WARS TRANSCRIPT



(Titles)



Produced by

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PRODUCTIONS



WARS



a film by

GIANCARLO BOCCHI





TC 01.04.41.04

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qahir and the chief of postamen)



-Is it for the UN?

-I think it’s for the GTZ...



-It’s not for the UN?

-No...



Is it before the World Food Program?



-Are you sure?

-Yes.



WFP (World Food Program)



Is it for the UNHCR?



Another envelope for the WFP?



This is for the OIM



- This is for the DD

- I’ve written it



This is for the IGTZ



This is for the Germans.



and another for the UNHCR





TC 01.05.47.09

(SOMALIA)



(Madguud)



We’ve been at war

since 1991 till today



and we’ve been

fighting non-stop



The population has been

brutally exterminated



the "war lords" control

the government



and the clans fight over the territory



we have no choice,

all we have are weapons



our only future is the rifle.







TC 01.06.46.04

(ISRAEL)



(Uri)



My family...



has fought in all the wars in Israel...



it’s difficult to say when they will finish...



We settled here,

in the centre of Muslim countries



but they have never accepted us



but we are strong

and we always will be!



There’s no other way to live

in this part of the world...



These barriers protect the kibbutz,



at night they are guarded to stop

our enemies attacking us





TC 01.08.25.10

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qahir)



I would have liked to

study but I couldn’t

I had to maintain

my whole family



because my father

is very old



I want my brothers

to be able to study



I don’t want them

to grow up like me.



(Qahir and the father)



Does your leg hurt?



Does it hurt?



How are you feeling?



Don’t worry...



You’ll get better...



-How are you?

-Quite well...



-And how’s the work going?

-Fine...



-Where have you been?



(Qahir and the brothers)



Listen Zobeir,

when you go to school...



remember that the red stones

mark the landmines



if you step on them the mines explode



and you lose your legs like me



you have to walk along the road



marked by the white stones



if you see a kid getting close

to the red stones warn him of the danger



tell him he could get badly hurt



like what happened to your brother.



TC 01.10.37.02

(SOMALIA)



(Madguud)



My work is using weapons



I earn about ten dollars a day



I’ve had nine wives



but I’ve divorced seven times



Now I only have two wives,

but from two different sub-clans



that’s why they live in separate

houses with my five children



(Madguud and the first wife)



- How are you?

- Fine... thanks to God



- Are the kids okay?

- Yes...



- And is everything OK here?

- Yes... yes... fine



And your relatives are okay?



Yes, fine...



I’m glad to hear it





Do the children go to Koran school

or a normal one?



They go to both the Koran

School and the normal one



I still have to pay the school



I need money for the rent,

for food and for the kids’ school...



When I come next time

I’ll find a solution



God willing...



Why don’t you come to see me more often?



I’d like to come more often...



but I’m very busy



I work a lot and I’m always

running around for you



don’t ask me where I go

but what I bring home



I’m a militiaman



I know...



TC 01.12.35.22

(ISRAEL)



(Uri and some young soldiers)



- Do you have a room in this hotel?

- The whole hotel is mine



- The hotel is really yours?

- Yes...I’m from the kibbutz!



I was born here 80 years ago!



- So you’re loaded!

- Yes, I’m loaded!



I was in the army from the

1948 war of independence



In what detachment?



I was in the "Rosh Unit" which

is called "Alexandroni" nowadays



- In the infantry?

- Afterwards I went to the "Nine Units"



- But you were in the infantry?

- Yes, I joined the Golani Brigade



then they transferred me to the armoured division



as a unit head and then as

Regiment Commandant



eventually I was discharged

as Division Commandant



Then I worked abroad for 15 years



in the Secret Services



- We’re talking with a legend!

- It’s true



Is this your first war?



- Yes...Yes



We’re only 28 years old



We were kids during

the Gulf War,



my dad fought in the '82 war



You know nothing about life



I even fought with Sherman tanks



In your times it was different

you always felt in danger



- No...

- Israel was in danger



instead we grew up

in another situation



we’re from a different generation



Listen to me!



