1

UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES

21st

Century

Programme : EPISODE # 98 SHOW OPEN, GRAPHIC AND MUSIC (17”) Coming up on 21st Century (3”) TEASE #1 DETROIT’S WATER: NOT FLOWING

In the United States – what happens when you can’t pay your water bill?

“When I walk out my house I’m embarrassed because I know people see that

our water’s cut off”

A city struggles to find revenue – but who should pay the price? (15”)

TEASE # 2 TOGO: FORESTS IN FOCUS

A promising new crop in Togo could help restore lost forests. "Moringa may not be a large tree, but if you plant it in sufficient quantity it can contribute to fighting deforestation and land degradation." A tree with a bright future. (17”)

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INTRO #1 DETROIT’S WATER: NOT FLOWING

You can't live without water - if you're rich or you're poor - and that's the threat

facing thousands of people right now in the United States – in Detroit.

(18”)

SCRIPT #1 DETROIT’S WATER: NOT FLOWING (15’32”)

VIDEO

AUDIO

AERIAL VIEW OF DETROIT

PROTESTS

MAUREEN TAYLOR:

We have a national disaster here.(3”)

CHANTING CROWD:

Water is a human right. (4”)

ALEXIS WILEY:

At the end of the day everybody’s got

to pay their water bill. (3”)

CATARINA DE ALBUQUERQUE:

I’m very surprised to see the scale of

the problem – in a rich country. (6”)

3

MOTOWN ARTISTS

ARCHIVE FILM DETROIT

ROCHELLE AT HOME WITH

FAMILY

MAUREEN TAYLOR:

Motown artists created the music that

has soothed the entire world (4”)

We are called the Motor City because

this is the birthplace of automobiles.

Ford Motor Company. Chrysler. (9”)

(Music)

All of those things are under attack.

(3”)

FILM ANNOUNCER:

Detroit Industry. The vital pulse-beat

of technology and resources which

has put the world on wheels. (7”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

We looked outside and they were

turning off the water. I was in the

bathroom when they were turning it

off. And I was washing my hands

and turned the water on to get the

soap off. And it was off. And I’m like –

something’s wrong with the water

tank or something. So – Lory! Lory!

And she looked out of the window:

they turned off our water! (18”)

4

NARRATION:

Rochelle McCaskill’s household

includes her daughter, 25 year old

Loreal, her grandson, 4 year old

Gregory and 16 year-old Mica,

Gregory’s aunt. Their water was shut

off for a week before being restored

again.(15”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

I don’t like weekdays because utility

companies, as well as the water

company, can turn off your utilities.

They don’t come out on the

weekends. So my favourite day,

when I see after twelve midnight, is

Saturday morning. Because I know

they’re not going to be coming to turn

anything off. (20”)

NARRATION:

While the water was disconnected

neighbours and volunteers brought

jugs of water. (6”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

We have a five gallon jug. We know

5

we’re going to get two flushes out of

that. So if the colour is yellow – don’t

flush. If it’s brown, we gotta flush.

Can I have hugs. I need a hug. But

not too hard. (16”)

NARRATION:

Rochelle, who suffers from lupus and

other serious ailments, is unable to

work and has to rely on disability

benefits. (7”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

We borrow from a lot of people, but

then people – they know they’re not

going to get it back – because I don’t

make enough. I only make $672 a

month. So I have a bill that’s $75.23

and I pay the rent at $600. So I don’t

even have enough for the water bill.

(21”)

NARRATION:

540 dollars in arrears Rochelle had to

start a repayment plan to get her

water back – but she can’t make the

payments. Her predicament is the

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outcome of a much larger struggle –

how does Detroit pay off crippling

debts while also protecting its poor?

(18”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

We go without things here. You know

– you can’t get cheap paper towels. It

still costs. That determines what we

have each month. Are we going to

have good toilet paper? Or are we

literally going to get a Sunday

newspaper: Sunday News is bigger –

so you can shred. And that’s how we

survive. We think of things. We

improvise. (23”)

The blue sign to me is – when I walk

out my house I’m embarrassed

because I know people see that our

water is cut off and can be cut off

again. (9”)

My daughter’s my caregiver. When I

can’t get out the bed she actually has

to almost physically lift me out the

bed.(9”0

NARRATION:

Loreal, who returned from Georgia to

7

LOREAL WITH SON GREG

PEOPLE IN LINE FOR FOOD

look after her mother, has been

unable to find work. Detroit has a

15% unemployment rate, and 40%

live at or below the official poverty

line. Four fifths of the population are

black. We found these people lining

up for free food at the end of

Rochelle’s street. While there are

some jobs available in the suburbs -

that would require a car - and Loreal

has no car.

