Child Rights -- A Documentary by the Video Team of Kolkata Sanved

Hi,

We are the Video Team of Kolkata Sanved.

We are shooting a documentany film called Child Rights for Children's Day, which is on the 14th of November. We want to invite you to watch the film screening on the 13th of November 2010 at the Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata at 3 p.m. The film screening will be followed by performances that will go on until 6 p.m.

We had the chance to observe and interact with many homeless children in the course of shooting the film. We observed the dire straits they lived in, many times not having basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter.

We want to not only record, but to represent the lives of these children. We want this documentary to help them. While they were giving us interviews, they were doing so with a lot of hope. Encountering them in these desperate situations made us very unhappy. For example, we saw a lady on the railway platform who did not even have any clothes to wear for herself, let alone for her baby.

Today, the papers reported that a speech impaired child labourer aged 12 was accused of stealing and tortured by his employer all night. Beaten severely and given electric shocks, he returned home in the morning and hung himself. This news sent chills down our spines.
We marvel at the fact that in spite of so many laws supporting child rights, so many children still fall prey to abuse. We firmly believe that basic human rights must be provided to all children. No matter how they may be disabled, they all need to be nurtured and protected from harm. Parents of child labourers especially must be made aware of these rights.

We encountered several difficulties in the course of shooting the film. However, this was the very first time we were shooting something independently on the field. We are gaining in confidence because of our experiences in creating this documentary.

Thank you,
Bithika, Tamanna and Pinky.

(translated from the Hindi and Bengali by a volunteer at Kolkata Sanved)