Taking Guns from Boys

Taking Guns from Boys is an hour-long documentary about a tiny West African nation ripped apart by a brutal civil war and the man who has come to establish peace there. United Nations Force Commander Daniel Opande has one year to deploy 15,000 multinational troops throughout Liberia, secure the country’s borders, make Liberia safe for civilians, and disarm 40,000 fighters from three warring factions.

Liberia is just emerging from 14 years of literal and figurative darkness, during which 200,000 of its citizens were killed and another 800,000 separated from their homes. There has been no electricity in the capital, Monrovia, for 10 years. Liberian President Charles Taylor, indicted by an international court for war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone, has just fled the country, creating an opportunity for Liberia to rebuild itself. Liberians desperately need peace as much as the three star Kenyan General needs to prove to them that he can deliver it. Opande was part of a United Nations mission here 10 years ago, when they began a disarmament that didn’t work. That failure ultimately preceded the restart of war that he has now returned to clean up.

The pressure is on, and we are at Opande’s side to see how he handles it, beginning by landing in a country still armed by rebels who are not yet ready to stop fighting.

Through Opande’s eyes you will see an Africa you have never seen before. You will meet an amazing man who has the courage to honestly examine his mistakes and try to do things right the second time. He’s a person who believes that things in Africa don’t always go from bad to worse, a person who will turn your preconceptions of Africa upside down. You will witness firsthand the historical end of a civil war.

I was able to get incredible access to this United Nations peacekeeper during the most vulnerable, chaotic times of peacekeeping. Through intimate conversations with Opande, through watching his interactions with Liberians, and through conversations with the Liberians themselves I was able to ask: How do you end a civil war when you still have to play ball with some of its worst criminals? What are some of the problems with having a huge, political international organization attempt to manage what can be a very complex and delicate peacemaking process from afar? How do you handle these failed nation-states, their people, and their children?

The film is shot in three trips that chronicle the beginning, middle and end of Opande’s year of service in Liberia.

	Taking Guns from Boys - A documentary film by Jessie Deeter
	Taking Guns from Boys is an hour-long documentary about a tiny West African nation ripped apart by a brutal civil war and the man who has come to establish peace there. United Nations Force Commander Daniel Opande has one year to deploy 15,000 multinational troops throughout Liberia, secure the country’s borders, make Liberia safe for civilians, and disarm 40,000 fighters from three warring factions. Liberia is just emerging from 14 years of literal and figurative darkness, during which 200,000 of its citizens were killed and another 800,000 separated from their homes. There has been no electricity in the capital, Monrovia, for 10 years. Liberian President Charles Taylor, indicted by an international court for war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone, has just fled the country, creating an opportunity for Liberia to rebuild itself. Liberians desperately need peace as much as the three star Kenyan General needs to prove to them that he can deliver it. Opande was part of a United Nations mission here 10 years ago, when they began a disarmament that didn’t work. That failure ultimately preceded the restart of war that he has now returned to clean up. The pressure is on, and we are at Opande’s side to see how he handles it, beginning by landing in a country still armed by rebels who are not yet ready to stop fighting. Through Opande’s eyes you will see an Africa you have never seen before. You will meet an amazing man who has the courage to honestly examine his mistakes and try to do things right the second time. He’s a person who believes that things in Africa don’t always go from bad to worse, a person who will turn your preconceptions of Africa upside down. You will witness firsthand the historical end of a civil war. I was able to get incredible access to this United Nations peacekeeper during the most vulnerable, chaotic times of peacekeeping. Through intimate conversations with Opande, through watching his interactions with Liberians, and through conversations with the Liberians themselves I was able to ask: How do you end a civil war when you still have to play ball with some of its worst criminals? What are some of the problems with having a huge, political international organization attempt to manage what can be a very complex and delicate peacemaking process from afar? How do you handle these failed nation-states, their people, and their children? The film is shot in three trips that chronicle the beginning, middle and end of Opande’s year of service in Liberia.