The first water shut off wasn’t the end

of the story. Not long afterwards the

family’s electricity was cut, then the

water contractors came close to

disconnecting them again. (40”)

LOREAL MCCASKILL:

I get up one morning and I see a key

going into the water thing and I go

outside, like “Excuse me, what are

you doing?” Because we live in a

duplex. “What house are you doing?”

“We’re doing your house.” “No. I just

paid the bill.” So he was like, “I’m

sorry it was a misunderstanding.”

How do you do that? How does that

happen? (22”)

NARRATION:

8

PHOTOS ROCHELLE AS NURSE

DETROIT HOUSES

BUS TOUR BY UN SPECIAL

RAPPORTEURS

Rochelle worked as a hospice nurse

for 23 years. (3”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

This whole thing has brought

everything to the surface. Not doing

what I love to do, what I’ve been

doing. Taking care of people who

were dying and making sure they

died with dignity, and no pain, and

respect. Not just dying alone. I can’t

do that anymore. And I can’t take

care of a household? Sometimes it

makes it like: why am I here? (27”)

NARRATION:

Rochelle and her family live in one

the more than 30,00 Detroit

residences that had water shut off in

2014. More than half of those

residences were eventually

reconnected, but at any one time,

thousands are without water. (14”)

WOMAN:

It was difficult because you can’t flush

the toilet, can’t turn the water on

when you’re used to using it. (5”)

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ON CAMERA INTERVIEWS

NARRATION:

This woman’s house is another one

of the 30000. Meeting with her, are

the United Nations Special

Rapporteur for Water Catarina de

Albuquerque and the UN Special

Rapporteur for Housing Leilani Farha.

Responding to an appeal for

assistance from Detroit activist

groups they tour the city by bus and

hold a town hall meeting. (21”)

CATARINA DE ALBUQUERQUE:

One of the mothers we were talking

to yesterday – she has teenage girls.

And I was asking, “So how do you do

when you are menstruating?” And

she was saying they take a little bottle

of water, they go to the toilet, and

they wash themselves with this tiny

bit of water. You cannot bath. You

arrive in school and you stink. You

don’t want to go to school because

other kids tease you because you

stink. (23”)

LEILANI FARHA:

Housing becomes unaffordable when

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RUINED HOUSES

ARCHIVE FILM

your water bills become unaffordable.

And that’s what we’re seeing here in

Detroit. I know through my twenty

years of work in the area of housing

that low-income people will always

choose to pay their rent before any

other bill because they need their

housing. (20”)

NARRATION:

So it comes down to keeping your

house OR paying the water bill. The

irony of this situation is almost too

obvious – since Detroit is in the great

lakes region of the United States – as

this 1965 film – made for the city’s bid

to host the Olympics - points out –

(17”)

FILM ANNOUNCER:

Detroiters just naturally take to the

water. They enjoy more sparkling,

pure water than any similar area in

the world. (10”)

NARRATION:

Detroit, with its booming car industry,

was at one point the fastest growing

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MAUREEN TAYLER SHOWS

RUINED HOUSES

city in the US. (5”)

FILM ANNOUNCER:

Yes Detroit is enjoying its finest hour.

There is a renaissance, a rebirth in

the city. (8”)

MAUREEN TAYLOR:

How many houses are there

abandoned in the city of Detroit? The

city confesses to 80,000 homes. This

is just one of them. Here is a

gorgeous door that someone paid for

to get it done and as you can see –

look at that! – it works just fine. My

name is Maureen Taylor and I’m the

state chairperson of an organization

called Michigan Welfare Rights. (27”)

Then the scavengers come by – and

look at this – it’s a hallway; water

might have been running here for

ever. Somebody set it on fire,

probably the developers. But these

were people that lived in a beautiful

little community. And they lost their

jobs. They couldn’t pay the taxes any

more. (20”)

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RUINED FACTORY AERIAL SHOTS

CITY SCENES DETROIT

RUINED HOUSES

NARRATION:

The city officially went bankrupt in

2013 – a situation that was only

settled in court in late 2014. So how

did all this come to pass?

This ruined factory once churned out

luxury Packard cars.From the sixties

onwards, the automobile industry

contracted in the face of intense

international competition – then social

unrest accelerated a massive flight of

middle class families out of the city.

