THE BROKEN FLIGHT
(28' 05")
TIME VIDEO AUDIO
00:00 RIDER IN OPEN NATURE
NARRATION:
There was a time long ago when
the horseman rode proudly
across fields and steppes and
the eagle soared in an
immaculate sky. The rider, the
bird and the wilderness. From
time immemorial, the image
symbolized harmony with nature.
But somehow, somewhere,
something went wrong.
(31")
00:42 EAGLE FLIESACROSS
POLLUTION AND
BURNING FORESTS
(Music)
01:07 F/I TITLE:
THE BROKEN FLIGHT
(Music)
-2-
01:19 EAGLE HUNTER
NARRATION:
Birkouchy, the ancient
tradition of hunting with
eagles. Kazakhstan is one of
the last places on earth where
this tradition survives. Though
tame with his master, the
fierceness of he eagle rivals
that of the wolf, its ultimate
prey. (15")
01:39 LANDSCAPE
OF KAZAKHSTAN
The birkouchi, the eagle
hunter, is the symbol of
Kazakhstan, a vast, rugged land
where the stark beauty of
nature dazzles in its
diversity. The winds blow
steadily across the steppes and
the tundras which stretch for
thousands of miles from the
Caspian Sea to China. (22")
-3-
02:00 LANDSCAPE AND PEOPLE
OF KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan is the second
largest republic of the former
Soviet Union and home to the
Kazakhs, proud descendants of
Mongol warriors. But the
harmony between people and
nature is deceptive; time and
again, the land and the people
of Kazakhstan have been visited
by forces far more terrifying
and destructive than the
legendary hordes of Ghengis
Khan. (28")
02:42 NUCLEAR EXPLOSION From 1949, Kazakhstan served as
the launching pad for the
Soviet Union's journey into the
atomic age. (8")
02:56 IÿOPLE AFFECTED BY
RADIATION
More than 500 nuclear
explosions, many of them above
ground, were carried out in
eastern Kazakhstan. Hundreds
of thousands of Kazhaks have
been exposed to more radiation
-4-
than any other people on Earth.
(17")
03:23 ATOMIC LAKE8 Over the years, scores of
nuclear devices were exploded,
not only for defence, but in
ill-conceived projects for
agriculture and mining, leaving
behind ghastly atomic lakes and
a dead land. (16")
04:01 IMAGB8 OF INDUSTRIAL
POLLUTION
Industrialisation in the former
Soviet Union was conceived as
an heroic drive towards
modernity and prosperity. The
reality is an environmental
legacy of systematic
aggression, both against man
and against nature. (16")
-5-
04:27 SMOKING CHIMNEYS The system that produced
poisonous nuclear craters and
radioactive waste lands, lives
on in the belching smokestacks
of Semipalatinsk, the hub of
the industrial and nuclear
complex in Kazakhstan. Choking
clouds of brown coal dust burn
the eyes and make every breath
seem like a game of Russian
roulette. (22")
04:55 GHOST TOWN Vast regions of Kazakhstan have
been declared ecological
disaster areas. In some parts
of the country, pollution
levels are so high that
evacuation is the only possible
solution. (13")
-6-
05:13 WIDOW AND SON A few older people, like this
widow with her mentally
retarded son, have remained,
refusing to join the
environmental exodus. (ii")
05:30 DOCTOR AND PATIENT Medical researchers have been
finding alarming evidence of
deteriorating health and
genetic malformation among the
residents of the worst affected
areas. (i0")
05:50 8UPERED TITLE:
IERBOL,
18 YEAR8 OLD
WITH DOCTOR
SYNC - (TRANSLATION-IN CAPS)
- "Have you lost your mom and
dad?"
- "I have my dad. Mummy died".
- "Your mummy died? What did
she die from?
06:16 Boy CRYI.G Don't cry, don't cry... We are
just having a little talk.
It's all right...
-7-
06:32 SUPERED TITLE z
VERA PALKENA,
ENDOCRINOLOGIST
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
"He lives with his elder sister
now. But the sister has many
children as well and they
always have problems with food.
