“The huge success of the series Women of this World prompted us to go one step further and to enter yet another “colony”, which is controlled by adults and therefore – logically- also reflects adult values, prejudices and power games: the world of children. Women at least can defend themselves and fight for their rights, but children hardly stand a chance. The institutions of the state, of society, the family and the church force children into a world defined by prevailing conventions, giving them little leeway for untrammelled growth. The system works so well that children, as a matter of course, inflict the same repressive upbringing on their progeny”.
What does “childhood” mean in our context and in the context of other cultures? We want to question general public opinion and put it into perspective and – above all – we want to fight that prejudice that threatens to be the downfall of this world: The tougher human being is not necessarily the better human being. Might is not right.”
For Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Bolivia, 1984
In the first film of the series “Children of the World”, the Western concept of childhood is problematized. For several centuries the child’s world – protected and apart from the adult’s world…
In the Shadow of the Gods
India, 1984
According to Hinduism, young children are God-like creatures, who are allowed all freedom, and who are the focal point of many religious ceremonies. Particularly in rural areas, Hinduism defines life in the…
Holy War Education
Iran, 1985
The Islamic revolution in Iran represented a clear rejection of Western values and civilization. An entire people felt their identity threatened by the Shah’s attempts to develop his country along Western lines.
Turning…
Go to School, Turn Into a Fool
West Africa, 1985
Education for the Konkomba tribes, who live in Ghana and Togo, means the handing down of values that enable the extended family to survive in the traditional physical and metaphysical world.…
They know exactly what they are doing
Bolivia, 1985
Despite the official ban on child-labour, in most countries of the Third World children have to work to ensure the survival of their families.
For instance, in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz,…
The Forgotten Ones
Eritrea, 1986
For 25 years now Eritrea has been fighting the Ethiopian occupation. Despite the constant threat of Ethiopian attacks, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) has been able to set up a working…
Each to His Own
USA, 1986
Nowhere else do so many ethnic groups exist, as in the United States of America. For a long time society was considered to be a “melting pot”, in which the American Way…
The Tamed Savages – Navajo Indians
USA, 1986
For most Indians in North America, as with the Navajos, reclaiming their own cultural identity has become a matter of survival. Alcoholism, even amongst children, is one of their biggest problems. Traditional…
Enslaved and Idolised
Nepal, 1987
To begin a film about girls with a scene depicting men dancing, may seem paradoxical, but in Nepal – as elsewhere in the world – it is the men who make the…
The Abandoned Ones – Streetkids in Honduras
Honduras, 1987
One can only venture a guess as to how many street kids there actually are in Latin America: estimates fluctuate between 20 and 40 million. In Honduras, the number of children, who…
Children to Order
Singapore, 1987
A radical family planning programme reduced the birth rate so drastically in Singapore that the state had to take measures to get its citizens to produce more babies. The government, however, was…
Toe the Line and You’ll be Fine
Japan, 1988
In Japan, as in most countries, school is the mirror of society. The curriculum is European or American, but the way it is implemented is Japanese. During class, for instance, volunteering independent…
In the Shadow of Apartheid
Mozambique, 1988
In 1975, the Portuguese pulled out of Mozambique leaving a devastated country behind. There were no trained medical doctors, no teachers, hardly any administrators or economists. Yet the FRELIMO, the ruling party…
Of Muslims and Christians
Égypte, 1988
En Égypte, l’éducation axée sur la religion gagne du terrain. La raison en est que les enfants doivent être protégés aussi bien contre un Islam radical, implanté dans les écoles et les…
“Almancilar” or Returned from Germany
Turkey, 1989
“Almanci” or German returned is what the Turks are called, who, having worked in Germany, go back home to start a new life. Most of the “Almanci” are on a better financial…
The Descendants of Abraham
Israel, Palestine, 1989
In December 1987, the Intifada – the revolt of the Palestinians – began in the Israeli occupied territories. It was the Palestinian youth that spearheaded the revolt. Children and young people…