(30”)

MAUREEN TAYLOR:

We’ve lost 450,000 manufacturing

jobs in just Detroit. You cannot make

up that kind of a hit. (9”)

NARRATION:

Detroit’s overall population shrank

from nearly 2 million to 700,000

today. As jobs became scarcer, city

services became more expensive and

difficult to maintain. Detroit’s water

system was caught at the centre of

this. Today it is $6 billion in debt, and

nearly half of its customers are

behind with their bills – which are

13

ON CAMERA INTERVIEW

VARIOUS INTERVIEWS – FROM TV

AND ONLINE

among the highest in the country. It

was at this point that the Detroit

Water Department stepped up shut-

offs in an attempt to force people to

pay up. (31”)

DARRYL LATTIMER:

You’ve got to keep in mind the

system was built for about two million

customers in the city of Detroit. (4”)

NARRATION:

Deputy Director Darryl Lattimer. (3”)

DARRYL LATTIMER:

You know when you’re talking about

a population that’s somewhere

around 700,000. So we’ve lost 25 –

30% of our sales and we still have

this high amount of fixed costs. We

have less people to spread that cost

over. (15”)

NARRATION:

Everyone agrees there’s a problem –

but that’s where the agreement ends

– should people just pay up? Can

14

they pay up? It’s activists versus the

mayor’s spokesperson and city

officials. (12”)

ALEXIS WILEY:

People in Detroit are paying higher

rates because there are so many

people who aren’t paying. (5”)

MAUREEN TAYLOR:

To suggest that people don’t want to

pay for water bills is scandalous.

What is at stake here…(6”)

MAN:

Maureen you don’t believe that there

are people that don’t want to pay the

bill. (3”)

DARRYL LATTIMER:

When you go through the chain of

paying the water bill we’re usually

somewhere down the line below

electricity, gas and even cable in

some households. (11”)

15

DETROIT MAYOR AT PUBLIC

MEETING

MAUREEN AT SITE OF RUINED

HOUSES

NARRATION:

The reality is that there are no official

figures to distinguish how many

people can pay but don’t from those

who simply can’t pay from their own

resources. The mayor’s office

declined our requests for an

interview. In public Mayor Mike

Duggan says they’ve helped tens of

thousands of people through a new

repayment plan – but…(21”)

MIKE DUGGAN:

But you’ve got to make your

payments. If you miss your payments,

the next time you’re going to put 30%

down. And if you miss your payments

again you’re going to have to put 50%

down. So we’ll work with you, as long

as you’re making your payments.

(16”)

MAUREEN TAYLOR:

The rules, the eligibility rules to

access some of those dollars are

stringent. You have to have a current

bill. You have to have a bill that’s not

more than two months behind. If you

default, one time, you’re thrown off

the payment plan, and now within

16

ON CAMERA INTERVIEW

ROCHELLE AT HOME

thirty days you must pay the total bill.

What kind of payment plan is that?

It’s not a payment plan that will work.

(24”)

NARRATION:

Maureen Taylor calls for a much

more flexible repayment plan which is

adjusted to each individual’s ability to

pay. (7”)

CATARINA DE ALBUQUERQUE:

I am not saying, and I’ve never said

that everyone should get free water.

No. I’m not saying that. What I’m

saying is that you have to have an

affordability threshold. You should not

be devoting more than a certain

percentage of your household income

to water and sanitation – and this

should be two or three percent. And

in addition to that we need tailored

measures to support those who are in

more difficult situations. (27”)

NARRATION:

From the UN’s investigation, Rochelle

is far from alone - large numbers of

people simply can’t afford to pay. The

17

ON CAMERA INTERVIEW

mayor says the city is raising 4 million

dollars to help the very poor, but

many aren’t being reached. Rochelle

was told there was no such money

available for her – and is four million

dollars sufficient anyway? (20”)

LEILANI FARHA:

The success of a programme that’s

aimed at recouping lost revenue – the

success is how you treat your most

vulnerable. If the most vulnerable

come through the policy decisions

and the processes fine, housed and

with running water, that’s a

successful programme in my opinion.

If the vulnerable come through

homeless and without running water

– not such a successful

implementation. (25”)

NARRATION:

The UN rapporteurs point out that a

number of countries worldwide have

simply made it illegal to cut off

someone’s water, for any reason. (8”)

LEILANI FARHA:

I think some people have this sense

18

ROCHELLE AT HOME

of “Oh you know we shouldn’t always

be asking government to protect us.”

