LONDON (AlertNet) – A new Hollywood film that shows aid workers gunrunning for the CIA has come under fire for potentially endangering relief staff at a time when humanitarian agencies are being targeted in Iraq.
Action-romance “Beyond Borders” stars Angelina Jolie as an American socialite who pursues a charismatic British aid doctor, played by Clive Owen, through a decade or more of disasters, from famine in Ethiopia to war in Chechnya.
Critics say the fictional storyline, in which the doctor’s NGO gets involved in weapons dealing for the Central Intelligence Agency, could encourage extremist attacks on aid workers in hotspots such as Baghdad, where suicide bombers last month targeted the Red Cross headquarters.
They also object to claims that the United Nations has effectively endorsed a film that could damage the reputation of NGOs, discourage donations and put their staff at risk.
“The film advertises itself as a serious almost-documentary dedicated to the spirit of overseas aid workers,” said veteran aid worker Steve Hansch, who advised the filmmakers in the early stages of production.
“By popularising an image of aid agencies working under instructions from the CIA, ‘Beyond Borders’ may torpedo their real work in the field. If widely seen, ‘Beyond Borders’ is likely to endanger the lives of real aid workers in real aid operations.”
Hansch, a researcher at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration in Washington, slammed the film’s depiction of Ethiopians, Chechens and Cambodians as either passive “victims” dependent on their “white-skinned saviours” or brutal but incompetent warlords.
He also took issue with the portrayal of disaster relief.
“For dramatic effect, ‘Beyond Borders’ portrays aid work as hopeless: well-intentioned but futile, with no resulting impact, no return on investment,” he said. “In reality, humanitarian aid saves tens of thousands of lives.”
But Hansch said the film was accurate in much of its detail, from its depiction of feeding centres, immunisation programmes and well-drilling to the administrative burden facing many aid operations.
“Also accurate is the point that in most of the world’s hundreds of humanitarian emergencies, there is far too little funding to meet the most minimum standards of support needed to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths.”
Hansch’s final verdict: “It was a squandered opportunity… It could have been a really positive movie about real aid work.”
’HUMANITARIAN COWBOY’
Sandra Mitchell, the International Rescue Committee’s vice president for government relations and advocacy, called the character of the doctor a "humanitarian cowboy".
“We don't run guns,” she said. “There are clear principles and guidelines. We're very determined about our standards.”
Most humanitarian agencies take great pains to stress their neutrality, impartiality and independence, and are keen not to be tarred by the same brush when accusations of misconduct arise against other NGOs.
Conflict in the Middle East and Afghanistan has led to court action over a number of charities said to be channelling funds to armed extremists. In some conflicts, there have been claims of ambulances and other aid vehicles being used to transport weapons.
For actress Jolie, who rose to stardom as video game character Lara Croft in two “Tomb Raider” films, life and art have become entwined.
In addition to her role as fictional aid worker in “Beyond Borders”, she is goodwill ambassador for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Jolie has said the “Beyond Borders” script inspired her to learn more about the needs of the developing world, prompting her to travel with relief workers to Cambodia and Pakistan.
Since becoming goodwill ambassador in 2001, she has visited refugee camps in places as far-flung as Congo, Kosovo, Sri Lanca and Ecuador. UNICEF estimates Jolie’s contributions to the agency at about $3 million in cash and kind.
U.N. DENIES ENDORSEMENT
The United Nations has come under fire for implicitly endorsing the film, and thus its fictional depiction of NGOs, because U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers attended the premiere in New York.
According to The Washington Times, director Martin Campbell said of Annan: "He seemed enthusiastic about it and certainly gave us the thumbs-up.”
The paper also quoted Campbell as saying the “Beyond Borders” script “was sent to the U.N. for approval; portions were altered based on the organisation's input.”
At the office of the U.N. Secretary General’s spokesman, an official told AlertNet the office was not aware of this and said all dealings with the filmmakers had been handled by UNHCR.
The refugee agency said it had merely been sent an early outline as part of a request for statistics on refugees, and had not offered any comment or approval.
A UNHCR spokesperson told AlertNet: “It’s a movie, it’s a Hollywood fiction, it never pretended to be a documentary. It was not a collaboration with UNHCR. It’s not even about humanitarian action. It’s a love story.
“Refugees are not the most popular or widely written about group or issue. Jolie has studied very hard to understand the complexity of these issues and bring that to the public, which is something money can’t buy.
“The whole context of humanitarian aid workers is largely unknown to the general public. If the film gives the public a better idea of the tough challenges involved, perhaps that’s all to the good.”
'STAGGERING DISASTER'
U.S. reviewers of the film have been lukewarm to harsh, with many welcoming the idea of a film about the developing world and disasters but lamenting the laboured storyline.
A reviewer for the Oregonian called it “a staggering, start-to-finish disaster”, adding: “You won't feel moved to run off and volunteer for some good cause like the Red Cross or UNICEF. Instead, you might be inspired to steal from a charity just to get revenge.”
The Austin Chronicle said: “‘Beyond Borders’ goes to great lengths to paint international relief workers in organisations such as Oxfam and CARE as the unsung heroes they indeed are, but it does so in such a way as to exploit the very war-torn hellholes it uses as settings…
“You’re left with the unshakable feeling that things might have been a tad better off if all involved had scrapped this terrible film and instead donated the multimillion-dollar budget to charity.”
“Beyond Borders”, which opened late last month in the United States, has not proved a hit at the box office. First-weekend U.S. sales brought in just $2 million, putting it in 11th place and fanning speculation that it could go to video within weeks, although its worldwide cinema release has begun.
A spokesperson for film distributor Pathe declined to comment.
