(This study guide complements one-third of the Musicians in the War Zone program, which is 1 hour long and is only available in the full 1 hour format)
Produced: 2001

War Child Canada and MuchMusic created a program about human rights and war-affected children that would engage a youth audience and inspire them to action. 'Musicians in the War Zone', is an hour long human rights special communicating the ravaging effects of war on youth globally, and exploring human rights issues through the eyes of youth and Canadian artists: The Rascalz in Sierra Leone, David Usher (Moist) at the Thai-Burmese border and Chantal Kreviazuk & Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) in Iraq. 

This documentary aims to tell the story of the impact of war on young people, to inspire global action and help to  make change in support of war affected children.While in the field, the musicians acted as journalists and narrators, connecting the television viewing audience with war-affected youth through their questions, their concerns and their detailed exploration of the impact of war on the lives of young people, who were often very candid about their experiences. The combination of award winning, platinum recording artists and riveting footage from the field are guaranteed to be an effective teaching tool to captivate the youth/young adult audience and help inspire them to get involved.

For more information, and to get your class or school involved in War Child Canada's youth programs, please visit, www.warchild.ca or contact War Child Canada at (613)562-3334.

STUDY GUIDE FOR SIERRA LEONE

This video is part of a series developed by War Child Canada and Much Music called “Musicians in the War Zone”.

The following questions and activities are based on the order in which information is presented in the video. The activities included here cover three different types of questions and assignments: basic review questions on information that is presented in the video; questions which deal with issues or events requiring further research; and assignments which require personal reflection on the issues being explored. You may wish to view the video, or sections of it, more than once.

The activities included here are only suggestions. You may wish to adapt these for the students in your class. Some of the questions might be best addressed in small group discussions or in a form of classroom debate; you may wish to extend others to include specific actions or participation in a campaign. Obviously, it is important to use those activities that best suit the students and the curriculum.

Several scenes and interviews in the video contain images and information that may be disturbing for students. After viewing the video, it is recommended that students spend time on the first question, giving them the opportunity to record their immediate, personal responses to what they have seen and heard. A discussion should follow this writing time, allowing students to express their emotional responses to the video before they continue with any other questions.

1. Record your immediate responses to this video. How do you feel after watching this video? Why do you feel this way? What scenes and images stand out after watching it? Why are these scenes and images powerful for you?

2. At the beginning of the video, Red says he is feeling “conflicted” and asks whether he is “doing the right thing”, or is involved in something that might “exploit [these] kids”.

a) What are some of the things he might be concerned about as he and his group begin their visit?

b) What are the precautions that his group and the video crew might take to avoid anything that might be considered ‘exploitative’?

3. We learn from the video that since 1991, rebels have been fighting to overthrow the government of Sierra Leone. The warring factions have been fighting for control of the country’s diamond mines. Widespread human rights abuses have been carried out, and some of these have been carried out by child soldiers. The Rascalz visit an amputee and war-wounded camp to learn more about the war and its effects on the people. Red 1 and Mucterr, the chairman of the camp, discuss the conflict.

a) How many amputees live in the camp? What injuries have these people suffered?

b) Who captured control of the diamond mining areas? What was this group able to do through their sale of diamonds?

c) What human rights abuses have been carried out by the rebel group in the country? Why did they commit these atrocities?

d) Visit websites such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to learn more about the conflict in Sierra Leone. What other factors contributed to the crisis in this country?

4. Mucterr says that what he wants is for “the world to stop buying the diamonds” from Sierra Leone. Red says that if we buy diamonds from Sierra Leone “ this is the effect you could be contributing to”.

A number of recommendations have been made by the United Nations in an effort to prevent further conflict. The recommendations include imposing a global embargo on all diamonds exports from Sierra Leone.

a) What does the UN hope to achieve through this embargo?

b) How have human rights groups reacted to the steps taken by the UN? How have the major diamond companies, such as DeBeers, responded to it?
Check websites for the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch for information.

c) How does the advertising of diamonds by major corporations compare to the reality of life in Sierra Leone? Deconstruct a number of print ads for diamonds to examine the messages and values being conveyed to audiences. Create an alternative “ad” that communicates to all potential customers what the reality is like behind the image.

5. A woman in the amputee camp is willing to tell the tragic story of seeing her daughter’s leg being cut off by soldiers, but she also tells Sol that she sees no benefit from camera crews coming to record her story. Sol reassures her that recording the story is necessary in order for us to understand what has been happening there. 

Is Sol right? Is this kind of video necessary in order for us to understand the devastation caused by the war? How would you respond to the woman being interviewed? Compare this video with other reports of the conflict in Sierra Leone. What do these eyewitness accounts convey to viewers that other types of reports do not?

6. MuchMusic chose to take the Rascalz to Sierra Leone to help tell this story, and Sol explains their reason for going: “…to try to get the kids who listen to our music and look up to us, let them know about the situation here so hopefully we can help.”

a) Discuss the power of celebrities in drawing our attention to global issues and human rights. Identify other examples in the media where celebrities have been used to highlight similar issues. Explain whether or not you think their use is effective and/or appropriate.

b) Some people are critical of the use of celebrities, claiming it takes attention away from the issue and the puts the ‘spotlight’ on the celebrity. How would you assess the role of the Rascals in this video? Who or what is the focus of this video? Who is telling the story of Sierra Leone?