The Little Dragons
China, 1989
The state has ambitious plans for the children in the People’s Republic of China. Without questioning the socialistic principles, the new generation is expected to implement the modernization of China’s industry…
Controlled, Betrayed and Sold
HUNGARY 1990
Hungary is at the forefront of the reform movements in Eastern Europe. The planned economy is followed by the market economy, private property is permitted again, and remuneration also depends on the…
The New Slaves
South Sudan, 1990
In 1983, the government in Khartoum abrogated the status of autonomy for the south
of Sudan and sparked of a civil war. Two completely different ethnic and religious groups of the Sudanese…
Victims of the Drugwar
Bolivia, 1990
Coca is grown in Chapare, on the western slopes of the Bolivian Andes. 25% of the world produce of cocaine are extracted from here. As in Peru and Colombia, the United States…
Robbed of their Future
Vietnam, 1991
The aftermath of the War can still be felt in Vietnam today. More bombs were dropped on that country than they were on Europe during the Second World War. Agricultural land, industrial…
Welfare despite Scarcity
Cuba, 1991
Abandoned by its former ally, the Soviet Union, threatened by the American embargo, Cuba’s economic situation is not a comfortable one. Yet, social welfare – the mainstay of the Cuban Revolution, remains…
Victims of Progress
Yemen, 1991
Very little is known about the effect that the Gulf War in 1991 actually had on Yemen. More than a million Yemenite indentured workers were forced to leave Saudi Arabia and the…
The Price of Freedom
Eritrea, 1992
After 30 years of fighting, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) finally won the war against the illegal occupation of their country by the Ethiopian troops in May 1991.
This is Troeller’s fourth…
Hostages in a Political Poker Game
Iraq, 1992
Ever since the Gulf War, the Kurds have made good international copy. It began, when they followed the appeal made by President George Bush to revolt against Saddam Hussein; then, when the…
The Street Proletariat
Nicaragua, 1992
Children who have run away from home or who have been abandoned, crowd the streets of Nicaragua: victims of sheer poverty. Why? To begin with the civil war financed by the United…
From Marx to Mohammed
Tadschikistan, Uzbekistan, 1993
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Central Asian Republics started to assert their own identities. In most of the Islamic Republics this ended in violence and war. The government of Uzbekistan,…
The Contest of Creeds
Lebanon, 1993
After 17 years of civil war, Lebanon lies devastated. The country is in shambles and in ruins. The various religious communities are now attempting to regain their influence on society. Each community…
At the Brink of Hell
Angola, 1993
Elections held under international supervision in 1991 did not put a stop to the civil war in Angola. Supported by the West, Savimbi’s UNITA party refused to accept its electoral defeat. After…
Can they Forget – Will they Forgive?
South Africa, 1994
Apartheid – statutory racial segregation – has been officially abolished in South Africa. Nelson Mandela’s government has decreed equal opportunities in education and in vocational training for all South African children,…
The Clash of Cultures
Bolivia, 1995
The Indians of Bolivia are asserting their rights, not as besotted appendages of a society that has labelled them second-class citizens, but as human beings proud of their ancestral heritage and their…
The Right to Work
Portugal, 1995
In recent years, there has been a tremendous hue and cry about child labour in the Third World. This hypocritical concern is prompted primarily by economic interests of the industrial nations. Child…
Their Future lies in the Past
Senegal, 1996
After years of experimenting with the Western developmental model that only brought minimal benefits to their country, and – in fact – made caricatures out of them, the Senegalese are now casting…
No Rights in the Constitutional State
Brazil, 1996
There is something very wrong in the state of Brazil. The Brazilian government’s economic policies have driven millions of people into desperate destitution. The cultivation of cash crops for export has rendered…
Under the Spell of Islam
Jordan, 1997
The Kingdom of Jordan has manoeuvred itself very cleverly through the shifting sands of religious politics in the Middle East. Until now, it has been able to keep Islamic fundamentalism at bay.…
When all the errors are exhausted
Gordian Troeller’s reckoning at the end of the 20th century, 1999
Over thirty-six years and in one hundred films he never allowed the wounds to heal, constantly raising his voice in warning, admonishing and reminding…