Our twelve soldiers

killed yesterday hereabouts



were sitting in the open

to have a coffee



but they made a mistake! They

should have sheltered in a trench



it’s a lesson also for you who don’t

know how to entrench yourselves!



Nowadays they make a pile of sand

with a bulldozer to hide behind



Just a pile of sand!

Do you know what trenches are?



They’re metre-wide holes,

as deep as you are tall

they’re used to hide in

to save your life



- We’ve never been trained for this

- That was a fatal mistake!



- We didn’t grow up with the war!

- But you’re soldiers!



Let me explain...



I’m trying to tell you



that this won’t be the last war,

there will definitely be others



we’re surrounded by Arab countries



which don’t accept our existence



but we need a land



and a Jew without land is cursed!



TC 01.15.56.10

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qahir)



Some years ago I used

to walk around here



I was still a kid...



It’s hard for me to

remember that day



it’s the day I

jumped on a mine.



Right there...



The Mujahedeen left from there

to attack the enemy



the bombers came often



when they dropped their

bombs it was awful!



The Mujahedeen fought the Russians

who then left the country,



Afterwards the Americans came

then the Taliban came and wars broke

out between the different factions



I can’t understand why

men fight one another



Since I was born

there have been wars



There’s never been one day

of my life without war.



One day the Taliban set the mines,

the next day it was the Mujahedeen...



one day one group advanced and the other

retreated, the next day the opposite happened



and in this mess the Afghan people

underwent everything



TC 01.18.11.00

(SOMALIA)



(Madguud)



Baidoa is known as

the City of Walking Dead



when Siad Barre fell,

General Omar Jess arrived



who sacked the city

stealing everything



Afterwards the city was occupied

by those from the Marehan clan



who filled the wells full of sand

to chase away the population



in nine months

the city was completely destroyed



After the UN left the city,

the Haberghedir arrived



who massacred, raped,

and burnt down the houses



They killed the people and their bodies

were thrown into the rubbish dump



With this war between the clans, power

is nothing but nepotism and discrimination.



TC 01.19.41.24

(ISRAEL)



(Uri)



We must be stronger, in the past

we inflicted some heavy damage



these days unfortunately

it’s not like last time



when they launched Katuscia rockets,

we destroyed Lebanon’s entire electrical grid



they were without electricity for two weeks,

and they stopped launching the Katuscias



We have to be the best,

we have the best pilots in the world



We built our tanks ourselves



because the Americans didn’t want to give us any



we built them ourselves

and they’re the best tanks in the world



We’re all totally dedicated

to the Nation

and we love our country





TC 01.21.54.09

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qahir)



When I lost my legs I thought I’d never

be able to do anything any more



then I saw an invalid on a bike,

he told me about the Abar school



where I too then learned

to ride a bike



(Qahir and some bike mechanics)



Is it a racing bike?

Do you go racing on this bike?



- Is it a bike for invalids?

- Yes



This gear shift is

really nice, sir



- How much will it cost to fix it?

- This gear shift is great



The whole bike is great,

these parts are top quality



It’s in good condition but

it needs to be checked



How much is it?



Did they send it to you

from France?



The gear change is five-speed,

look how well it turns

(Qahir)



It’s really difficult to work in

these conditions, but I must do it



even with the rain and the snow

I manage to make deliveries with my bike



if I fall because of the icy roads,

I can’t get up on my own



TC 01.25.14.22

(SOMALIA)



(Madguud)



Baidoa is the city of poverty and

desperation



Before the city was freed

the NGO arrived



who gave out rice to

the population



The starving people devoured

the rice too hot



and so they died from haemorrhages



The NGO had four trucks



which they used to collect

the corpses from the street



they wrapped them up in twos

in the few sacks available



they loaded human corpses

as if they were sacks of rotten goods



for this reason Baidoa

became "The City of Walking Dead"



then those of us from the Badoia

clan managed to free the city.



TC 01.26.21.02



(Somali comandant)



Anyone who wants to enlist in

the army has to stop training



anyone left will be struck off

and won’t get any more help



your rations and salary will be

given to you at the training camp



we won’t give you anything else here



after training the government

will decide what to do with you



01.27.11.06



(Invalids soldiers)



I was in the Siad Barre army



I fought at the battle of Godey



after the fall of the government I didn’t

know where to go and I stayed here



We no longer have a life or a future!