Maybe that explains the
situation. If he had an
appropriate diet maybe it would
be a different story."(13")
06:50 CHILDREN PLAYING
POLLUTION OUTSIDE
FACTORIES
NARRATION:
Life goes on in Urst-
Kamenogorsk one of the most
ecologically ravaged cities in
the world. The children play,
oblivious to the poisons in the
air around them, while their
parents labour in the factories
amidst clouds of choking, toxic
fumes. (18")
-8-
07:11
l
MAN IN CRANE Newly independent Republics,
like Kazakhstan, are today
saddled with massive, obsolete
and inefficient industries that
are neither economically nor
environmentally redeemable.
(13")
07:25 FACTORY INTERIOR
8HOT8
But these rusted factories are
still the workplace for
millions of men and women.
Where to begin looking for the
middle ground between the grave
risks posed by economic
collapse and ecological
catastrophe? (15")
07:45 8UPERID TITLE:
RICIARDADAMOV
FJVIRONMENTAL
OFFICER
SYNC - ÿTRANSLATION)
"Environmental protection
bodies can now shut down
industry that harms the
environment. But this raises a
new problem. What happens to
the people working in these
factories? (15")
-9-
VOICE OVER - ADAMOV
One solution is to convert
steel factories into new
production facilities and
create jobs to produce finished
articles. (7")
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
This would gradually solve the
unemployment problem." (3")
08:20 TR,ÿDB UNIONIST WALKS
ZNSIDE FÿCTOR¥
NARRATION:
Boris Soloviov is a trade union
leader in Urst-Kamenigorsk. In
the country where industry is
still largely state-owned, and
where there's little prospect
of rapid change, new labour
unions are springing up.
They're becoming key players in
the struggle to correct the
worst environmental excesses,
without causing a complete
collapse of the economy. Boris
embodies a new breed of trade
union activist turned
-i0-
environmentalist. (30")
09:03 8UPERED TITLE:
BORIS 80LOVIOV
TRADE UNION LEADER
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
"Today, we have in fact made
things more difficult. We have
installed a water circulation
system which means we've
practically eliminated
harmful pollutants from the
water. At what cost? Even
though in the short term we
won't have profits, we are
willing to sacrifice with a
view to long-term benefits,
because as a worker and a
father, I believe life must
have a future." (34")
09:45 OVERHEAD PAN OF
UIÿT- KAMENEGORSK
ANIMAL LIFE IN
SCHOOL BASEMENT
CHILDREN PLAYING
NARRATION:
Pollution here is so pervasive
that nature itself has been
driven underground. In a
school basement,
the children of Urst-
-ii-
WITH ' A NTMAL8 Kamenogorst learn about
something their parents never
knew or have long since
forgotten: the mystery and
wonders of nature. (20")
i0 : 17 SUPERED TITLE:
BORIa TCHERBAKOFF.
NATURP, LIaT
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
"These children are from Urst-
Kamenogorsk. You've seen what
it's like, the chimneys, the
factories, the plants. And the
parents of these school
children all work in those
factories. The city, being the
way it is, deprives them of any
contact with healthyÿ normal
nature. But here, they learn
about the natural environment,
they realise how man sometimes
destroys it all with his often
mindless activitieS. The
children need to be taught
about this: They're the future
of my country." (39")
-12-
11:05 EAGLE, TRANSITION TO
SENEGAL FRESCO ON A
WALL. PAINTER
(Music)
ii:30 PAINTER AT WORK
VOICE OVER:
"Thanks to this fresco, the day
of the accident will stay in
our memory. A lot of people
died on that day. We haven't
forgotten. It happened on the
24th March 1992. I want it to
be recorded...
