Following the Every Casualty programme’s ‘Recording Every Casualty Conference' this September, filmmaker, Daniel Ridicki, and ORG’s Managing Director, Chris Langdon, interviewed six of the participants. The organisations represented by the participants were diverse, and are based in Colombia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, and India.
In the interview, participants discuss their reasons for, and the power behind, casualty recording.
As Samrat Sinha from the 'Armed Conflict and Research Documentation Project' in India explains:
You can only make people realise the severity of a conflict when you create an evidence base. Otherwise, there is no recognition and no record of the severity of the suffering of these victims.
Zeeshan Usmani from 'Pakistan Body Count' added:
Casualty recording and this conference generate an emotional thrust that we need to do something to take care of the problem of civilian deaths and the effects on the families of the dead.
The rest of the participants explain, and give examples, demonstrating how recording helps to better understand the nature of the conflict, provide insight into the socio-economic effects on families of the dead, and acknowledge victims.
Mohammad Noori from 'Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission' says:
These people, the real voice of Afghanistan, are not heard internationally. We try to make them heard.
Along with the positive outcomes of recording casualties, interviewees discuss their reasons for attending the conference and the value of the ORG-facilitated International Practitioner Network (IPN) to their work. They highlighted the benefits of NGO solidarity, new advocacy opportunities, and learning from the experiences of others.
Click here for more information on the conference
More information about the public launch of the 'Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence'
Here are more videos from the public launch of the 'Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence':
Wissam Tarif at the Charter launch from Oxford Research Group (ORG) on Vimeo.
HLC Serbia and HLC Kosovo at the Charter launch from Oxford Research Group (ORG) on Vimeo.
Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence - Kosovo Memory Book from Oxford Research Group (ORG) on Vimeo.