“WITNESS TO TRUTH”
LAUNCH of the VIDEO REPORT OF THE SIERRA LEONE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
Friday, Dec. 10, 6:30-8:00 PM, Tishman Auditorium, 40 Washington Square South, NYC
Free and Open to the Public
WHAT: Public launch of the official video to accompany the final report of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The 55-minute documentary includes original footage from an array of public and closed hearings held during the course of TRC operations, from March through December 2003. “Witness to Truth” provides a compelling narrative of the TRC’s main findings and recommendations. The video also lends a voice to some of those who recounted their experiences to the TRC. Yatta Mansaray, a female victim who testified in Kono District, gave the following account: “They killed my father. And they killed my husband as well. They killed my mother and ALL my relatives. I saw them cut my father’s throat. And they gave me my father’s blood to drink. And my husband was cut into pieces I was a nursing mother. He [my captor] took my baby from me. Cut the baby into two. After that he said ‘You know what we are going to do to you today? You have no relatives anymore. Well, today you are going to be my wife.’”
Following the viewing, panelists involved in the TRC process and the creation of the video will offer an evaluation of the work of the TRC.
WHO: Adeyinka M. Akinsulure Smith, Gillian Caldwell, and Howard Varney. Professor Meg Satterthwaite will moderate.
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 10, 2004; 6:30-8:00 PM
Sponsored by the NYU CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLOBAL JUSTICE AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW AND WITNESS