SUPERED TITLEÿ
PAPISTO BOY
ARTIST
SYNC - ÿTRANSLATION)
...so that our sons, and the
sons of our sons mayunderstand
that there was an ammoniac
accident explosion here in
Dakar, Senegal." (22")
-13-
11:57 ARCHIVE IMAGE8 OF
8ONACO8 FOOD PLANT
DAKAR, SENEGAL
NARRATION:
It happened at the Sonacos food
plant. A tank containing
ammonia exploded while the
liquid was being transferred to
a silo. The explosion killed
and maimed dozens of workers on
the spot. (12")
12 : 16 MEDIUM 8HOT OF FRONT
OF 8ONACO8 BUILDING
What followed was worse: a
deadly cloud of ammoniac gas
formed. Blown by the warm
Sahalian winds, the cloud
spread beyond the plant,
killing everyone in its path.
Men, women and children working
in small shops outside the
plant fell dead at a breath.
It was one of the worst
industrial accidents in Africa:
75 people died, hundreds more
suffered serious injuries.
(34")
-14-
13:02 VXLLAGB 0UTSIDE
DÿIÿR
The Sonacos disaster serves as
a grim remainder that
industrial accidents, whether
in Senegal or elsewhere, can
spill beyond the thin line
separating the workplace from
the rest of the environment.
(13")
13:18 BADÿX WALIÿ, VISIT8
ONB OF THB VXCTIIÿ
Landing Badji, a labour
attorney and rights activist
has taken up the cause of the
accident victims. (7")
13:46 8UPBRED TXTLB:
LANDING BADJI
L/&BOUR LAWYBR
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
"This is Amillo who's only
fourteen and is a living symbol
of the tragedy. The girl
worked in a small restaurant
and now her whole future has
been sacrificed. (i0")
-15-
14:02 CLOSE UP OF AMILLOI8
8CARS
VOICE OVER - BADJI
Every day we are exposed to
tons and tons of ammoniac that
not only pollutes this
environment but which also
kills. Yet, in spite of this
constant threat to our lives,
there is no budget for the
prevention of such disasters.
We are just left to ourselves,
(19")
SYNC - TRANSLATION
just as this victim
herself."
is left to
(3")
14:39 8UPERED TITLE:
FATIMA TOURE
EVVIRONMENTAL
OFFICER
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
"This train transports sulphur
which goes right through the
suburbs of Dakar. As you can
see my eyes are beginning to
sting with the wind blowing
this way. You could say this
train is a moving bomb."
(16")
-16-
TIÿCXING 8HOT OF
FREIGHT TRAIN
VOICE OVER - FATIMA TOUPÿ
"Here again I feel that
environnmental considerations
have not been taken into
account... (4")
SYNC - (TRANSLATION)
...and we worry that if there
were to be even a mild
accident, the whole area would
be ablaze and just vanish."
(6")
15:03 BAY OF DAIÿxR
NARRATION:
The waters of the bay of Dakar
used to be clear and blue.
Now, the bay has become an
industrial sewer. In their
fight against poverty, many
developing countries are making
a big effort to attract
industry. But the economic
benefits often carry a high
environmental price tag.
(20")
-17-
15:50 FATIMA TOURE
ON CAMERA
SYNC - TRANSLATION
"It is absolutely necessary to
contribute effectively to the
socio-economic development of
our country and the environment
can be an important, even
crucial factor. (9")
VOICE OVER - FATIMA TOURE:
In fact, it is of fundamental
importance. After all we know
environmental resources are the
very basis of industry, and
environmental protection really
goes hand in hand with
employment creation. Some
claim that developing countries
have no right to
industrialisation. No. On the
contrary! We have every right
to industrialisation, but it
must be one that takes into
account .... (21")
-18-
SYNC - TRANSLATION
...a rational exploitation of
environmental resources. We
have the same right to
development
countries."
