Talking Borders
Talking Borders tells the stories of a woman trader, a policeman and a young ex-fighter living in the border areas of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
Based on over 300 interviews, this docudrama shows how petty corruption, routine harassment and bureaucracy blight local people's daily lives.
"You enter, you pay. When you don't pay, they detain you," explains Hawa, a Liberian woman who crosses the border regularly to sell her goods in Sierra Leone. "When you come with your market they say you have to pay customs but they won't tell you how much the government says you should pay - they just charge whatever they want."
"If you say something about it, they tell you it's what they do in other countries. But this is our own country - the money they're taking, what is it for? ...and the worst part of it all is that they harass us for sex ."
Improving security in border areas
Conflict in the Mano River region is interwoven: countries are closely linked through their ethnic groups, history and wars. Rebel advances during the 1990s took little heed of state borders. Instead these were zones where fighters were recruited and war economies thrived.
People were left to fend for themselves, without any state infrastructure. They have long felt abandoned and despite the wars ending, continue to struggle without basic services.
Conciliation Resources believes border regions should be places for building bridges between communities, and where people can move their goods freely without fear of corruption or harassment.
Consolidating good governance, peace and security in such areas is crucial. But a profound change in people's attitudes and behaviour is needed to ensure rights are respected and accountability is upheld.
This film gives a voice to those who have something to say about this. We want to use it to help start a dialogue for change and solutions in these communities and beyond. Watch it on YouTube and tell us what you think.
