Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places
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0:01 - 0:03I would like to start
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0:03 - 0:05with the story of Mary,
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0:05 - 0:07a woman from an African village.
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0:07 - 0:09Her first memories
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0:09 - 0:12are of her family fleeing violent riots
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0:12 - 0:16orchestrated by
the ruling political party. -
0:16 - 0:20Her brother was murdered
by the state-sponsored militia, -
0:20 - 0:21and she was raped more than once
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0:21 - 0:26just because she belonged
to the wrong party. -
0:27 - 0:30One morning, a month before the election,
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0:30 - 0:33Mary's village was called
to another intimidation meeting. -
0:33 - 0:36In this meeting, there is a man
standing in front of them, -
0:36 - 0:39telling them, "We know who you are,
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0:39 - 0:41we know who you will vote for,
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0:41 - 0:44and if you're not going
to drop the right paper, -
0:44 - 0:47we're going to take revenge."
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0:47 - 0:50But for Mary, this meeting is different.
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0:50 - 0:52She feels different.
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0:52 - 0:54This time, she's waiting for this meeting,
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0:54 - 0:59because this time, she's carrying
a small hidden camera in her dress, -
0:59 - 1:02a camera that nobody else can see.
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1:02 - 1:04Nobody is allowed to film
in these meetings. -
1:04 - 1:06You risk your life if you do.
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1:06 - 1:10Mary knows that, but she also knows
that the only way to stop them -
1:10 - 1:14and to protect herself and her community
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1:14 - 1:16is to expose their intimidation,
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1:16 - 1:20to make sure they understand
somebody is following them, -
1:20 - 1:24to break the impunity they feel.
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1:24 - 1:28Mary and her friends were filming
for months, undercover, -
1:28 - 1:31the intimidation of
the ruling political party. -
1:31 - 1:34(Video) ["Filmed with hidden cameras"]
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1:34 - 1:38Man: We are now going to speak
about the upcoming elections. -
1:38 - 1:42Nothing can stop us
from doing what we want. -
1:42 - 1:45If we hear you are with [The Opposition]
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1:45 - 1:48we will not forgive you.
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1:48 - 1:53["Militia intimidation rally"]
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1:53 - 1:55[The Party] can torture you at any time.
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1:55 - 1:58The youth can beat you.
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1:59 - 2:04["Disruption of political meeting"]
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2:08 - 2:12For those who lie, saying they
are back with [The Party], -
2:12 - 2:14your time is running out.
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2:14 - 2:17["Party youth militia"]
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2:17 - 2:19Some have died because they rebelled.
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2:19 - 2:22Some have lost their homes.
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2:22 - 2:26If you don't work together
with [The Party], -
2:26 - 2:32you will lead a very bad life.
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2:38 - 2:42Oren Yakobovich: These images
were broadcast all over the world, -
2:42 - 2:43but more importantly,
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2:43 - 2:46they have been broadcast
back to the community. -
2:46 - 2:49The perpetrators saw them too.
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2:49 - 2:51They understood somebody
is following them. -
2:51 - 2:55They got scared. Impunity was broken.
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2:55 - 2:58Mary and her friends forced
the ruling political party -
2:58 - 3:00not to use violence during the election,
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3:00 - 3:04and saved hundreds of lives.
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3:04 - 3:06Mary is just one of hundreds of people
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3:06 - 3:10that my organization had helped
to document human rights violations -
3:10 - 3:13using cameras.
-
3:13 - 3:16My background should have
led me to a different direction. -
3:16 - 3:19I was born in Israel
to a right-wing family, -
3:19 - 3:21and as long as I remember myself,
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3:21 - 3:24I wanted to join the Israeli army
to serve my country -
3:24 - 3:29and prove what I believed
was our right for the whole land. -
3:29 - 3:34I joined the Israeli army
just after the first intifada, -
3:34 - 3:37the first Palestinian uprising,
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3:37 - 3:38and I served in one of the hard-minded,
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3:38 - 3:42toughest, aggressive infantry units,
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3:42 - 3:47and I got the biggest gun in my platoon.
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3:47 - 3:49Quite fast, I became an officer
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3:49 - 3:52and got soldiers under my command,
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3:52 - 3:55and as time passed, I started
serving in the West Bank, -
3:55 - 3:58and I saw these images.