as all industrial
(7")
BRI&NCH OF LEAVES,
VZLLAGERS WÿtLX/NG,
CRUMBLZNGrALL8 OF
HOUSES,
RUFI8QUEe SENEGAL
16:32
NARRATION:
In the small village of
Rufisque on the Senegalese
coast, site of the only cement
factory in Senegal, the
crumbling walls are a daily
reminder of the conflict
between environment and the
economy. (14")
16:54 Cm ST Pm T Dynamite blasting at a nearby
quarry feeds gravel to the
cement factory, which employs
thousands of workers. But the
blasts crack the walls of the
surrounding homes to the dismay
of their inhabitants. (13")
-19-
17 : 07 WOMAN IN BEDROOM
DESCRIBING TREMORS
17:17 WOMEN SMOKING FISH
CEMENT PLANT AS A
BACKDROP
The tradition of drying fish
has been one of the village's
most important economic
activities long before the
plant arrived to alter the
quality of the fish. But an
environmental group believes
that the plant and the fish
processing can coexist in
harmony. (16")
17:36 MAN WITH SMOKED FISH
VOICE OVER - HIADEC
"When there is a wind, the
cement blows straight this way,
and as you can see, this fish
is covered in dust. (7")
-20-
SUPERED TITLE:
JEAN PIERRE HIADEC
CONSUMERS
ASSOCIATION
SYNC - TRANSLATION
And this is what we eat...we
are not asking for
millions...all we ask for is a
warehouse. We are positive
that SOCOCIM must stay here, it
must give people work.(12")
VOICE OVER - HIADEC
...but there has to be a
sacrifice. This sacrifice can
be that ... (5")
SYNC - TRANSLATION
we accept the factory, while
the factory in turn not only
accepts us in its environment,
but cleans it up a bit as
well." (9")
18:17 SUPERED TITLE:
SADIBOU DIOP
SOCOCIM ENGINEER
SYNC - TRANSLATION
"It would be difficult to claim
that we have hardly any dust at
SOCOCIM because we do. A
cement factory can not operate
without dust, but we try to do
-21-
something about it. That is
why. we have installed these
filters. (12")
18:33 80COCIM CEMENT PLANT
VOICE OVER - DIOP
"Over there, you hardly see
anything coming out, which
means that the filters are
working well. We need to
produce cement. If we were to
buy this cement in Europe this
factory would be in Europe, the
factory's in Senegal, but it
has to produce cement, and
jobs. So, also with regard to
employment, this unit is
extremely important." (23")
18:58 TÿZ8 AROUND AND
INSIDE CEMENT PLANT
NARRATION:
A green belt planted by the
management is now growing
around the SOCOCIM plant.
is perhaps 0nly a symbol.
a hopeful one. Many
enterprises
It
But
in both North and
-22-
South are beginning to reject
the polluter's profile while
turning to a greener and
cleaner way of doing business.
(20")
19:29 EAGLE FLIES.
TRANSITION
VENESUELA. BEAUTY
OF TEE DELTA
The Amacuro delta in Venezuela,
home of the formidable Warao
tribe. Their ancestors resisted
the invasion of the Spanish
conquistadors who were
searching for a mythical E1
Dorado. But there is a very
real treasure here, nature's
transcendent beauty and glory.
(25")
-23-
20:10 MAN PADDLING CANOE Few places in the world give
life to such a profuse
diversity of animals and
plants. The jungle is the
source of the oxygen we
breathe, the garden of the
plants that cure us. From time
immemorial, the Waraos have
lived in harmony with this
voluptuous, humid environment:
the land they call the realm of
the forest and the water.
(26")
20:42 BURNING FOREST But even here, the rivers are
dying and the rich, eternal
forests are being senselessly
reduced to ashes. (7")
20:53 BURNING GRAB8
-24-
21:00 GINENEZ WALKING IN
GRÿS8 FIELD
VOICE OVER - GIMENEZ
"This is very sad for all of
us, because it means
destruction, plant life being
killed. (6")
21:19 8UPERED TITLI z
EFRAIN GIMENEZ
WARAO LEADER
SYNC - TRANSLATION
Where there is life, there is
also feeling. Nature and the
environment are being
destroyed. Fire weakens the
earth, Which looses strength
for agriculture. This means
actual destruction of nature".
