In Grozny, life is slowly returning to normal. The market streets are full and young women take a break at Shumisat's dressmakers workshop and get clothes specially
made to fit. Meanwhile, other families are still trying to come to terms with their past, wanting to know what has happened to their missing relatives
TITLE: Ghosts from the past
hamper Chechnya's revival Date & location: Grozny, 20 September 2007; Star Atagi, 19 September 2007,
Republic of Chechnya
Duration: 10' 13'' mins
Camera: Alain Pentucci
Producer: Virginie LouisSource: ICRC – access all
For broadcast tapes and information on footage: Virginie Louis, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva,
Start at first frame 00:00 Leila (in beige) and Shumisat (dark dress) at the market place in downtown Grozny.
00:33
General footage of women selling fruit and vegetables with a brand new building block of flats in the background.
01:00 Shumisat Magomadova at her flat, where she has set up her own
tailoring business thanks to two sewing machines she received from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in April 2007.
Shumisat's customers try on their new dresses.
01:47 Shumisat cuts material to make a dress.
02:35 INTERVIEW with Shumisat MAGOMADOVA.
"During the war we were displaced.
I tried to move from place to place with
my children and go where there was no war, but we could not escape it.
There wasn't a place, where there was no war, so I tried to move from one place to the other and take care of my
family." (32') 03:11
"I can't make repairs to my house.
The roof is leaking and it happened again yesterday, but I won't deny my children apples, ice cream or whatever they want." 03:33
Veronica TALVISTE, ICRC delegate, arrives at the home of a woman who received nine sheep as part of an ICRC micro-economic initiative.
They speak in the woman's yard.
04:06
INTERVIEW Veronica TALVISTE, ICRC delegate, Economic Security "We hope that in addition to the money people generate from these projects, they will also regain their self confidence and become more
independent.
A lot of people still suffer psychologically from the conflict.
There is a lot of depression and we would like them to recover a positive attitude and find hope
again." 04:37 New buildings
04:52 Building work in Grozny
06:16 The countryside on the road to Star Atagi.
06:30 Star Atagi village – Malika Bashtaeva arrives at Zinaida MATAEVA' s
house.
Zinaida shows photos of her son, Lema Mataeva, who disappeared in 2002.
06:51 INTERVIEW Zinaida MATAEVA asks Malika Bashtaeva about her missing son.
Zinaida:
"Are they dead or not, do you know this kind of information?"
Malika: "We have requested information from different places, and even if they say they don't know, we will ask again and again." Zinaida: "I would like to know if he is dead or not.
If he was alive, he would have come home." 07:05 Cut away to Zinaida's hands 07:14 Malika Bashtaeva
INTERVIEW Malika Bashtaeva, ICRC
Field Officer, Protection "The disappearance of a loved one takes a serious toll on a person's health.
Generally, we observe that the relatives of missing people develop different diseases
after the disappearance of their loved ones.
Sometimes, it's also a real financial problem because in many cases, the missing person is the only breadwinner in the family.
But as
I mentioned before, they suffer most of all from the uncertainty." 07:55 Star Atagi, Malika Bashtaeva arrives in an ICRC car at the home of Musa MEJIEV.
His brother, Yusup MEJIEV,
disappeared on 23 June 2002.
He was 29-years-old when he went missing.
08:38 Malika Bashtaeva enters the brother's place.
She shares with Musa a list of all the
registered inquiries the ICRC has made about his brother, Yusup.
09:09 Yusup's 5-year-old son, who lives with his uncle.
09:16 Musa MIJLEV, shows photos of his brother Yusup
MEJIEV, who used to work for he federal forces.
He went missing on 23 June 2002 when he was on his way to work.
According to an eyewitness account, he was stopped at a checkpoint
for verification of his identification documents.
His friend was taken aside and witnessed the soldiers put a bag over Yusup's head.
According to the friend, Yusup was driven
away in a military vehicle.
Since then, his family has received no further information about his whereabouts.
