Films A-Z
Survivors - Days in Zhari Police Station
Survivors - Days in Zhari Police Station
Kyung-Ran Kang / Korea / 2009 / 75 min.
A South Korean film crew spent two years at a police station in Zhari in the province of Kandahar in Afghanistan, a place under almost constant attack from the Taliban. Bombardment, serious injury and the deaths of colleagues are part of everyday life for the local police force. Nevertheless, driven by poverty, most of them feel it is worth risking their lives for even the smallest of salaries in the unending battle against the Taliban. This film portrays both individual officers (often interpreters or former Taliban fighters) and the desperate situation of local villagers. Due to threats, the latter are afraid to help Allied troops, while the Afghan police destroy their only crop: poppy fields used to produce raw opium. This sensitive mosaic of stories from contemporary Afghanistan also features bleak footage from the frontline. Sadly, it illustrates just how much remains to be done to alleviate conditions in the war-torn country.
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