In some instances where human

rights are at stake, that is absolutely

legitimate. It is governments that

have that responsibility. (12”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

I like to draw and paint. It’s calming

for me. Then I’m in another world. I’m

focused on the painting. (8”)

NARRATION:

Rochelle’s uncle William

Weatherspoon was a major writer for

Motown records. (4”)

ROCHELLE MCCASKILL:

He wrote this one song when I was

sitting next to him on the piano,

because I was learning to play piano

with him. He was writing this song

called “What Becomes of the

Brokenhearted”. So he just started

writing. He’s like “Does that sound

good?” And I was like, “Yeah, sounds

good to me.” (17”)

19

LOREAL AND GREG AT CLINIC

ROCHELLE’S FAMILY AT HOME

NARRATION:

The song – appropriately enough – is

about searching for peace of mind.

(5”)

In Rochelle’s household, the

unpayable water bill still looms, but at

least the family is covered by

government funded healthcare –and

they receive modest support to buy

food. (21”)

So they do what they need to do to

survive - they support each other –

and find fulfilment where they can –

(6”)

And for the time being at least, they

still have water. (3”)

INTRO #2 TOGO: FOCUS ON FORESTS

In Togo, West Africa, forests are disappearing fast - but some believe a newly

introduced tree can not only reverse that trend – but also bring jobs and boost

nutrition too. (14”)

SCRIPT #2 TOGO: FOCUS ON FORESTS (8’00”)

VIDEO

AUDIO

Elizabeth Afi Koso: (In French)

20

VILLAGE SCENES, DANCING

ELIZABETH INTERACTS WITH

GROUP OF WOMEN

SCENES IN FIELD WITH MORINGA

AND OTHER CROPS

My name is Elizabeth Afi Koso, I am a

Moringa farmer. Everywhere I go,

people know that I am here to

sensitize them regarding Moringa.

Yes, I am Mama Moringa! (“19)

NARRATION

When she is not tending her crops,

Elizabeth travels across her native

Togo, in West Africa, extolling the

virtues of a little known tree. (10”)

Elizabeth: (In French)

I sensitize both women and men in

hope that they will plant moringa,

because it will enrich their soil and

because it is nutritious. Moringa is a

tree of life. (14”)

NARRATOR:

ELISABETH IN VILLAGE WITH RED

CROSS WORKERS

The Moringa Oleifera tree is native to

India, where its leaves and fruits have

long been consumed for their

nutritional benefits. Yet here in West

Africa Moringa is still little known…

Elizabeth has teamed up with the

Togolese Red Cross to teach

villagers how to cook moringa and

integrate it into their daily diets. Here

21

in Togo malnutrition rates are high,

and moringa may represent an

affordable alternative to staple foods

like maize and rice. (32”)

Elizabeth: (In French)

When we eat moringa, we are

healthier because it contains lots of

vitamins that can help us carry on

with our work. (8”)

SCENES IN FIELDS WITH

PROFESSOR KOKOU AND ERIC

NARRATION

Drought resistant and fast-growing,

the moringa tree is easily cultivated in

subtropical areas, where many

farmers see it as a potentially

lucrative plantation crop. Local NGOs

are increasingly interested in its

beneficial properties.

Professeur Kokou is an academic

from the University of Lome in Togo.

He has studied moringa for the past

15 years and is spearheading the

movement to promote its cultivation

across the country. (32”)

Professor Kokou: (In French)

We have proven that this plant

22

ON CAMERA INTERVIEW

contains many nutrients, like vitamins

and minerals. We recommend it to

the local community as a means to

fight against malnutrition. (14”)

PROFESSORE KOKOU WITH

FARMERS

WIDE SHOTES FOREST SCENES

NARRATION

While moringa may represent a

precious source of nutrition and

supplemental income for these

farmers, it may also help solve one of

Togo’s most pressing issues… high

deforestation. Togo has lost over half

of its forest cover in the past 60 years

and its deforestation rate remains

among the highest in Africa. A rate so

high that it may lead to the permanent

disappearance of forest cover… (29”)

Professor Kokou: (In French)

Togo is now one of the poorest

countries in forest cover in West

Africa. We are headed for a disaster

because people are heavily reliant on

the forest. When you depend on a

resource and you are unable to

manage it sustainably, it’s a

catastrophe waiting to happen. (20”)

23

PROFESSOR WITH FARMERS NARRATOR

The professor’s hope is that farmers

will include moringa in their fields to

help regenerate tree planting, rather

than tree cutting. This will maintain

forest cover, improve food security

and promote rural development in a

system known as agroforestry. (18”)

ERIC WORKING WITH MORINGA

PLANTS

Professor Kokou: (In French)

Today our solution is to encourage

farmers to associate trees to their

agricultural activities, and the tree we

recommend is moringa. Farmers can

combine moringa to traditional crops

like corn, cassava and peanut. Moring

farming is therefore the solution we

recommend to local populations.