I was a soldier in

the Somali army



In 1977 I took part

in the Ogaden War



where I lost a hand and was

wounded in the eyes by shrapnel



and was hit by a fragment of

grenade in this leg



there’s still something inside my hip.





For ages



since the central government fell



we’ve been forced to stay here,

half alive and half dead



the soldiers earn something and are

okay, instead we have nothing



TC 01.29.23.24

(ISRAEL)



(Comandant)



He phoned on Saturday to say

he was going to organize this event



he’s really a special person

like all of you



we thank you and hope to see you again

in the future only in times of joy. Thanks!



TC 01.29.47.09

(Uri)



There is no better army than

this in the world!



Here Captains and Majors sit at

the same table as their soldiers



and they eat, laugh and chat together



in the rest of the world officers

don’t join their soldiers



instead here there’s fraternity,

our motto is...



one for one, one for all



The war began slowly,

but we’ll clean up this land and peace will come



that’s my hope, but I’m afraid

that peace will not last long



Even today, after the cease-fire,

the Hezbollah left their trenches



and advanced towards our

soldiers who opened fire



and killed one of them,

so the others ran away



The Hezbollah fight like partisans

behind walls, windows, trees and inside houses



but they don’t fight one to one,

if they did we’d take them



when they fight one to one

we kill them all



The other day the Hezbollah

killed 20 of our soldiers



but in the same battle

our soldiers killed 55 of them



In the wars I’ve fought in,

first we conquered the objective



and then we cleaned up behind the lines



This war began slowly, but afterwards

we tackled it with greater determination.









TC 01.32.05.00

(groups of soldiers in the street)



- What are you filming?



- What TV are you from?

- Which channel are you from?



You might not get killed today!





TC 01.33.38.03

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qahir)



One day my mum said

to me that I was grown up



and that I should find myself a wife



and she asked some people whether

I could marry one of their daughters



but unfortunately I’ve no money...



I’d like to get married but

in my situation it’s difficult



I’d like to have a family and

a wife at my side always



No one wants to give their daughter

as a bride to an invalid



and if you’re poor too, no one considers

you or they laugh in your face.



When I think about this

I get even more pessimistic



If I still had my legs

I could get married very easily.





TC 01.37.07.00

(SOMALIA)



(Madguud with the second wife)



- Good day to you

- Good day to you



I’m dying of thirst



pour me some water



The situation is very difficult



we’re confused, we don’t know

what to do and where to go



the kids need to be sent

to the Koran school



Yes



- The kids must study

- Yes



If they study the Koran they learn

what isn’t a sin.



In this period I’ve had a lot of

difficulties and I’m confused



Since I met you you’ve been like that!



What?



You’ve been like that since I met you!



What have you cooked today?



- What have you cooked?

- Nothing, we’ll cook later



I’m hungry, cook something!



We’ll cook later

but drink this meantime



I don’t want to drink.

I don’t like this stuff.



But you’ll love it!



- I hate it. Give me something else

- I’ll cook something soon.



- Woman! How are you?

- Fine



- God be thanked

- Yes, God be thanked



- Everything OK?

- Yes



- And your health?

- It’s good



- Are you sure?

- Yes



- I’m glad to hear it



- You’re at home!

- I enjoy being here



- Are you content?

- Yes



- I thank God

- Yes



- And the kids?

- They’re fine



- Are you sure?

- Yes



- And your family?

- They’re fine



I live with what God offers me,

this is my destiny



every day my life and that of

my family is in God’s hands.



TC 01.40.32.13

(ISRAEL)



(Uri)



This was the hideout of the Haganah

(Jewish paramilitary organisation)



where they kept their weapons

during the British Mandate



I too was a member of the Haganah



and I used these weapons, the rifles,

this Thompson machine gun



Some come from the British army

others from Germany



with these weapons we fought the Arabs

until the end of the war of independence



I’ve also trained the younger ones

to use heavy machine guns



This was my favourite weapon

during the war of independence



when I joined the army



it was called a Tommy Gun and

I used it during battles



It was the weapon I preferred



but I also had a pistol



look, this was mine



I brought it here... for a time

I collected them



and here’s a Mauser



this is another Mauser



this is a long Parabellum



and this is a short Parabellum



this is mine too



when I was in the army I carried

a rifle and also my pistol



In Hebrew we call this a "slik"

which means "hideout".









