The Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers announces a new documentary—A Farewell to Arms
Africa takes the lead in getting guns off the streets and out of the bush.
Through the voices of ex-combatants, aid workers and government officials, this 28-minute video documents how the proliferation of small arms and light weapons fuels conflict and blocks development in Africa. But the video tells a story of hope, not despair. It relates how successful government, church and civil society initiatives in West Africa, Kenya and Mozambique are working to get rid of guns. In particular, the documentary follows the successful initiative of President Oumar Alpha Konaré of Mali to establish a region-wide moratorium on small arms production, imports and exports. His vision became reality on 31 October 1998, as heads of state from 16 countries agreed to such a ban.
To order a free copy of the video, contact Preben Marcussen at the International Department of the Norwegian Red Cross. In addition to showing the video to conferences and assemblies, please try to have the video screened on your local TV so that as many others as possible will hear its message. We would appreciate knowing when and where the video was played.
When ordering the video, specify which kind of video tape you require—PAL (used by most of Europe), SECAM (used in France, Russia, francophone Africa), NTSC (used in North America and Japan), and specify language—French or English. There is also a short (8 minute) version available, upon request.
A Farewell to Arms was produced by Bjørn and Heidi Bye at TV Communications, Oslo for NISAT.
NISAT was formed in December 1997, by the Norwegian Red Cross, Norwegian Church Aid, the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and the Norwegian Institute for Interantional Affairs. Its aim is to combine the resources and networks of its partner organizations to help block the spread of small arms to areas where they are likely to exacerbate conflict, violence and human rights abuses.