Moringa may not be a large tree, but

if you plant it in sufficient quantity it

can contribute to fighting land

degradation and deforestation. (40”)

MORINGA NURSERY NARRATOR

The professor has received a grant to

develop a moringa nursery where

Togolese farmers are taught to

cultivate the plants before distributing

them locally. A young farmer named

Eric supervises the day-to-day

24

operations. (15”)

ERIC WITH MORINGA PLANTS

ERIC: (In French)

My name is Adévou Komlah Eric, I

studied agriculture and agroforestry in

Ghana. Upon returning to Togo I

began planting trees to help

regenerate lost forest. Today I have

at least 3 hectares of moringa

plantation. Since I’ve discovered

moringa I eat it twice a week. I cut it

right from the field, and it replaces

vegetables, which I would otherwise

have to buy in the market. It helps me

save money for other things I need.

ERIC AT HOME WITH SON AND

WIFE

ON CAMERA INTERVIEW

In my home, my wife and child love

moringa dishes. I’ve been feeding it to

my son Maxwell since his birth. It has

contributed to his development into

an intelligent and clever child. It has

greatly contributed to the health of the

whole family. (83”)

MRS Tchaptchet (In French)

Nutrition is extremely important,

especially when it comes to feeding

25

WOMEN TAKING MORINGA FOR

PROCESSING

children. (6”)

NARRATOR

Mrs Thaptchet in director of the

United Nations’ World Food

Program’s Togo Office. (5”)

MRS Tchaptchet (In French)

The emphasis in recent years has

been on buying locally, specifically

moringa, as it helps provide revenue

for local populations while increasing

production. This also helps improve

their quality of life. We are looking

into including moringa in our food

baskets. (27”)

MORINGA PROCESSING

NARRATOR

With moringa’s growing popularity,

demand has increased. Moringa leaf

powder is now sold as a nutritional

supplement in pharmacies across

Togo, and internationally… and

Elizabeth is ramping up production to

meet that demand. She works with

local villagers to increase moringa

output. They pick, sort and gather the

branches. Her husband then delivers

the harvest to their home where the

26

leaves are dried … plucked…. and

finally milled into a fine powder.

Elizabeth then delivers the powder to

a local buyer who will distribute it onto

the market. (48”)

ELIZABETH (In French)

Financially I am doing well. I have

additional revenue because I sell

moringa. I can help my children and

send them to school. When I need

money, I can sell Moringa. (16”)

NARRATOR

Today, moringa has been recognized

by the United Nations Forum on

Forests as a promising source of

financing both for local livelihoods

and forest conservation in Togo and

beyond. (13”)

27

CLOSE

And that’s all for this edition of 21st Century, sharing the world’s stories. I’m

Daljit Dhaliwal. We’ll see you next time, until then. Goodbye. (11”)

(CREDITS SHOW #98 TRT 47”)

21st

Century

A production of United Nations Television

Department of Public Information

Detroit’s water – not flowing

Producer

Francis Mead

Videographer

Antonio Tibaldi

Parker Gyokeres

Francis Mead

Editor

Francis Mead

Narrator

Francis Mead

Archive

Retro Video

28

Additional Footage

Kate Levy

Propellerheads Aerial Photography

Special thanks

Maureen Taylor

TOGO – FORESTS IN FOCUS

Producer

Nathan Beriro

Videographer

Nathan Beriro

Editor

Nathan Beriro

Narrator

Daljit Dhaliwal

Special thanks

For financial and technical support received as part of the project

on facilitating financing for sustainable forest management in small

island developing states and low forest cover countries from

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

Kinomé

Forest & Life

Les Amis de la Terre, Togo

APPEF, Togo

29

Director

Kenneth McCaleb

Lighting Director

Gus Theo

Technical Director

Ken Glinski

Camera

Wayne Ferguson

Eric Balgley

Video

Brian Walsh

Audio

Tom Giovanelli

Teleprompter

Damien Corrigan

Videotape

William Bracero

Andrew Casper

30

Floor Manager

Maggie Yates

Stylist

Anne Paul

Line Producer

Maggie Yates

Post- production Editor

Ben Lybrand

Post-production Coordinator

Lebe Besa

Executive Producers

Gill Fickling

Francis Mead

Executive-in-Charge

Chaim Litewski