The New Zealand Film festival drew to a close on Sunday with a showing of the Annie Goldson documentary “Brother Number One” about the torture and murder of Kerry Hamill in Cambodia back in 1978. I’ve written about this case a couple of times in the past here and here and I also saw Rob Hamill, Kerry’s brother, give a talk about this at TEDxChCh last year. The film explores Rob’s journey, physically and emotionally, as a civil party in the trial of Duch, the CEO (Chief Execution Officer) of Tuol Sleng, the infamous S-21 torture and death camp in Phnom Penh.

The film has been put together very well, enabling those not familiar with the story, to really understand what happened and how the immediate family was affected. This year’s film festival had a strong theme of war and torture, with films like “Incendies” and “The First Grader” but I was still deeply moved by this film. It’s easy to become worn out by such stories, either feeling powerless, pessimistic or resigned. For me though they simply reinforce the need to keep pushing for democratic systems where human rights abuses are less likely to happen.

One interesting aspect of the film was the ability to interview survivors of Tuol Sleng, a handful of people who made it out alive and were able to bear witness to the atrocities that took place. Even more amazing were the interviews with those complicit such as the head of the local navy and an interrogator. Annie and Rob, especially, did a great job in keeping their emotions in check whilst doing their best to dig out as much information as they could without losing control. For Rob this really was a search for clues, for any piece of information, which would help him to piece together the last days of his brother. There was something almost masochistic about this undertaking. Why put yourself through that 30 years after the event? It was interesting that not all Rob’s siblings were entirely supportive of the idea (though on seeing the end result that changed). I can understand the reaction. The family had suffered enough so why drag it all up and make a film about it?

But that’s the whole point of bearing witness, of the calling to account, ultimately of justice. It’s also about acceptance, about releasing hidden and suppressed feelings of anger, hurt, betrayal, disgust, worthlessness and so on. Testifying in front of the court was the culmination of Rob’s journey and it was a fascinating moment, as he interrogated Duch directly. Duch was very courteous in answering his questions, bringing all his new found Christian beliefs to the fore. You almost had to pinch yourself to believe this was happening. Rob’s wife, Rachel, watched on the television outside the court, sensing his pain. I sensed that pain was still there when he spoke to the audience after the film.

Maybe it’s something that never leaves you. Even with all the Truth and Reconciliation Committees, The International Criminal Courts and other justice organisations, one is left with grief for the manner in which a loved one is killed. So within the carnage that was the Cambodian genocide, we are left with a simple human story of a brother that never came home and who found himself, by sheer misfortune, in the midst of a terrible process of human destruction. There is a no easy answer to be gleaned, no trite conclusion to be presented, just a revealing portrait of the suffering of one man and those around him.

Whilst the nature of justice is explored constantly, there are no solutions offered. How can there be? We’ve seen it all before, with the 20th Century littered with genocidal maniacs and the 21st Century is off to the same start. No, this is very much Rob’s personal story, a journey of discovery, understanding and exploration. One can only hope that producing this great film (there will be lots more footage on the website) will help him to release some of that pain and suffering. The film is an important testimony and it stands upright in that endeavour. In the end though life goes on and I’m left with the image of Kerry, not in S21, but sitting on the front of the Foxy Lady, grinning away at the joy of life. I’m sure that’s how he’d like to be remembered.

So the Tamil Tigers are no more and yet another ethnic conflict comes to a miserable end. How many killed for this? Has it made any difference? It may take some time for that question to be answered. Like many ethnic conflicts, this one seems to have gone on for a long time making one wonder what exactly it was all about.

My parents actually lived in Sri Lanka for a short time just before the civil war broke out. I spent the Xmas holidays on 1980/1 visiting them and enjoying the gorgeous beaches of the south west and the green hinterland. When I heard that civil war had broken out it didn’t really resonate with me. As a 14 year old, the Sinhalese and Tamils I had met just seemed like people. Also growing up with the conflict in Northern Ireland never far from the news, it seemed par for the course.