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4:06 - 4:08I didn't like what I saw.
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4:08 - 4:09It took me a while,
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4:09 - 4:13but eventually I refused
to serve in the West Bank -
4:13 - 4:16and had to spend time in jail.
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4:16 - 4:17It was a bit —
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4:17 - 4:20(Applause) —
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4:20 - 4:21It was not that bad, I have to say.
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4:21 - 4:25It was a bit like being in a hotel,
but with very shitty food. -
4:25 - 4:26(Laughter)
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4:26 - 4:30In jail, I kept thinking
that I need people to know. -
4:30 - 4:32I need people to understand
-
4:32 - 4:35what the reality
in the West Bank looks like. -
4:35 - 4:37I need them to hear what I heard,
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4:37 - 4:39I need them to see what I saw,
-
4:39 - 4:42but I also understood, we need
the Palestinians themselves, -
4:42 - 4:44the people that are suffering,
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4:44 - 4:46to be able to tell their own stories,
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4:46 - 4:52not journalists or filmmakers
that are coming outside of the situation. -
4:52 - 4:55I joined a human rights organization,
-
4:55 - 4:58an Israeli human rights
organization called B'Tselem. -
4:58 - 5:00Together, we analyzed the West Bank
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5:00 - 5:04and picked 100 families that
are living in the most risky places: -
5:04 - 5:08close to checkpoints, near army bases,
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5:08 - 5:10side by side with settlers.
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5:10 - 5:14We gave them cameras and training.
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5:14 - 5:18Quite fast, we started getting
very disturbing images -
5:18 - 5:23about how the settlers
and the soldiers are abusing them. -
5:23 - 5:26I would like to share with you
two clips from this project. -
5:26 - 5:30Both of them were broadcast in Israel,
and it created a massive debate. -
5:30 - 5:32And I have to warn you,
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5:32 - 5:35some of you might
find them quite explicit. -
5:35 - 5:37The masked men you
will see in the first clips -
5:37 - 5:39are Jewish settlers.
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5:39 - 5:42Minutes before the camera was turned on,
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5:42 - 5:44they approached a Palestinian family
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5:44 - 5:45that was working their land
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5:45 - 5:48and told them that they
have to leave the land, -
5:48 - 5:50because this land belongs
to the Jewish settlers. -
5:50 - 5:52The Palestinians refused.
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5:52 - 5:55Let's see what happened.
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5:55 - 5:59The masked men that are approaching
are Jewish settlers. -
5:59 - 6:04They are approaching
the Palestinian family. -
6:21 - 6:23This is a demonstration in the West Bank.
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6:23 - 6:25The guy in green is Palestinian.
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6:25 - 6:28He will be arrested in a second.
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6:28 - 6:31Here you see him
blindfolded and handcuffed. -
6:31 - 6:34In a few seconds, he regrets
he came to this demonstration. -
6:38 - 6:42He's been shot in the foot
with a rubber bullet. -
6:43 - 6:46He is okay.
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6:48 - 6:53Not all the settlers and the soldiers
are acting this way. -
6:53 - 6:57We're talking about a tiny minority,
but they have to be brought to justice. -
6:57 - 6:59These clips, and others like them,
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6:59 - 7:03forced the army and the police
to start investigations. -
7:03 - 7:05They've been shown in Israel, of course,
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7:05 - 7:08and the Israeli public
was exposed to them also. -
7:08 - 7:11This project redefined
the struggle for human rights -
7:11 - 7:13in the occupied territories,
-
7:13 - 7:18and we managed to reduce the number
of violent attacks in the West Bank. -
7:21 - 7:23The success of this project
got me thinking -
7:23 - 7:26how I can take the same methodology
to other places in the world. -
7:26 - 7:28Now, we tend to believe that today,
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7:28 - 7:30with all of the technology,
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7:30 - 7:31the smartphones and the Internet,
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7:31 - 7:35we are able to see and understand
most of what's happening in the world, -
7:35 - 7:37and people are able to tell their story —
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7:37 - 7:39but it's only partly true.