TC 01.42.43.22

(SOMALIA)



(somali women soldiers)



The Islamic courts don’t have

the right to disarm us



their intentions are not

religious but political



that’s why we don’t want them.



This is one of the many

problems of the last 16 years



We’re not against anyone

who respects the precepts of Islam



but the Islamic courts want to

transform Somalia into a jungle



with dangerous animals that

kill the poor and defenceless



They don’t respect religion,

they’re not real Islamic courts



they’re not real Moslems,

they’re like Al-Qaeda



they’re terrorists like those

who attacked New York



they want to blow

up our country too



Men like that can’t

be Somali



they’re from Al-Qaeda and

they hide out in Mogadishu



If we don’t stop them

they’ll destroy us



these "lords" from Mogadishu

rape women



- Yes!

- Even young virgins



Anyone who deflowers girls with

their nails is not a real Moslem!



They’re all from Al-Qaeda!



How will we girls from the army

fight these men?



We’ll stop them and get rid of them!



They’ve invented a fake Islamic court

against real Moslems



they govern in respect of everyone and

instead they’re from a few allied tribes



they’re bastards!



Mogadishu is home to these

bastards, these terrorists!



When the soldiers were killing the

real holy men in the mosques



why did these Islamists

not stop them?



They were there



when they killed

the muezzin too.



We’ll prove that in Mogadishu

there are "Afghans" and "Oromo".



These bandits believe that

everyone else is like them



the world has to help us beat

these guys from Al-Qaeda!



Right!



TC 01.45.50.14

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qahir and a group of invalid postmen)



- After delivering the letters

I felt an unbearable pain



I couldn’t get up, but I came to

avoid losing my job.



Last night I was really restless



I felt a terrible pain in my shoulders



I couldn’t move my hands

or my legs any more



I should have bought some medicine



but a painkiller costs too much



- Then there’s the risk of dependence!

- Yes, that’s true



And then if I buy medicines I can’t

support my family



The prostheses hurt me especially

when I work



What do you feel?



When I work I get stabbing pains.





Once I fell, and a man

seeing me on the ground



instead of helping me...



Instead of helping you!



Asked me what I was looking for!



- Qahir?

- Yes?



There’s a delivery to be made

to the Abrar central office



note down this delivery too

on their account



All right



TC 01.48.22.18

(ISRAEL)



(Uri)



The Arabs must understand who’s boss

and who’s in charge in this country



and they must understand they live here with us



The Europeans are real angels



and want us to become angels too



In a war there are no "angels"

and this is war!



In war men are killed and wounded



And this is a war!





TC 01.49.55.04

(SOMALIA)



(Madguud)



There’s been no peace in

this country since '91



we don’t know what to do any more



we’re human beings,

we’re really confused.



no one has been able to disarm us

and to pacify the country for good



bringing wellbeing and happiness



Our life no longer depends on us,

but is in the hands of God,



TC 01.51.28..21

(AFGHANISTAN)



(Qhair and his friend Fazel)



I don’t know what to do and I’ve

no money to begin another job



I’m an invalid because a

landmine took my legs off



it’s this wretched war’s fault

if I’m like this



Give it to me, I’ll hang it up



Thanks



- Fazel?

- Yes?



What can I do to find

a wife?



It’s really difficult...



- Difficult?

- Yes...



You need a lot of money for the dowry,



Yes, you should find it



If I had it, it would be easier



but how can I find so much money!



You must have faith!



God will find the solution...





(Titles)



Direction and cinematography by

Giancarlo Bocchi



Editing collaboration

Elisa Cantelli
© 2024 Journeyman Pictures
Journeyman Pictures Ltd. 4-6 High Street, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 0RY, United Kingdom
Email: info@journeyman.tv

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