7. Mucterr states that the visit by the Rascalz will help establish assistance for them, and he states that the Canadian government “is really thinking of us”.

a) Investigate what the Canadian government has done to help the people of Sierra Leone.
Consult the website of the Canadian government, and check the Department of Foreign Affairs and National Defense for information.

b) What can you learn about the response of the international community to this conflict?

8. The Rascalz visit a rehabilitation camp for child soldiers involved in the war. Red 1 speaks to one boy who explains what happened to him and to other children during the war.

a) How did the soldiers force the children to become involved in the fighting?

b) How did the children identify themselves as soldiers?

c) Why do the children remain in the camp, even though the war is over?

d) What does the rehabilitation camp offer the children? What kind of future does this boy look forward to now?

e) Sol explains that he never would have believed these children were child soldiers if he didn’t meet them himself. Why does he feel this way?

9. Throughout the video we are presented with a number of shocking statistics. Record responses to the following questions:

a) How many people have been displaced by the war in Sierra Leone? How many people have died?

b) How many child soldiers exist in the world today?

c) What has happened to 5,000 children in Sierra Leone?

d) Where has Sierra Leone been placed on the UN list of recommended countries?

e) What is the average life span of a person in Canada? What is the average life span of someone living in Sierra Leone?

10. The Rascalz state that what they are seeing in Sierra Leone is “real”, and what we see in movies is “glamorized”.

a) In what ways are the scenes and images presented here different than the ones you might see in a dramatic film?

b) What are the conventions for dramatic or action adventure films that include violence? (Consider special effects, sound effects, choreography and music.) To what extent might these conventions ‘glamorize’ violence?

c) This video is based on the conventions of documentary filmmaking. How does this kind of filmmaking convey a sense of reality? (Consider the use of on-camera testimonial footage, unscripted dialogue, use of real people, etc.)

d) Discuss the effect of the hand-held camera as the Rascalz walk through the camps. What effect does this have on our perspective as viewers?

12. At several points in the video, there is a juxtaposition of images as the screen is divided into two or more sections. In other places a single images fades into another. Select one video sequence and examine it closely. What effect is created through the presentation of the images in this sequence? How do the images work with the text and music to convey a message about the situation in Sierra Leone? Are there certain elements that are more powerful for you than others? Why? Compare your interpretation of this sequence with that of your peers.

13. The song “All Over the World” by the Rascalz provides the soundtrack for this video. Examine the lyrics of this song. How do they comment on the places the Rascalz visit and the people of Sierra Leone?

14. One thing that often strikes visitors to areas like the amputee camps in Sierra Leone is the “illogical optimism” of the young people and the children. Despite the suffering the children are faced with each day, they are still a people of hope.
Red 1 says that his experience in Sierra Leone “makes things at home look kind of irrelevant”.
Sol says that “a whole lot of everything just seems a lot less important as I stand here…”

Missionaries and aid workers have often said that those who struggle for anything ‘better’ in the future can teach us a lot about finding happiness in our own lives. Do you agree with this statement? Write a personal reflection in which you explore the lessons that you can take away from this story of the refugees in Burma.

15. At the end of the video Sol states: “Everybody can do something to help people out…” Misfit says that we should “choose something in the world that means something to [us].”

What global or human rights issues are you interested in, or would like to learn more about? How is it possible to support the people of Sierra Leone? Consult the website for War Child Canada and the New Internationalist to find out how you can get involved in a number of human rights campaigns.

16. “When we stand at the top of the heap we cannot see, feel or experience life at the bottom. Those at the top feel no need for change or reform. If we travel to a new viewing point, that of those at the bottom, we risk conversion.” Bob Holmes C.S.B.
“Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.” Martin Luther King

Discuss the ways in which these statements apply to the experience of the musicians and to what we learn from this video. Consider the new viewing point that is provided from meeting the children and learning about their situation from them (rather than from a news report), and visiting the amputee and rehabilitation camps. What does King’s statement tell us about the importance of leaving the “top of the heap”, and looking at things from a new perspective? Write a reflection in which you explore how these lessons can apply to our own experiences and interactions with others.

RECOMMENDED INTERNET RESOURCES:

Corporate Watch: www.corpwatch.org
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) www.fair.org
Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org
Independent Media Centre (Indymedia) www.indymedia.org
One World: www.oneworld.org
-this site has links to over 100 partners, such as Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org) and The New Internationalist (www.newint.org)
United Nations www.un.org
War Child Canada www.warchild.ca

Written by Carolyn Wilson:
Carolyn Wilson is a teacher, author and President of the Association for Media Literacy in Ontario, Canada. Carolyn teaches Media Literacy and English at St. Michael Secondary School in Stratford, Ontario and is the co-author of the best selling text book, Mass Media and Popular Culture, Version 2. She recently developed an interdisciplinary global education program that includes a billeting experience in the Dominican Republic and a volunteer placement with a local social service agency. She has written about and given workshops on such topics as global studies and the media, corporate sponsorship in education, gender representation in the media and communications technology.

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