AZIMUTHS NO 20: CAMBODIA [Main Title]

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  • Title: AZIMUTHS NO 20: CAMBODIA [Main Title]
  • Film Number: UNT 899
  • Other titles: UNITED NATIONS TELEVISION (UNTV) ZAGREB COLLECTION, YUGOSLAVIA [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: AZIMUTHS programme about the work of the United Nations in three different parts of the world on very different missions. The first part is about the UN's work in Cambodia, the second part is about UNDP-supported projects in Cuba and the third part reports on efforts to make life safer for women working as prostitutes in Madagascar.
  • Description: 01. AZIMUTHS. CAMBODIA GIVE PEACE A CHANCE, CUBA PUTTING A STOP TO POLLUTION, MADAGASCAR THE RISK BUSINESS Shots of photos of victims covering the walls, bars to prison cells and close ups on faces. Shots of a metal bed frame used to torture people. Close ups on photos of disfigured faces. Rows of stacked skulls. Title: CAMBODIA: GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. Shot of sign at the entrance to the “Tuol Sleng” Museum of Genocidal Crime. A survivor explains that he comes to this museum to find photos of his relatives but so far he has not found them. He is the only survivor in his family. This man is Khin Vuthy, a teacher /advisor with UNESCO. He says that seven of his relatives were killed. He was only thirteen when this happened. He says that UNESCO is there deals as an effective way to educate people about their culture and about the past. He says that people are born kind but sometimes circumstances make them wild. Shots of a live theatre show. These actors travel the country promoting a respect for human rights. Khin Vuthy explains that the show also teaches people about the electoral process and human rights. One scene explains how the registration process works. He says that it takes only a few minutes to receive a registration card and then people have the right to vote in elections. Shots of people registering to vote. They have their photos taken for their registration card. Elections are due to take place in spring 1993 and over 400 UNVs are working to register people. Shots of UNVs at work. Masako Yonekawa, one of the volunteers, says that she is in charge of civil education. She teaches people what elections are and that they are have the right to decide who runs the country. She says it is difficult because their concerns are more prosaic. They are worried about getting food and water rather than who forms the government and so it takes time for them to understand. She also supervises the electoral process. Andrea Ori is a 30 year old UNV from Italy. He says that he is working in Cambodia because he believes in the right to self determination and he is hoping for a positive outcome even though the news they receive is not optimistic. He says that if they plant the first seed, one day it will bear fruit. UN soldiers from Malaysia inspect arms surrendered by soldiers. Some elements of the Khmer Rouge have refused to give up their arms so the de-armament process is at a standstill. One former government soldier from a rural village served in the army for ten years in. He is now training as a teacher. Shots of men in a classroom. Shots of the former soldier in a village teaching people how to read and write. UNVs are incredibly determined, though often isolated they are do their best day after day. Shots of UN vehicles driving into a village.Anne Rosario is Malaysian and Ginette Dupaul is Canadian. Rosario says that people are grateful for the help that they are giving them but it is hard to predict whether there will be peaceful elections or not. Dupaul says that because the Khmer Rouge are not participating, there may still be a civil war but they have to hope this is not the case. Message: Give peace a chance. These UNVs have surely not worked so hard for their efforts to end in failure. (12 mins) 02. AZIMUTHS. CUBA PUTTING A STOP TO POLLUTION. Shots of Havana. Dead fish floating on the water. Interview with fishermen who say that the water used to be clean but is now polluted by oil. They say that fish used to be plentiful in the bay. Shots of fishermen standing by their boats on an oil-covered shore. Industrialisation has taken place on a grand scale since Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. Shots of industrial sites. Pollution is a growing problem. Street shots. A growing population is also a problem. The population has doubled in forty years. There is raw sewage going directly into the water. Shots of ships in the port. UNDP has been supporting projects to clean Havana bay. UN environment programme and UNESCO have also sponsored initiatives from boats designed to gather rubbish to the development of drainage systems and the proper processing of industrial waste. Interview with Raul Mederas, specialist in marine pollution, who says that as well as industrial waste, they are treating urban and domestic waste as well . He says that drainage systems have helped to reduce hydrocarbons in the bay by fifty percent. Fishermen say that the quality of water is improving and it is a good sign that algae and sea shells are growing on their fishing boats again. Years of efforts must be made to restore it to its purity of centuries past. Ship pulls out of harbour. 03. AZIMUTHS. MADAGASCAR: THE RISK BUSINESS. At the airport, women watch men in the arrivals hall. This is the airport in Nosy Be, a small island in the north of Madagascar. Eva Marie-Yvonne, at thirty-three years old, is nearing the end of her working life as a prostitute. She works to support her young daughter, whose father is in prison for theft, and her nineteen year old sister. Shots of Eva serving food at a restaurant. The wages for this work are very low. In Madagascar, half of the population live below the poverty line. Eva goes to the disco after work. Pimping is not widespread, the majority of these prostitutes are independent but still face great dangers. AIDS is the biggest danger now. WHO and the German government sponsor a programme to try and prevent the spread of AIDS and other STDs. They hand out condoms to the 6,000 prostitutes on their books. Ester Rarivoarilala, a doctor in charge of STD/AIDS Service, says that these women have an average of three to four children to care for. They now give out condoms to the clients as well as prostitutes. 600,000 condoms a year are distributed by this team. Shots of condoms being handed out until there are no more to give. Market shots. Lidia Veidig is a nurse and an UNV. She works on a programme that educates women about the risks of prostitution and what women can do to make the job safer. Veidig says that they can help a woman if she thinks she has an STD and can educate women about abortion. At Nsoy Be hospital doctors can test for HIV but worryingly syringes are used over and over again. Arison M. Ravalomanda, resident doctor at Nosy Be hospital, says that eighty percent of women admitted to hospital have a STD. It is hard to persuade women to set up small businesses when prostitution is more financially rewarding. Eva still dreams of going abroad. She says that if someone asked her to go with them, away from the island, she would go. She walks along the shore. Poverty is the root cause of prostitution and it will take time for the economy to develop to the extent that women feel that prostitution is not a financially lucrative career choice. AZIMUTHS is made by the information department of the United Nations Development Programme - UNDP - with the aid of UNHCR and UNESCO, conceived by JEAN-FRANCOIS ARROU-VIGNOD, production team JOSY DUBIE, DENIS HENON, STEEN JOHANSEN, GILLES REBOUX, BERNARD VANSILIETTE, ERIC VANDER BORGHT, production assistant BETTY ROBLIN, assistant producer GILLES SERENI, research CHRISTIANE VANSTRACEELE, promotion MARYELLEN LOWE, administration BERNICE SHAW, technical facilities UN-TV GENEVA, sound mixing ALEK GOOSE, VIDEAUDIO, Brussels, original music JEAN-MARC LAMPRECHT, english version JAN POWELL, narration WILLIAM JACKSON, post production JEAN-MARC GLINZ, editor JOSY DUBIE, head of information department JEAN FABRE AZIMUTHS - UNDP Palais des Nations 1211 Geneva 10 SWITZERLAND (c) undp 1993 Final title: AZIMUTHS
  • Alternative Title: UNITED NATIONS TELEVISION (UNTV) ZAGREB COLLECTION, YUGOSLAVIA [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: [English (Tape Code A)?]
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: UNT 899
  • Sound: Croatian (Tape Code C)
  • Access Conditions:
  • Featured Period: 1990-2000
  • Production Date: 1993
  • Production Country: UN
  • Production Details: UN (Production sponsor) UNDP (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: [English (Tape Code A)?]
  • Technical Details: Format: VHS Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage:; Running time 28 mins, 30 secs
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    UNT 899

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