Using Cameras to Fight Human Rights Abuses: Yvette Alberdingk Thijm of WITNESS

In 1988, musician and activist Peter Gabriel traveled the world with Amnesty International's "Human Rights Now!" tour. He brought a big, bulky camcorder with him and used it to interview victims of human rights abuses. Gabriel realized that capturing those stories made it harder for them to be forgotten, and that's what spurred him to found WITNESS, a Brooklyn-based human rights organization.

"The aim is always to turn a personal story of abuse into a powerful tool for justice," says Executive Director Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, who sat down with Reason.tv to discuss how WITNESS uses the power of video to fight human rights abuses around the world.

See Jesse Walker's post on Witness "Little Brother is Watching" at http://reason.com/archives/2008/04/16/little-brother-is-watching.

Approximately 6 minutes.

Interviewed by Hawk Jensen who also edited. Shot by Jim Epstein.

Additional footage provided by: WITNESS.ORG. Photo Credit: Kate Glicksberg

Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

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• Hawk Jensen
• Jim Epstein
• Yvette Alberdingk Thijm
• peter gabriel
• witness.org
• photography
• human rights
• child soldiers
• congo
• burma

[Metavised]

@HoldingOnToLiberty

Atheism is the lack of a belief in God(s), but it can in no way say anything definitely. Just like evolution doesn't say how it happened, or the Bing Bang and how it was initiated, Atheism is a response the concept of man's picture of God. Should he exist? It's possible, not probable, but this isn't an agnostic claim at all.

Agnosticism isn't some middle ground. You can be agnostic whether theist or atheist, simply because it's only a statement of knowledge and not belief.

[LW3KFK4]

@mcap52, if a mafia boss holds a gun to your head and says "pay this weeks vig or I'll shoot you", sure, it's up to each person, but it's still a threat. If the bible says "believe this or else you're be tortured for eternity", it's up to each person, but it's still a threat. (and an empty threat, since the bible has been debunked several times over and over, in many ways, by many scientists, historians, philosophers, in many different branches of science.

[felpaluche]

this is a breakthrough.

[LW3KFK4]

@operagost, "but if it makes you feel better, keep telling yourself that"...

On the contrary, What makes me feel better is not relevant. What matters are facts and evidence. It's the religious person who makes decisions against reality based on what makes them feel good. This is why religious nuts can deny evolution and accept that human life spawned from a man created from dirt, and a rib-woman.

[endospores]

I can see this being a very good idea in places like venezuela, colombia or bolivia, where people's rights are trampled on a daily basis through direct and indirect action by government or rebel organizations, or through the inaction of government.

[laurasIs2c]

Can you let me know if there is a video application that will imediately upload everything recorded to a private youtube site for the safety of the person waring the camera so that if something happens to them there would be a validation source for possible use to settle confusions or possible harms that may occur.

My hope is that you will be able to help me find this sort of device so that there is always a recording of events for validation of important personal and civil events.

[Metavised]

I believe Jesus existed, as an Atheist I have good evidence. That dosn't mean I believe in the whole mythology around him.

The closest we can come to his true nature is in the Gospel of Mark. The rest of the canonical gospels are written far later, and were probably corrupted by Pauline ideals. In fact, Paul kinda created the wonderful white brown-haired-flowing-locks Jesus the religious praise today.

[LW3KFK4]

@operagost, 2) I made no argument from ignorance because I'm not making the claim. I'm only responding to claims.

[LW3KFK4]

@operagost, 1) I've heard this argument before, yes, they mention Jesus, it was after the time of Jesus's supposed death. They weren't even born until afterwards. Also, it's like saying that Spider-Man is a real person, because Stan Lee wrote the stories, and we have proof of his existence. When in reality, we need evidence that Spider-Man really existed, or else he's most likely just a myth, like Jesus.

[operagost]

@LW3KFK4 No, actually non-Christian historians like Tacitus and Josephus mention Jesus. And they're just the ones who first come to mind.  You are using an argument from ignorance.

[operagost]

@LW3KFK4 "and an empty threat, since the bible has been debunked several times over and over, in many ways, by many scientists, historians, philosophers, in many different branches of science."

No it hasn't. Really, you must keep up. But if it makes you feel better, keep telling yourself that.

[mmingione]

@migkillertwo maybe this is more accurate: "is the Internet making the State accountable?"