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STORY: MALI/ GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
TRT: 2.32
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English / Bambara/ French/ Nats
DATELINE: MOPTI, MALI, 5-6 JUNE 2013
1. Close up, baby
2. Various shots, mother and child
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Aïssata Cissé, Outreach Worker, Family Care International
“When there's been a rape it's private. It's dealt with inside the family. There's no going to a tribunal or to the police. Everyone keeps quiet. If it becomes known she has been raped, it's going to be a problem for her. Even at school, her friends or other pupils will tease her: ‘she's been raped, she's been raped’.”
4. Various shots, Fatoumata doing chores
5. SOUNDBITE (Bambara) ‘Fatoumata’ Traoré, 16 (not her real name)
“My mother had gone to the market. I was doing the housework. I heard gunfire. I ran to pick up all the cups. I wanted to get my brothers into the house. They jumped over our gate, into the yard.”
6. Various shots, Fatoumata
7. SOUNDBITE (Bambara) Fatoumata Traoré, 16
“They didn't beat us. They raped us. One group would come in and rape us while the other stood guard. They brought animals for us to eat. The meat wasn't properly cooked. It lasted a week. Then they threw us out and left.”
8. Various shots, Fatoumata at home
9. SOUNDBITE (French) David Moussa Ntambara, UNICEF Chief of Child Protection
“This situation is unacceptable. The girl is in an incredibly complex situation. This victim has to be protected. That's what we're trying to do in collaboration with the government. We are going to make sure there's working legislation in place - legal measures that ensure those responsible do not get away with it.”
10. Various shots, Fatoumata and baby
Four-month-old Moussa came into the world through violence.
SOUNDBITE (French) Aïssata Cissé, Outreach Worker, Family Care International:
“When there's been a rape it's private. It's dealt with inside the family. There's no going to a tribunal or to the police. Everyone keeps quiet. If it becomes known she has been raped, it's going to be a problem for her. Even at school, her friends or other pupils will tease her: ‘she's been raped, she's been raped’.”
Moussa's mother, Fatoumata, is just 16. They live in a poor area of Mopti, in central Mali. Fatoumata's troubles began a year ago when rebels took her town, 100 kilometres from Timbuktu in the north of the country.
SOUNDBITE (Bambara) Fatoumata Traoré, 16:
“My mother had gone to the market. I was doing the housework. I heard gunfire. I ran to pick up all the cups. I wanted to get my brothers into the house. They jumped over our gate, into the yard.”
After a two-hour walk at gunpoint, she was locked in a house with 15 other girls. She was raped two, sometimes three times a day. Fatoumata's wrists and fingers still hurt from being dragged along the ground.
SOUNDBITE (Bambara) Fatoumata Traoré, 16:
“They didn't beat us. They raped us. One group would come in and rape us while the other stood guard. They brought animals for us to eat. The meat wasn't properly cooked. It lasted a week. Then they threw us out and left.”
Fatoumata's mother cared for her. But her father saw the rape as a curse on the family. He left. Not long afterwards, mother and daughter came to Mopti where Moussa was born.
SOUNDBITE (French) David Moussa Ntambara, UNICEF Chief of Child Protection:
“This situation is unacceptable. The girl is in an incredibly complex situation. This victim has to be protected. That's what we're trying to do in collaboration with the government. We are going to make sure there's working legislation in place - legal measures that ensure those responsible do not get away with it.”
Partner Family Care International helps Fatoumata with medical expenses and counselling. Destitute girls like her also qualify for cash transfers.
Fatoumata never wants to go back to her home town in northern Mali. Moussa was born of violence. Fatoumata wants to ensure he grows up in peace. Her first wish is for a proper home with enough to eat.
