In 1988, Peter Gabriel, a well-known musician, joined Amnesty International on its Human Rights Now tour. Over a six week period, Gabriel and some other popular music artists performed at twenty benefit concerts around the globe to help Amnesty International raise awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While on the tour, Gabriel met and heard stories from many people who had witnessed or had been victims of abuse. He used his Sony Handycam, one of the first video recorders available for consumers, to document what he heard and saw. Gabriel was amazed by how much people could suffer and have their stories buried. He believed that using cameras to capture and expose abuse might give victims a better chance at change. Three years after the tour, a bystander used a video camera to record the violent police beating of a civilian by the name of Rodney King. The images went public and were seen by thousands of people around the world .The incident opened discussions about police brutality, racial profiling, and abuse at an international level. The resulting rise in public awareness provided Gabriel with an opportunity. He used his celebrity to purchase cameras and started an organization called Witness. Witness is a non-profit organization that uses video and other media to raise public awareness about human rights abuses. The organization has partners at regional and national levels. This network enables Witness to work with human rights groups and activists around the world to help survivors share their stories to create powerful video messages that call for change and justice. Witness works with local people who are immersed in difficult situations and who understand the problems. Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, Executive Director, says that local people on the ground have the answers to their problems. They know what to do; they just sometimes need help to get there. Thijm explains that the theory of Witness is the ability to enable someone to tell their own story and have that story turned into a tool for change. In 1999, Chintan, an Indian activist group based in New Delhi, contacted Witness after the local government in Mumbai announced plans to privatize the collection of city garbage. Making waste picking and waste recycling illegal threatened an entire community of people who had no other way of survival. Their existence depended on having the right to use and trade the waste they collected. Together, Witness and Chintan agreed to work with the waste recyclers to produce a compelling documentary called Counterbalance. To make a powerful visual message they could use to confront the government and persuade it to change its strategy, Witness needed to work with people directly immersed in the situation. Sam Gregory, Program Director, explains that a key focus of Witness is to empower local human rights activists who know the people and the language. This meant that Chintan and Witness had to find a way to work around cultural differences like values and language. Overcoming these obstacles would lay the ground work for Witness to provide direct hands on training to members of Chintan. They could then learn how to use the expertise and technology provided by Witness to help the waste pickers tell their story effectively and show it to the right audience.
Witness also needed to make sure that Chintan and the waste pickers were aware of the risks and benefits of filming. While the video needed to send a strong message, the tone and language used had to be carefully balanced. A film that criticised the local government could incite anger. If the people in the film were easy to identify, they might risk becoming targets of some form of punishment. It was very important for both Chintan and the waste pickers to understand informed consent and realize that going on camera might have a number of ramifications.
Witness worked with both groups and helped tell the waste pickers stories in an assertive manner that did not cross boundaries of authority. The documentary made its mark, and the government reversed its plans. In place of privatizing waste collection and recycling, the waste pickers became paid employees who were accepted for the work they did and given some measures of security and safety on the job. By sharing a common goal and working together, Witness was able to connect with the waste pickers and with Chintan—they came together as a three-tiered team to create a strong visual message. The documentary was powerful enough to produce long term changes in government legislation. The waste pickers were given authority and compensation for their work. Chintan had policies they could turn to help protect waste pickers from future difficulties or abuse. Witness successfully fulfilled its mission, and its motto, to help victims of abuse to “See It, Film It, and Change It”.
1. When Witness works with local community leaders to help them effect change, do you believe the organizations work together as a team or as a group. Why?
2. What type of team did Witness and Chintan form to create the documentary Counterbalance?
3. What does Witness contribute to the combined team in terms of skills, personalities, roles, and diversity? What is needed from the local leaders to form a well-rounded team?
4. What is more important for the effectiveness of the teams formed to address issues – strong performance norms or strong cohesiveness? Explain.
5. Many modern social justice movements arise as “grassroots” initiatives enabled by social media and with very little formal leadership. Think about an example of a social justice movement and determine whether the people involved form a team or a group. Do you believe this is the most effective way to create change?