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7:39 - 7:42Still today, with all
the technology we have, -
7:42 - 7:44less than half of the world's population
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7:44 - 7:46has access to the Internet,
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7:46 - 7:49and more than three billion people —
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7:49 - 7:51I'm repeating the number —
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7:51 - 7:57three billion people are consuming news
that is censored by those in power. -
7:59 - 8:00More or less around the same time,
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8:00 - 8:04I'm approached by a great guy
named Uri Fruchtmann. -
8:04 - 8:06He's a filmmaker and an activist.
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8:06 - 8:08We understood we were
thinking along the same lines, -
8:08 - 8:15and we decided to establish Videre,
our organization, together. -
8:15 - 8:18While building the organization in London,
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8:18 - 8:20we've been traveling undercover to places
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8:20 - 8:22where a community
was suffering from abuses, -
8:22 - 8:24where mass atrocities were happening,
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8:24 - 8:27and there was a lack of reporting.
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8:27 - 8:31We tried to understand how we can help.
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8:31 - 8:34There were four things that I learned.
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8:34 - 8:36The first thing is that we have to engage
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8:36 - 8:39with communities that are
living in rural areas, -
8:39 - 8:43where violations are happening
far from the public eye. -
8:43 - 8:45We need to partner with them,
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8:45 - 8:49and we need to understand which images
are not making it out there -
8:49 - 8:51and help them to document them.
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8:52 - 8:54The second thing I learned
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8:54 - 8:57is that we have to enable them
to film in a safe way. -
8:57 - 9:02Security has to be the priority.
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9:02 - 9:04Where I used to work before,
in the West Bank, -
9:04 - 9:06one can take a camera out,
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9:06 - 9:08most likely not going to get shot,
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9:08 - 9:10but in places we wanted to work,
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9:10 - 9:15just try to pull a phone out,
and you're dead — literally dead. -
9:15 - 9:17This is why we decided
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9:17 - 9:19to take the operation undercover
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9:19 - 9:20when necessary,
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9:20 - 9:22and use mostly hidden cameras.
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9:22 - 9:25Unfortunately, I can't show you
the hidden cameras we're using today — -
9:25 - 9:27for obvious reasons —
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9:27 - 9:29but these are cameras we used before.
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9:29 - 9:31You can buy them off the shelf.
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9:31 - 9:35Today, we're building
a custom-made hidden camera, -
9:35 - 9:37like the one that Mary was wearing
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9:37 - 9:39in her dress to film
the intimidation meeting -
9:39 - 9:41of the ruling political party.
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9:41 - 9:43It's a camera that nobody can see,
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9:43 - 9:46that blends into the environment,
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9:46 - 9:48into the surroundings.
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9:48 - 9:51Now, filming securities go beyond
using hidden cameras. -
9:51 - 9:56Being secure starts way before
the activist is turning the camera on. -
9:56 - 9:58To keep our partners safe,
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9:58 - 10:01we work to understand
the risk of every location -
10:01 - 10:04and of every shot before it's happened,
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10:04 - 10:07building a backup plan
if something goes wrong, -
10:07 - 10:09and making sure
we have everything in place -
10:09 - 10:12before our operations start.
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10:12 - 10:16The third thing I learned
is the importance of verification. -
10:16 - 10:18You can have an amazing shot of atrocity,
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10:18 - 10:22but if you can't verify it,
it's worth nothing. -
10:22 - 10:26Recently, like in the ongoing war
in Syria or the war in Gaza, -
10:26 - 10:31we've seen images that are staged
or brought from a different conflict. -
10:31 - 10:34This misinformation destroyed
the credibility of the source, -
10:34 - 10:39and it's harmed the credibility of other
reliable and trustworthy sources. -
10:39 - 10:43We use a variety of ways to make sure
we can verify the information -
10:43 - 10:45and we can trust the material.
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10:45 - 10:46It starts with vetting the partners,
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10:46 - 10:50understanding who they are,
and working with them very intensively. -
10:50 - 10:52How do you film a location?
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10:52 - 10:54You film road signs, you film watches,
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10:54 - 10:55you film newspapers.
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10:55 - 10:59We are checking maps, looking at maps,
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10:59 - 11:02double-checking the information,
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11:02 - 11:06and looking also at
the metadata of the material. -
11:06 - 11:09Now, the fourth and the most
important thing I learned -
11:09 - 11:13is how you use images
to create a positive change. -
11:14 - 11:16To have an effect,
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11:16 - 11:21the key thing is how you use the material.