People, even of the same colour and country, could still engage in war. Both sides of my family have been on the wrong end of the ethnic vacuum cleaner so maybe I was just inured to it.But these days I am very tuned into any mention of ethincity and references to improving the hygiene of ones home country.

Whilst pondering the end of the latest carnage I was floored by the story of a Catholic man who was beaten to death by a group of Rangers football supporters in a small town in Northern Ireland. It was after Rangers had triumphed by winning the Scottish soccer leage competiton that a bunch of Rangers fans, Protestants, decided to pay a visit to the Catholic part of town and basically murder someone. Which they did.

So it continues. It’s a bit 20th century though.

Nowhere is immune from this.

What about that gorgeous Kingdom of Happiness, Bhutan. Apparently a wonderful place to visit and a very progressive society. In fact about 5 years ago I included Bhutan in a paper on E-government. It was quite advanced for a small mountainous country. No mention in the Wikipedia entry of ethnic cleansing.

Yet in the last 15 Years nearly 15-20% of the population has been cleansed and evicted from the country. What the..???

They certainly kept that quiet. 120,000 Bhutanese have been transformed into refugees living in 7 camps in Nepal. Some have found their way here to Christchurch to start a new life.

It feels like an ongoing epidemic……it’s hard to know when it will stop. Our identity is so important to us, yet at the same time it allows the tyranny of the majority an easy way to express any kind of anger or frustration. As Amartya Sen writes in “Identity and Violence“,

“..a major source of potential conflict in the contemporary world is the presumption that people can be uniquely categorized based on religion or culture”.

Indeed but it’s our willingness to succumb to group behaviour and peer pressure that allows atrocities like ethnic cleansing and genocide to happy. How can we move away from the “clash of civilizations” and to an appreciation of the person?

Actually I don’t know if we can. It seems so ingrained in our nature. Of course we can all educate our children and imbue them with values that include compassion, kindness and care.

I wonder how technology will help? I have a feeling that will play a bigger part than we realise. Maybe when all the teenagers around the world are connected through the semantic web……who knows?

In a wonderful case of the pot calling the kettle black, the US stomped its feet at the reprehensible actions of a member fo the Emirates royal family. The torture of a man, which was videoed, has sent US authorities into a high spin cycle of moral wash. It’s a very nasty example of what goes on “over there”. Authoritarian regimes tend to treat people however they feel like it. But somehow its what we have come to expect from certain nations.

The US is taking this very seriously and reportedly holding up several military technology deals whilst the case is looked over. At the same time, Dick Cheney, the Republican Robespierre, is a strong supporter of torture himself, a stand which has cost the US incalcuable harm in terms of foreign relations and standing.

Whilst the new administration has taken a strong stance against torture and has shut down Guantanamo Bay, the US has yet to recover from its actions during the Bush years.In fact this exchange shows that the country is very much split on the issue of torture as a means to and end…if it’s the right thing to do. Never mind that the US has rather lost its mojo when it comes to freedom and liberty and right to a fair trial, it is still yet to recover and find its feet on this issue.

The spreading of democracy and freedom by the sword seems to sounds very much like the spreading of the word of God by the sword. Are they one and the same? Has the US turned to the darkside? The war on terror or war of terror? The zeal of many Americans towards towards justifiable torture creates some interesting historical parallels.

As Brandeis said ” The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” Essentially “men of zeal” have always justified their actions by proclaiming some form of revelation, enlightenment or spiritual cleansing. The poster boys or high priests (literally) of torture, the Inquisitors, ahowed us the road to God but ultimately were trumped by Robespierre, surely the father of modern terror, in the world of modern state. Perhaps terror was France’s most infamous and underreported export?

As Robespierre put it “This terrible war waged by liberty against tyranny” must surely involve killing many people…who are not on the right side of the ledger…..and on and on……Leopold (The Belgian Genocider), Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot all merrily feasted on the droppings of this freedom lover. Can “virtue and terror” sleep easily with each other. I think not.

