Time-code

Description

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Copyrights

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00:00:04

Yemeni Flag

ARIJ

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Sanaa City

Sana’a - Yemen

ARIJ

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00:00:23

Yemeni child is getting ready to go out with his own gun

ARIJ

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00:00:33

Yemen children dressed in military clothes walking

ARIJ

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00:00:39

Film title (Sons of War)

Sons of War

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00:00:45

General shots for a checkpoint in Sanaa

ARIJ

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00:00:46

Split screen: both of Abdullah and Alaa at the checkpoints in Sanna and Aden

ARIJ

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00:00:47

00:00:53

Voice over

Abdullah and Alaa’ found themselves enemies fighting in armed battles that they have nothing to do with

ARIJ

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00:00:53

00:01:07

Interview with Abdullah

We went to defend our land and country, we had to go to the fronts… and we are ready to go to any front

Abdullah (pseudonym)

17 years old - Sanaa

ARIJ

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00:01:07

00:01:19

Interview with Alaa’

Of course, at first my father and mother didn’t accept us carrying the weapon but then they did because it is a religious war

Ala’a

(pseudonym)

16 years old - Aden

ARIJ

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00:01:19

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Voice over

Abdullah and Alaa’ are not the only ones. Hundreds of children are sent daily to different war fronts. According to a UNICEF report, more than 1,150 children were recruited during 2015-2016 by the Yemen’s conflicting parties.

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Interview with Mohammed Al-Assadi, UNICEF spokesman in Yemen

This figure is seven times more than the number of 2014. This indicates that this phenomenon is increasing as more families are pushing their sons to join the war because of  increasing poverty caused by internal displacement, for religious or tribal reasons and  for other reasons.

Mohammed Al-Assadi, UNICEF spokesman in Yemen

ARIJ

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Voice over

Abdullah, 17, was taken away from his normal life by war. He was sent to one of the fighting fronts turning him from a child looking for fun and education into a fighter seeking martyrdom

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Footages of Abdullah prays

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00:02:55

Interview with Abdullah

I was a reckless person, chewing Qat. When the aggression started, we joined Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthis. I was chewing qat in the streets while on duty. I read the Houthis literature, and together with other friends, we decided to defend the homeland.

ARIJ

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voice over

Between the meeting of geography and the diverse opinions, the country became an open battlefield for the sons of Yemen.

ARIJ

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00:03:35

Different footages for children with weapons

From YouTube:

Al-Arabiya channel

Balqees channel

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voice over

In Aden we met Alaa’, 17, who is fighting in the ranks of the Southern resistance that loyal to President Abd-Rabu Mansour Hadi and the Saudi-led Arab Alliance. We had a long talk with Alaa’ in front of the barricade where he is fighting.

Aden - Yemen

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Ala’a Alaa’

We, the youth of Aden, carried weapons.  Of course, we carried weapons for the first time but we carried them to fight the Shiites because this is a sectarian war

ARIJ

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00:04:24

Voice over

The recruitment of children in the war in Yemen is not limited to one party. This is what we proved in this investigation. Hundreds of children are killed or injured on a daily basis on the different fronts

Media Center of the Yemeni Armed forces

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War clashes footages

Media Center of the Yemeni Armed forces

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Footages for Ammar walking

ARIJ

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voice over

Ammar (pseudonym), 14, escaped death after suffering an injury while fighting for the Houthi Popular Committees in battles at the Saudi-Yemeni border.

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00:04:56

00:05:21

Interview Ammar

I have had seven surgeries to remove shrapnel that has penetrated my body. I have had my spleen removed. They have also removed shrapnel that went through my liver, lungs and eyes…

ARIJ

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voice over

Ammar's family played a key role in convincing him to embrace the Jihadi culture. They even gave him a different welcome after he returned home with injuries.

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Interview with Ammar

I was welcomed as if I was a groom, a martyr, a living martyr. They greeted me with firecrackers.

Ammar (Pseudonym)

14 years old – Sana’a

ARIJ

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voice over

In spite of the severe injuries which befell Ammar five months ago, and dozens of shrapnel that were still in his body, he is waiting to recover and to return to the fighting

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Interview Ammar,

It’s been five months now, and thank God I have recovered while I am still getting treatment. God willing I will get better and return.

