. They're pretty hard to find - there's no sign on the door. They don't advertise their presence. But I think that this is it.'

OUT AT 14'44

NARR 14'48

Francisco Campo told me the paramilitaries want to kill him as part of what they call 'social cleaning'.

INT I/V with Francisco Campo

QUESTION AT 14'55:

 'What is social cleaning?'

TRANSLATION: 'He says it means killings, disappearances, displacement of people - all this for the people who don't fit in with the way that the paramilitaries would like things to be."

OUT AT 15'16

CU COMMUNIQUE

NARR 15'17

The paramilitaries have sent him written warnings.

TRANSLATION OF COMMUNIQUE BY  SHAH

SYNC AT 15'22

"It says we're carrying out this cleaning for the future of Colombia so we can built the country we want. We have in our possession a cleaning list - and we give notice that if these s.o.b. guerrillas don't leave - we'll kill them."

TRANSLATIONS - SAIRA AT 15'49

'I can hardly believe this...he says they're talking about 400 people being assassinated in 6 months in this town. He says the people who are suffering most are young men, young girls who may be involved in prostitution, homosexuals, lesbians, human rights workers..anybody the paramilitaries just decide they don't like."

MOTHER OF DISAPPEARED IN CREDHOS OFFICE

NARR 16'15

A Credhos worker brought a mother into their office.

16'22

A few days ago her son had criticised the paramilitaries in front of friends.

16'31

Now he'd disappeared - and no one had seen a thing...

REFINERY PIX AND MUSIC

NARR 16'41

The paramilitaries may have made things safer for oil. But she tells me nobody here feels safe. She asked us not to use her name.

MIX TO WALK IN TO SEE WOMAN AT HOME

INT Woman's home

NARR Q AT 16'51

How many family members have you lost?

SYNC MOTHER AT 16'55

‘Evelio.. Pablo...Leonardo... Lucillo etc were killed

NARR AT 17'59

Six of her family had already been murdered or disappeared. Now her son.

 Q: SAIRA AT 17'07 

'What have you done to find him?' 

TRANSLATION SAIRA:

'She says, I've been everywhere - the morgue, the cemetery...'

17'19

She says: 'We wait, and hope ...  they've taken everything - our family.'

Newspaper office

NARR 17'38

People told us Barranca could be as rich as Kuwait.  Instead they live in a town where paramilitaries dismember their victims with chainsaws.

INT LA NOTICIA Newspaper office

by press

PIECE TO CAMERA AT 17'49:

'Do you see that headline - it's social cleaning in the land controlled by the paramilitaries...  and that is social cleaning.'

CAFE AND MUSIC

PIECE TO CAMERA AT 18'07

 'We've been here for three days, not found a single witness - a woman who dared to testify was killed in front of everybody.'

OUT AT 18'33

EXT Refinery at night

INT Armoured truck

NARR AT 18'44

Late at night, we joined a police patrol.  In theory the police arrest both rebels and paramilitaries

19'00

19'05

They said that on average they're shot at three times a week.

EXT NIGHT TIME

Exiting police van and

Walking with armed police

NARR 19'16

But they weren't policing the paramilitaries. Instead, they took us to hunt some of the few remaining rebels.

SYNC JESID AT 19'27

"We have to...shot at."

19'36

The stakes are high in Barranca because of oil.

It's the country's biggest legal export.

The police say the rebels threaten it.

PIECE TO CAMERA AT 20'16

'They say this is where they get shot at, from those houses over there.'

OUT AT 20'27

EXT Night - running

NARR AT 20'33

It's too risky to stay for long. We were told to leave, and quickly.

EXT NIGHT

Paramilitaries on patrol

NARR 21'09

Back in the city, the police pointed out paramilitaries to us. 

21'14

But they didn't try to arrest them.

21'23

Barranca's streets were quiet because the paramilitaries had crushed all opposition. And the police weren't going to take them on.

EXT Day - Refinery

INT Police HQ

MEETING POLICE CHIEF

NARR 21'48

I visited Col. Jose Miguel Villar the chief of police. He told me only rebels and rebel sympathisers were being killed

INT I/V

POLICE CHIEF'S OFFICE

Q SAIRA AT 21'57:

Human rights workers, homosexuals...How can you say that prostitutes etc...are sympathisers of the rebels..going on here.'

POLICE CHIEF translation AT 22'16

He told me: ‘I really don't know about the homosexuals, but as for the prostitutes, well most of them were the girlfriends of rebels and the paramilitaries are well aware of that.

22''29

As for human rights workers, he said...the truth is they're just a cover for the rebels.

22'40

Whenever the forces of law and order try to arrest the rebels, so called human rights workers come out and try to defend them - but they never try to defend the paramilitaries.

22'50

The truth, he said, is there isn't any social cleaning here.'

STREETS OF BARRANCA

NARR 22'57

As we left Colombia, we drove through a countryside at war. The pipeline had been attacked again.

There was one last place I wanted to see - the graveyard for blown up oil pipes.

Each piece, a farm destroyed, a river poisoned or a life lost.

The West benefits from Colombia's oil. Its true price is counted not just in dollars but in human misery.  

END MONTAGE & MUSIC