It’s good to see the US authorities reacting with dismay and distaste to this story. Only now can they really face up to what has happened over the last 8 years (and let’s face it many years before). But also what is clear is that its a debate that has someway to run as the US pillars freedom, liberty and virture are disinfected by the sunlight.

It’s just year now since I wrote about the death of Dith Pran and Kaing Guek Eav, the commandant of S-21 who was finally put up for trial. Well now the time has come for Duch to face justice, some 30 years after he oversaw the imprisonment, torture and execution of some 15,000 people.

It’s been a long wait for many Cambodians but justice, although seemingly asleep, can be awoken at any time. It’s also a poignant moment for Kiwis as Kerry Hamill, brother of Rob Hamill, the NZ rower, was one of the victims along with a British man, John Dewhirst and a Canadian, Stuart Glass. Their boat had drfited into Cambodian waters in 1978 leaving them at the mercy of the murderous regime. Stuart Glass was killed instantly but John and Kerry made the harsh journey to camp S-21 where they eventually were killed.

Another Kiwi, Dame Silvia Cartwright, is one of the five judges appointed to oversee the trial. It will undoubtedly be a very testing case to judge even though the evidence is quite clear. It will hopefully prompt the international community to look around the world and see if it could be doing more to prevent genocides and other cleansings from taking place.

They could start by looking at the decimation of the Karen people in the world’s No 1 Murder Regime, Mynamar. But there is no shortage of murderous action around the world especially where natural resources are plentiful. Plus ca change………

As for Duch and his explanations, I think we are long past accepting “i was following orders” as any kind of defense for violent action.

As Edmund Burke said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”

I wanted to share this story about the rehabiltion of child soldiers in Africa. It’s nothing short of a human tragedy and deserves our attention. About 10 years ago I did a course on the International Dimensions of Human Rights. One fact that really troubled me was the sheer numbers of children who had been co-opted by force into becoming soldiers and ultimately killers. The use of drugs and torture was commonplace and the results horrific.

Yet out of this comes a story of healing which has lessons for all of us especially those in developed countries where teenage crime is on the rise. I’ll leave you all to draw your own conclusions.

I was reading an obituary today for Dith Pran, the man who brought the “Killing Fields” of the Khmer Rouge to a global audience. Not only was it a moving story as portrayed in the film but it was a first hand account of the Cambodian genocide. It reminded me of some of the news stories recently about the men involved in carrying out orders from their leaders.

There was Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who processed thousands through S-21, a prison and torture centre. As he tells it he simply followed orders and after a time realised either he carried on or he and his family would be killed like all the others. This is a common theme: the chance of survival at any cost or certain death. Once you’ve killed a few another hundred or thousand is just numbers.

What about Joseph “Zig Zag” Marzah, a “lieutenant” of Charles Taylor, Liberian warlord. He recalls a culture of fear and severe repression within which there was no escape. Henchman who failed to carry through vicious killings were dispatched in similar fashion, on one occasion completely dismembering a former rebel leader and eating his liver. Cannibalism was encouraged as a weapon of fear.

Anyone who has seen “Blood Diamond” or even the new “Rambo” film will have seen theatrical glimpses of the way ordinary civilians are routinely tortured and killed in various parts of the world.

Never mind the 20th century as the bloodiest on record the 21st is shaping up to be pretty wet also.

Branton posted recently on the film “Beowulf” and how the myth demonstrates that we manifest what we truly believe about ourselves. The birthing of monsters is something we see all the time today. Did the US not support and fund the Khmer Rouge initially? Did they not fund Saddam initially as well as the Taliban?

So what can we learn from all this? Not that there is somehow a solution to genocide or that, as was said post-Holocaust, it will never happen again. It will happen again, somewhere and somehow. Sure we can make changes to the system that generates conflicts and doesn’t provide for all but really it’s ourselves that need to change. What we believe about ourselves is what comes out into the world. Will we continue to be like Hrothgar or will we be like Beowulf? Will we unite with the source or continue to separate ourselves and descend into a world of monsters?

The choice is ours.