Sunday, 9th of March 2014, 23:03 - 23:59, Ö1
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Fearless Radio curated by Saout Radio:

Part 3: "refuse: military"

by Meira Asher


soundPLAY


A COPY OF THIS PROGRAM CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE "ORF TONBANDDIENST"
This program deals with the reality of minors in militarised societies. From the minds of teenagers who refuse to serve in the Israeli army (in the new piece 'refuse: military. (01), to the experience of female ex-child combatants in Sierra Leone.

Challenged by Foucaoult's concept of Parrhesia, this program transmits the words / voices of these minors:

"… it is a verbal activity in which the subject express his personal relation to truth taking the risk of life because he recognizes that telling the truth is his own duty in order to improve or help other people. In Parrhesia the speaker uses his freedom and chooses truth instead of lie, death instead of life and security, criticism instead of flattery, duty instead of interest and selfishness…" (Michel Foucault Audio Archive. Discourse and Truth: Parrhesia, 1983).

Segments from three separate projects are complied here: refuse: military. (01) (2014), Infantry (2002), and Face_WSLOT (2004-06).


WORKS

1. refuse: military. (01)  (2014) 
Noam Gur, recently refused to serve in the Israeli army. She is a conscientious objector. She had three trials, and was jailed twice for a total of 30 days in military prison. The usual procedure is to be repeatedly ordered to enlist – and repeatedly sent to prison, before one is ironically released on medical grounds.

  "refuse: military. 01" is a sonic exposition addressing the many youths who encounter compulsory military service in Israel.  What alternatives to forced conscription are presented to these children? Schools which allow access to the Israeli military propaganda merchants, rarely, if ever, allow alternative voices to reach the children. In the first part of the work, Noam reads her imprisonment statement followed by her description of the militarist presence and activity in her high school.

The work contains audio from video recordings shot by Issa Amro and the Hebron human rights press from occupied Hebron, the majority of which are Palestinian children being arrested by Israeli soldiers. A prepared, computer-manipulated typewriter is used here, part of a performance with Guy Harries, and the beat comes from a collaboration with Floy Krouchi. Mixed by Paul Kendall.

2. from Face_WSLOT (Woman see lot of things) (2004)
Face_WSLOT  is an interdisciplinary projects, created with and about  female ex-child combatants in Sierra Leone.
WSLOT (which stands for Woman see lot of things) is an interdisciplinary project, created with and about female ex-child combatants in Sierra Leone: Anita Jackson, Mahade Pako, and Chris Conteh. I chose several pieces from the album part of the project. They represent the process of attaining a voice. Initially child combatants in this society were shunned and marginalized, few were willing to accept them back into society. They describe their past in the local Krio language, a creole of standard English.

The first sequence contains two works: 'Suzanna' and 'GoodToGo'. They deal with female discrimination and rape during the war, led by the voice of Anita Jackson, a remarkable soldier-nurse.

(Anita Jackson)_Suzanna (03:36)
(Collective)_GoodToGo (04:41)

Chris Conteh, the youngest of the three ex-combatants, describes her 'job' during the war in the piece 'Operation stampin' stomach'. Her job was to rip live foetuses from the wom(b)s of their mothers. Neither survived. In the next work called 'Options', she presents her options to return to education after the war.

(Chris Conteh)_OperationStampin'Stomach (07:33)
(Chris Conteh)_Options (01:18)

We finish this segment with two works 'Mummy', and 'Touch'. These explore the memories of war, recalled by the three women through their senses. 'Mummy' contains self-made instruments and electronics by Yan Keller.

(Collective)_Mummy (03:33)
(Collective)_Touch (03:25)

3. from Infantry (2002) Three concise audio stories: 'The School', 'The Car', and 'The Hospital'.
The deaths of Palestinian children as a direct result of Israeli military occupation are the common thread in the stories. These are real events, they cannot be abstracted. Linking the three stories are two larger works called 'box' and 'bad toys'. All of what you are about to hear are part of the Infantry project, which was created and performed with Guy Harries.

The School (0:38)
Box (3:26)
The Car (0:40)
Bad Toys (8:00)
The Hospital (0:55)

Total time: 55 min.

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