(14")
21:37 NATIVES CUTTING PALM
TRRw8
NARRATION:
Wholesale cutting and clearing
of the forest has intensified
since harvesting the fruit of
the palm tree began 20 years
ago. Multinational food
companies, often with the
complicity of the local
indigenous people are now
tearing down the forest in
-25-
search of profits. Helpless
against the destruction, the
Warao people are silent
witnesses to the agony of their
own land. (29")
22:17 SUPERED TITLE:
WARAO PEASANT
SYNC - TRANSLATION:
"The palm tree companies are
taking away our land. They
mark land, and it is (8")
VOICE OVER - PEASANT
...theirs. We, the Indians, we
have no rights. Without land
to work with... (12")
SYNC - TRANSLATION
... we are going to die. What
else can we do?" (ii")
-26-
23:00 CLOSE UP OF VALIBEe
NATZVE8 CROWDED IN
MIBEIÿBLE CONDZTION8
NARRATION:
Victims of the degradation of
their environment, the once-
proud people of the forest,
become refugees of the war
against nature. With paradise
lost, the Warao people have
little choice but to seek
refuge in the slums of towns
and cities, like here in
Tucupita. Crowded in
conditions of unspeakable
misery, they're prey to savage
exploitation and in this
volatile environment, frequent
quarrels among dwellers are
part of the daily scene.
(32")
23:38
SYNC - IN CAPTIONS
- "Kill me, kill me, I don't
give a damn!"
- "You are a bastard!"
-27-
23:51 WOMAN OBSERVING
FAMILY QUARREL
VOICE OVER - GONZALEZ
"What you see here is something
totally different from the
original way of life, where
they come from, as far as their
(5")
SUPERED TITLE:
JESUS GONZALEZ
WARAO DOCTOR
SYNC - TRANSLATION
... behaviour, their attitude,
everything. The Warao's
original environment was
naturally balanced. He would
take what nature gave him,
whether it was fruit or plant.
But with the deterioration of
that environment, came the
degradation of the Warao
people." (14")
-28-
24:19 QUJÿ.ZLLZNGMÿg Z8
LED AWAY BY
POLZCEÿ
VOICE OVER - SWEPSTON
"Indigenous peoples are too
often a cheap exploited labour
force, with absolutely no
rights whatsoever. If
indigenous peoples are driven
from their lands, driven from
their traditional economic
activities (II")
8UPERED TITLE:
LEE 8ÿPSTONt
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR
ORGANIZATION
SYNC - ÿ
...driven from their ability to
maintain their own independence
and their cultural structures,
they do become a cheap labour
force. We see it Dver and
over, in every part of the
world. Now, how do we reverse
that process? (13")
VOICE OVER - SWEPSTON
Well, one way has to be to find
ways to keep people in their
traditional economic
activities, that's first. Not
send them back but keep them
-29-
there in the first place. And
for this, there must be a more
rational use of the resources."
(14")
25:13 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
FÿING THE
NARRATION:
Vegetables sown by local
communities now grow in the
heart of the forest.
Agriculture not only provides
work and livelihood for the
inhabitants, it contributes to
the protection of a vulnerable
environment. And it serves as
a reminder that the culture,
economics and ethics of
indigenous people have enabled
them to live and work for
centuries in harmony with their
natural environment. (26")
-30-
25:43 HOUSES AÿNG A RIÿR
BANK
Fragile environments, here, in
Senegal, Kazakhstan and
elsewhere, are jeopardised by
greed, economic
shortsightedness or just plain
stupidity. (14")
26:01 PROFILE OF JESUS
GONZALEZ
The world has much to learn
from the ancestral experience
of indigenous people in
satisfying human needs while
preserving nature. The lesson
of sustainable development is
not ours to impose; it is ours
to learn. (19")
26:26
26:31
WIRE FENCE,.
GONSKLBÿ ON CAMERA
VOICE OVER/SYNC - TRANSLATION
"Is this the civilization they
want to impose on us, that
brings about the destruction of
nature? Or wouldn't it be
better for us to just teach
society how to conserve nature,
-31-
how to live in harmony with it.
Because in the end,
nature that ensures
planet."
it is
life on our
(19")
BND CRBDIT827:21 (Music)
2 8 : 0 5 FJ&DR TO GRÿY ZID