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11:21 - 11:23Today, we're working
with hundreds of activists -
11:23 - 11:25filming undercover.
-
11:25 - 11:28We work with them both to understand
the situation on the ground -
11:28 - 11:31and which images
are missing to describe it, -
11:31 - 11:36who are the ones that are
influencing the situation, -
11:36 - 11:40and when to release the material
to advance the struggle. -
11:40 - 11:42Sometimes, it's about
putting it in the media, -
11:42 - 11:44mostly local ones, to create awareness.
-
11:44 - 11:47Sometimes it's working
with decision makers, -
11:47 - 11:48to change laws.
-
11:48 - 11:53Sometimes, it's working with lawyers
to use as evidence in court. -
11:53 - 11:54But more than often,
-
11:54 - 11:58the most effective way
to create a social change -
11:58 - 12:00is to work within the community.
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12:00 - 12:03I want to give you one example.
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12:03 - 12:08Fatuma is part of a network of women
that are fighting abuses in Kenya. -
12:08 - 12:11Women in her community
have been harassed constantly -
12:11 - 12:14on their way to school
and on their way to work. -
12:14 - 12:18They are trying to change
the behavior of the community from inside. -
12:18 - 12:20In the next clip,
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12:20 - 12:25Fatuma is taking us with her
on her journey to work. -
12:25 - 12:29Her voice is superimposed
on images that she filmed herself -
12:29 - 12:31using hidden cameras.
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12:31 - 12:34(Video) Fatuma Chiusiku:
My name is Fatuma Chiusiku. -
12:34 - 12:36I'm 32 years old, a mother,
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12:36 - 12:39And Ziwa La Ng'Ombe is my home.
-
12:39 - 12:42Each morning, I ride the mini-bus
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12:42 - 12:44Number 11.
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12:44 - 12:47But instead of a peaceful journey to work,
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12:47 - 12:50each day begins with fear.
-
12:50 - 12:52Come with me now
-
12:52 - 12:54and use my eyes
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12:54 - 13:00to feel what I feel.
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13:00 - 13:02As I walk, I think to myself:
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13:02 - 13:03Will I be touched?
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13:03 - 13:05Grabbed?
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13:05 - 13:08Violated by this conductor again?
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13:08 - 13:10Even the men inside
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13:10 - 13:12the way they look at me
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13:12 - 13:15touch my body, rub against me,
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13:15 - 13:17grab me,
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13:17 - 13:19and now, as I sit in my seat
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13:19 - 13:22I only wish my mind was full
of thoughts for my day, -
13:22 - 13:23my dreams, my children at school,
-
13:23 - 13:28but instead I worry about
the moment when we will arrive -
13:28 - 13:33and I will be violated again.
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13:33 - 13:38OY: Today, there is a new front
in the fight for human rights. -
13:38 - 13:41I used to carry a big gun.
-
13:41 - 13:44Now, I am carrying this.
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13:44 - 13:50This is a much more powerful
and much, much more effective weapon. -
13:50 - 13:54But we have to use its power wisely.
-
13:54 - 14:00By putting the right images
in the right hands at the right time, -
14:00 - 14:03we can truly create an impact.
-
14:03 - 14:05Thank you.
-
14:05 - 14:13(Applause)
-
14:13 - 14:16Thank you.
-
14:16 - 14:19(Applause)
- Title:
- Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places
- Speaker:
- Oren Yakobovich
- Description:
-
To see is to believe, says Oren Yakobovich — which is why he helps everyday people use hidden cameras to film dangerous situations of violence, political fraud and abuse. His organization, Videre, uncovers, verifies and publicizes human-rights abuses that the world needs to witness.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 14:35
Yasushi Aoki commented on English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Morton Bast approved English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Madeleine Aronson edited English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places | ||
Madeleine Aronson edited English subtitles for Hidden cameras that film injustice in the world’s most dangerous places |
Yasushi Aoki
29
00:01:23,738 --> 00:01:27,724
Mary and her friends were filming
for months, undercover,
->
Mary and her friends were filming
for a month, undercover,