Daily Star - Human rights film festival to focus on neglected issues - January 25,2011

By Simona Sikimic Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Some of Lebanon’s most pressing, but least talked about, human rights issues are finally set to get serious airtime this week when a specially dedicated festival opens its doors. Taking over Beirut’s Metropolis cinema Sofil from Thursday, the four-day event will address concerns related to women’s rights, refugees’ and migrant rights and enforced disappearance. It will bring together regional experts and unveil a string of documentaries, made by participating civil society groups all struggling to improve the situation in Lebanon. Caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud and the European Union’s newly appointed ambassador to Lebanon, Angelina Eichhorst, will inaugurate the event, with caretaker State Minister Mona Oufeich also scheduled to speak about the progress made and the obstacles left in achieving gender equality. “The topic that we are covering and our research is all focusing on things that are not known about or discussed but are going on all around us and are major problems,” Sofia Palandri, project manager of Italian Solidarity in the World (COSV), told The Daily Star. Subjects like domestic violence between employers and their domestic workers and trafficking of persons will all be explored, she added. Implementation partner, COSV, has been laying the foundation stones for the festival since March 2009 when they launched the “Multimedia Virtual Space for Human Rights” campaign, which combines on-the-ground research and awareness raising work with multimedia techniques, used to broaden appeal and bring in younger audiences. Funded by the EU, the project runs with the cooperation of three Lebanese partners: the Permanent Peace Movement, Enough Violence and Exploitation (KAFA), and Lebanese Center for Human Rights. “The nongovernmental organizations scene in Lebanon is reflective of the general social set up and although many work on similar issues, they can be divided and do not always cooperate,” said Palandri. “Part of our mission was to make them work together so they could be more effective in fighting the problems.” The holistic approach has been greeted with enthusiasm from activists. “What is special about this festival is that it is bringing women’s rights issues onto the same platform as other human rights,” said Zoya Rouhana, director of woman’s’ rights NGO KAFA. “We have always advanced the idea that women’s rights are integral to other human rights and that the two must be viewed and addressed together.” Over the next two months, each organization is expected to launch a string of reports focusing on specific issues of concern. The first report, “The State of Freedom of Association in Lebanon: What Prospects for the Future?” is scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday the official press launch of the festival. It focuses on the access to association for minority groups, such as migrants and refugees, concluding that while freedom of association in Lebanon has improved since the end of Syrian occupation in 2005, it remains hindered by obstacles that limit fundamental rights, especially for marginalized segments of society. “If some groups are finding it more difficult than others to gain access to their rights then this means that the freedom is being restricted and that the proper mechanisms are not being respected, which unfortunately they are not,” said Palandri. Two additional reports on “Torture in Lebanon and Arbitrary Detention” and “Discrimination in Lebanese Society” – which will touch on issues such as racism toward foreigners, refugees and Lebanese of mixed descent – will be published over the coming weeks. A collection of documentaries made by COSV and local partners, however, promise to be the highlight of the festival. Featuring interviews from victims of torture, sexual and domestic abuse, the short films showcase the enduring anxiety felt by those who have been denied their human rights, while educating others to prevent future abuse. Festival premiers include “Jadayel,” airing Saturday, which captures the life of Angeline, a Sudanese hairdresser struggling to make ends meet in Lebanon. “About Latifa and Others,” a documentary produced by KAFA and Future TV’s Farah Sami Fayed, set to be screened on Thursday, follows the tragic life story of Latifah Kassir. After 10 years of domestic abuse Kassir was finally strangled to death by her husband and discovered by her children. The closing scene of the documentary pictures her brother at her funeral calling for Parliament to enact domestic abuse legislation. “This film is extremely powerful and demonstrates how all too often the level of violence against women can reach the level of murder,” said Rouhana. “We hope it will wake people up to the reality of abuse and discrimination.” The festival will also feature lectures, poetry readings and photography exhibits.