banatyne takes on
big tobacco
iraq's lost
generation
afghanistan:
lifting the veil
undercover mother
afghanistan unveiled
charles: the
meddling prince
undercover mosque
monkeys, rats and
me: animal testing
burma's secret war
britain's rubbish
undercover in
the secret state
gypsy wars
re-opening
the post
undercover with
new labour
my friend
the mercenary
touts on tour
profiting from
kids in care
third class post
the best for
my child
islam unveiled
iran undercover
the child sex trade
blood and revenge
truth and lies
in baghdad
lifting the veil:
zarmina's story
secrets of the
saudi state
down the tube
unholy war
beneath the veil
looking for ricky
party crashers
bloody foreigners
children of the
secret state
prime suspects &
witness to murder

Unholy War

As America starts its bombing campaign of Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11th World Trade Center attacks, Saira Shah returns to report on the impact of the war on the ordinary Afghans.

After spending several days making contacts in Peshawar, and investigating the Pakistani attitude to the US operation, Saira and cameraman/director James Miller discover the Afghan-Pakistan border is sealed.

The only remaining method of entry into Afghanistan from Pakistan is over the HIndu Kush: a treacherous mountain range, which they are forced to navigate on foot. Following days of arduous travelling they arrive, and make their way to Mawmaii, the village where, six months previously during the shooting of 'Beneath the Veil', they found 3 young girls whose mother had been murdered by the Taliban. The girls are still in the village when James and Saira arrive, but the outlook for them is bleak.

Our team locate a girls' school in a neighbouring village, but the girls' father refuses to let them attend, as the journey is too long and dangerous. At the end of the film, the team find that despite their best efforts, there is little they can do to help.

Since the making of 'Unholy War', Hardcash Productions have begun working with Shelter Now International to build and fund a school in close proximity to the girls' village.

 

 

 

 
 

Unhoy War
Channel 4 Dispatches/ CNN
Produced and Directed by James Millar
Edited by Misha Manson-Smith

First broadcast in the UK 11th November 2001

 
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