Our Plea (Central African Republic) - Video

Our Plea features the testimonies of two young women, Lea and Joelle, who were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the South-Eastern provinces of the Central African Republic (CAR). In the video, through interviewing done by Women’s Initiatives' Central African partner Jeunesse Unie pour la Protection de l'Environnement et le Developpement Communautaire (JUPEDEC), Lea and Joelle describe their experiences within the LRA, their lives following their return to their communities, and their efforts to start over.

"Their stories reflect the experience of many children in the CAR and the Great Lakes Region regarding the crimes committed by the LRA for more than two decades including the pillaging and destruction of villages, and the torture, rape and enslavement of children and adults forced to fight for the LRA and to become a part of this militia.

Our Plea is a part of a larger video advocacy initiative launched in 2010 between the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice and WITNESS in which more than 30 partners of the Women’s Initiatives have been trained in video advocacy. The project will produce six gender justice films highlighting sexual and gender-based violence and other gender issues in armed conflicts, fragile states and post-conflict environments.

Five of the six documentary countries selected for the project currently have situations under investigation by the ICC [International Criminal Court]....All of the videos were filmed and co-edited by our local partners in each of the conflict and post-conflict settings."