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00:06:25

Footages for Ammar walking out of his home

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voice over

According to a study conducted in 2015, the capital Sana'a ranks first in the number of child soldiers, followed by Aden

Child recruitment rates in Yemeni cities

(Within 2D map shows citites of Yemen)

Dhamar – Ab – Aden – Ta’ez – San’aa

A study for the social and economic effects of recruiting children in territories with highest recruiting rates in Yemen

ARIJ

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00:06:37

00:06:43

Interview with Mohammed Al-Assadi

All the fighting parties in Yemen are involved in the recruitment and use of children in one form or another  with varying degrees

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00:07:36

Interview with Abd Al-Kareem Ghanem

A child is said to be born like a blank paper. His family and society are the ones who instill in him/her the standards of patriotism. Hence, each society has its view of patriotism and every group has its view of patriotism. There are people who believe that fighting local groups with affiliation to foreign groups is an act of patriotism. Some believe that this group (the Houthis) has violated the legitimacy and it is an act of duty to defend the legitimacy. As a result, children are the victims of wrongful and exaggerated lobbying by their families or the media who support this or that side

Abd Al-Kareem Ghanem, a researcher in sociology

ARIJ

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voice over

Although both international and Yemeni laws have insisted on preventing the recruitment of children as soldiers, this has not hindered the recruitment of more children for use on the various fighting fronts and for exploiting them in various ways in this war, not only as fighters. This is endangering their lives

Some clauses and subject from the Yemen law

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Interview with Burkan Al-Aghbari, legal consultant

Recruiting children is enrolling them in armed groups, whether regular or irregular. Children are used by them in direct or indirect military actions such as serving in kitchens, or carrying things, or becoming workers and spies. This is almost the abbreviated definition that is mentioned in many international laws.

Burkan Al-Aghbari, legal consultant

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Interview with Alaa’

I participated in battles in Ja'auala front. I was always at the airport front

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00:09:00

Interview with Abdullah

I was at the back of the front as military supply and I wasn’t in the middle of the battle and did not fire much

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voice over

The 2015 UNICEF report documented the killing and wounding of thousands of children in armed fighting on various Yemeni fronts

ARIJ

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00:09:34

Interview with Mohammed Al-Assadi

We monitored more than 2500 children who either were killed or wounded during armed confrontations that started on March 26, 2015 signaling the  beginning of the war. This figure is not final, it only gives us an indication of the extent of destruction and damage to children, either by death, injury,  distortion or deprivation

ARIJ

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00:09:51

Interview with Abd Al-Kareem Ghanem

There are those who push children to death by using the promise of  paradise and beautiful virgins as rewards for martyrs.

ARIJ

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00:09:51

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voice over

These reporters accompanied a delegation Yemeni children who spoke to all parties  accused of recruiting children in the war

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Children chants

“Who would invade us will never get back home…Listen, Ban Ki Moon”

ARIJ

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00:10:50

Interview with Amatu Allah, head of children delegation

We met with the leader of Ansar Allah Abdul Malik al-Houthi, with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, with Taaz-based resistance leader Hammoud Makhlafi, with a member of the resistance in Ma’rib. Abdul Wahid Alqabali, and with all the members of the southern movement. We met them in the context of a political initiative whose priority is to keep children away from whatever form of  conflict, whether political or internal.

Amatu Allah, head of children delegation

ARIJ

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00:10:50

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General footages for children play at a playground

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00:11:42

Voice over

The scene of a child armed with a gun on in a military vehicle or at checkpoint has become familiar to many citizens in Yemeni cities.

Caught between religious slogans and local concepts of patriotism, more than 2,500 children have left school to serve at different fronts where a bullet that does not  differentiate between children and adults can end their lives

ARIJ

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00:11:42         00:12:00

Closing titles

Voiceover by

Khaled Wagdy

Edited by

Zawaya Film Production

Mena Negm

Senior Producer

Abdulrahman Yahia

Senior Editor:

Ahmed Soliman

General Supervision

Rana Sabbagh

Produced by

ARIJ

2017©

ARIJ

Track name

Source

License

Notes

1

Mirror image

Audionetwork.com                           

ARIJ’s license

License attached

2

Tektonika

Audionetwork.com       

ARIJ’s license

License attached

3

All is not lost

Audionetwork.com       

ARIJ’s license

License attached

4

Hungry God

Audionetwork.com       

ARIJ’s license

License attached

Time code

Track name

00:00:00:00

00:00:42:04

Tektonika

00:01:19:06

00:01:49:08

Tektonika

00:01:59:24

00:02:52:20

All Is Not Lost

00:02:52:20

00:03:09:10

Hungry God

00:03:10:12

00:03:37:11

Hungry God

00:03:40:01

00:03:55:05

Hungry God

00:04:54:16

00:06:17:24

All Is Not Lost

00:06:23:23

00:06:45:03

Mirror Image

00:07:20:09

00:09:11:06

Mirror Image

00:09:45:00

00:10:13:04

All Is Not Lost

00:10:43:20

00:11:12:21

All Is Not Lost

00:11:10:04

00:11:44:18

Hungry God

00:11:42:10

00:12:00:00

Mirror Image