09:21 INTERVIEW Musa MEJIEV "I don't rely on the government for
support, because if there was a real authority and if they kept law and order, my brother wouldn't be where he is now.
He's not a needle in a haystack.
He's a person who was
stopped at a checkpoint.
I don't expect anything from the authorities, to tell you the truth." 09:59 Musa MEJIEV buttons his nephew's sweater and takes his hand to cross the courtyard.
10:13 ENDS STORY Title: Ghosts from the past hamper Chechnya's revival The Chechen capital of Grozny is emerging from the ruins, following more than a decade of conflict and unrest.
While skirmishes and occasional attacks on Russian authorities continue in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia, fighting has died down in Chechnya over the past couple of years, allowing a new
Grozny to blossom in the North Caucasus.
In the streets of Grozny, portraits and billboards of the Chechen president, Ramzan A.
Kadyrov, and the Russian president, Vladimir
Putin, adorn newly-built apartment blocks.
Life seems to be returning to normal, and even picking up pace, in this once devastated city.
The first Chechen McDonald's is about to
open its doors and the market place is full of goods and produce.
People walk along the streets of Grozny as in any other peaceful city.
The need for emergency assistance is on
the decline, yet high unemployment remains a real obstacle to individual progress.
Many residents have been living on their state unemployment allowance and their children's allowance for
years.
The poorest people scrape by on around 1,000 rubles per month, or about the equivalent of $40 USD.
Shumisat Magomadova is divorced, lives on her own and has three children
to take care of.
They've been surviving on relief aid from humanitarian agencies and some help from the state.
Thanks to a micro-economic project by the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC), Shumisat's daily financial struggle is starting to subside.
She was able to start up her own sewing workshop and tailoring business in April, when the ICRC loaned
her two sewing machines.
She became the proud owner of the sewing machines in September and now earns around 15,000 rubles per month, or about $600 USD.
She sells her dresses
directly to clients, or on the market place, and earns 250 rubles per dress.
Working long hours, Shumisat can make up to 18 dresses in just two days.
This type of micro-economic
support is part of a wider ICRC initiative aimed at helping Chechnya's poorest citizens make the transition from relying on emergency assistance towards self-reliance and financial independence.
By providing residents with the tools and equipment to start a small business, the ICRC is working to ensure that vulnerable people, like Shumisat, have a sustainable source of income.
These micro-economic projects vary depending on people's abilities, and they must have both the idea and the skills to start a small business.
Welding, shoe-repair, beehive keeping
and wool processing for mattresses are just a few examples of the most successful small enterprises that have already been started.
(More video material is available on demand) Chechnya's
Ghosts Grozny may be rising from the ashes of ruin and conflict, but the ghosts of the past continue to haunt many residents, who are still suffering from the after-effects of war.
For the
families of people who went missing during the conflict, it is particularly hard to move on.
Zinaida Mataeva's son disappeared in 2002 during riots in their village of Star Atagi, 30 km
away from Grozny.
She says her sons were taken out of their home and beaten.
After the riots, her son, Lema, said he was afraid of being killed during future riots so he fled to
Grozny in search of a place to live.
Zinaida hasn't heard from him since.
Malika Bashtaeva, a protection officer with the ICRC, visits Zinaida to inform her that the ICRC is
still enquiring about her son with the Chechen and Russian authorities.
The ICRC has not received any information about Lema.
Clarifying the fate of missing persons is one of the
ICRC's main priorities in the North Caucasus.
The ICRC has forged contacts with the Chechen parliamentary commission on missing persons and with organizations involved in addressing this
issue.
The lack of information about a loved one's fate makes it very difficult for families to grieve and ultimately reach a sense of closure.
Not knowing whether their relative
is dead or alive can be a source of deep anguish.
As in other parts of the world, the ICRC works to resolve this uncertainty by restoring family links and collecting information about
missing or detained people.
For further information, please contact: Yuriy Shafarenko, ICRC Moscow, tel.
