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