Snagfilms is currently showcasing the heart -wrenching short film, Footprints. Footprints is a film that aims to raise awareness to the issue of cluster bombs dropped on countries such as Laos and Afghanistan and the many that fail to detonate. These bombs lay dormant for years, sometimes decades, until they are triggered by farmers and children causing many civilians to lose limbs, their livelihoods, and even their lives. Footprints calls attention to a serious threat for many today that has been swept under the rug and forgotten.

To watch the film click the following link: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/footprints#

Special thank you from Voice For Human Rights to Chase Chambers from Snagfilms for sharing this with us!

The sister of Feroz Ahmad Malik mourns his death as the funeral procession makes its way through the city of Srinagar. Feroz was killed when authorities indiscriminately opened fire on the city. His death led to massive protests in Srinagar.

The summer of 2010 produced Pakistan’s worst flooding in 80 years. More than 1,500 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been stranded by the flooding.

Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in protest to the confiscation of his wares and constant harassment by authorities. Bouazizi’s death became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution inciting demonstrations and riots throughout the region in protest to social and political issues. The public demonstrations eventually led president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali  to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.

Officials in protective gear check for signs of radiation on children who are from the evacuation area near the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Koriyama, Japan, following the earthquake and tsunami in March.

Bibi Aisha an Afhan woman was disfigured after fleeing her husband’s home. Aisha’s father promised her to a Taliban fighter when she was 12 years old and she was married at 14. After being abused by her husband’s family, she fled to her parents home. In the middle of the night a group of men showed up at her parents house and forced them to give her up. The men took her into the mountains and cut off her nose and her ears, leaving her to die. Aisha was rescued by and taken to a shelter run by the aid organization Afghan Women For Women.

Police spray Ugandan opposition party leaders with colored water during demonstrations in the capital Kampala. President Museveni, in power for 25 years, accused the opposition of trying to spread chaos to avenge their defeat in February’s disputed presidential elections. The tactic of spraying paint at protesters is fairly common in Uganda, spraying protesters a distinctive color makes it difficult for people to escape the authorities.

A student demonstrator is punched by a police officer while participating in a protest in Chile. The student demonstrations in Chile began as a protest over the costs, profits, and fairness of higher education. They continued to attract other segments of Chilean society venting frustration over wages, health care, and other issues.

Pamphlets are hurled by workers and teachers of public education toward congressmen during a protest against a new law on public education during a session of the Chilean congress in Valparaiso on April 20, 2011.

The worst drought in 60 years hit the Horn of Africa region in 2011. Thousands of Somalians fled their homes in search of water, food and aid. Mihag Gedi Farah, a seven-month-old child, is held by his mother in a field hospital of the International Rescue Committee in the town of Dadaab, Kenya.

Women flee the bombing at Oslo. Anders Behring Breivik was the orchestrator behind the pair of attacks in Oslo that killed at least 92 people. Brevik left behind a detailed manifesto outlining his preparations and calling for a Christian war to defend Europe against the threat of Muslim domination.

Occupy Wall Street began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s financial district. The movement has since sparked Occupy movements in numerous cities across the United States and the world. The protests are against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed and corruption. The slogan of the movement “We Are the 99%” refers to the growing disparity in income and wealth between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population in the U.S.

After a peaceful demonstration at UC Davis, a video spread of an officer in riot gear blasting pepper spray into the faces of seated protesters. In the video, the officer a member of the university police force, sprays the seated students in a sweeping motion while walking back and forth.The incident incited a massive public outcry.

The national security team receives an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1. Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011 by a United States special forces military unit.

On 17 February 2011, major political protests began in Libya against Gaddafi’s government. By March of 2011 the country had descended into civil war. A rebel fighter celebrates as rebel forces fire a rocket toward the positions of troops loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.  On 20 October 2011, Muammar Gaddafi was killed by rebel forces in his home town of Sirte.

Sources: Buzzfeed.com, Global Post

AFGHANISTAN.— Farida Nekzad constantly faces threatening emails and phone calls, and death threats are an almost daily reality for this Afghani writer.

In fact, most local journalists who publish critical articles of Afghanistan’s local customs and national politics are subject to threats of kidnapping and death, especially woman writers.

“You have to fight everyday,” Naksad explains, “You have to accept the risk, and that’s why we face such challenges.”

Nekzad began as a journalist at Pajhwok News Agency, the country’s largest local provider of independent news agency. The news agency began as a small project in 2003, and soon grew into a nation-wide network of correspondents with eight bureaus and an average output of three dozen stories per day.

Neksad soon took over as managing editor and began training many young journalists, many of which were women. “Everyone needs information, particularly women need to know and have information for their awareness. I think one of the ways we can do something is by starting with this profession,” Neksad explained.

After years of receiving threatening emails and phone calls, a bomb exploded on the driveway of Neksad’s home and she was forced to leave. At the time Neksad was pregnant with her daughter Muska.

The journalist left Pajhwok in 2009 in an effort to lower her profile.

Soon after however, Farida and her husband created an online news agency called “Wakht”. Nekzad is currently the agency’s director, overseeing a staff of over two dozen journalists who cover all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces, most of the journalists are women.

Social and cultural restrictions against women in Afghanistan remain strict despite the ouster of Taliban from Kabul in 2001. The constitution claims to greatly expand women’s legal rights, yet most women are never taught to read, a mere 14% of women in Afghanistan are literate. “Women need for women to share their experiences, share their problems and share their challenges of how they suffer,” Neksad said.

Limited internet access restricts online news agencies like Wakht in delivering information, but even still there are signs of a developing women’s rights movement.

Many women however, fear the effects of a resurgent Taliban once NATO hands over areas to Afghan security forces.

“The biggest problem is that there is no guarantee (for women’s safety),” Neksad said, “who will guarantee that the Taliban…will agree that women should be a part of the activity and a part of the society to work?”