DEATH IN GAZA (TV)
Summary
This televised documentary depicts the final work and sudden death of British cameraman James Miller, who was killed in Gaza in 2003 while filming a story alongside journalist Saira Shah about Palestinian children involved in the war. Shah explains that Miller, a married father of two, undertook the dangerous task in order to "bear witness" to the events of the long war, wanting to depict the stories of "people who get sucked in," particularly children. She notes that he intended to follow up with a film about Israeli children. In Nablus on the West Bank, currently occupied by Israeli troops, Miller and Shah observe the aftermath of a "targeted assassination" as children pick through the gory remains of a car bomb in order to bury the dead militants. The violence and suicide bombings increased after the uprising in September 2000, and Shah explains how many Palestinian towns are "like prisons" with the roads frequently closed off. They observe children and teens defiantly throwing stones at Israeli tanks, which occasionally return fire, and they themselves narrowly avoid being hit in rush-hour traffic. They head for Rafah, the "grimmest part" of the Gaza strip, where they meet best friends Ahmed and Mohammed, both twelve, and sixteen-year-old Najla, who expresses the desire to become a lawyer someday to help her people. The boys play video games and talk about the dangers posed by their enemies, though Shah notes that not all Israeli fighters are actually Jewish.
A "security zone" is created around the underground tunnels used to smuggle in weapons, causing many Palestinian homes to be bulldozed, and Shah talks to Najla about the destruction. Posters around the city depict militants and suicide bombers as martyrs, and paramilitaries take to the streets at night to recruit more fighters. Eleven-year-old Abdul shows Shah a letter he has written to his family in case of his death, stating his eternal support for the jihad, and he displays a wooden toy gun, explaining that he and his friends often plays "Jews and Arabs" war games. Najla explains that she has lost many relatives to the violence and fears for her own life, though feeling that her enemies are the true cowards for killing young people and students. Ahmed prays at a mosque alongside various militants, and he explains the difference between Muslim prayer and that of Jews, which he feels to be inferior. He takes Shah and Miller to his home in a slum to meet his family, and they are surprised when his little sister expresses strong views about Jews, whom she has seen only on television. Soon, a fierce battle rages near Najla's home, and when the journalists are finally able to get close, they find that the army has destroyed many houses, believing there to be tunnels underneath, and Najla describes her experience being ordered to leave and hiding from the explosions. The Palestinian militants, outgunned by the Israelis, lose five men, and they are mourned at the mosque, where their friends "turn death into victory" and regard them as martyrs.
Ahmed prays at a friend's grave and describes how the boy's death inspired him to help the resistance. He spends time with a group of masked militant fighters, who show him how to use a rocket launcher and explain that he is like their little brother. When Shah asks if he is not too young to help, however, they state that they too were "deprived of childhoods" and that their cause is more important. Ahmed studies a patriotic poem in school, and he and Mohammed display a quwa, or homemade grenade, telling Shah when she asks that peace is not possible with the Israelis. They affirm their brotherly relationship, declaring that they would both be "very happy" to be martyred and that it is "not just for grown-ups." Elsewhere, a fourteen-year-old boy named Salem is shot while throwing stones at a bulldozer, and Miller is disturbed as he films the doctors hurriedly working on him. Salem dies six hours later and his friends all exalt his death, though his family, including Najla, is upset to lose another relative. Later, Ahmed serves as a lookout for the militants, who note that "nobody suspects" the young boy.
On May 2, 2003, Miller and Shah's intended final day in Rafah, Mohammed expresses his fear of Ahmed's death, saying he wants to die with him, though Mohammed's mother objects. The boys construct a grenade and later gather to pelt the bulldozers with stones again, and a local cameraman films the British team and observes as they flee from gunfire. In the evening, an APC (armored personal carrier) moves near Najla's house and fires at abandoned buildings, watching the homes with night-vision. When the bulldozing stops, Shah and Miller attempt to leave, waving a white flag and declaring themselves to be journalists, but the Israeli forces fire upon them and Miller is struck in the neck and instantly killed, much to the shock of the local cameramen. Later, the Palestinians make posters of Miller portraying him as another martyr for the cause, despite Shah's objections, and six months later, they receive a video message from Ahmed expressing his outrage over Miller's death. It is revealed, however, that he has stopped working the paramilitaries and now wants to be a cameraman, as does Mohammed. The film closes by explaining that Ahmed and Najla have been left homeless by the bulldozers, and that Israeli troops have decided to withdraw from Gaza by the end of 2005.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: August 12, 2004 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:87337
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Israel-Arab conflicts; War
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2004
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
- Nancy Abraham … Supervising Producer
- James Miller … Producer, Director
- Saira Shah … Producer, Writer, Reporter
- Belinda Morrison … Co-Producer
- Daniel Edge … Co-Producer, Music by
- Nick Powell … Music by