REEL LIFE Human Rights films come to East Providence Library BY STEVEN STYCOS

The garment industry’s exploitation of Filipino women, an effort in Los Angeles to improve education for disabled children, and the International Monetary Fund’s devastating impact on the AIDS epidemic in Jamaica and South Africa are among the topics covered by a unique collection of documentary films recently acquired by the East Providence Public Library.

Adult Services Librarian Joyce May will unveil the collection by showing one of the films, Promises, on Sunday, October 24, United Nations Day. The film explores the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Muslim and Jewish children. "The goal of this program," explains May, "is to raise human rights awareness through the medium of documentary film."

Created by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and Carlos Bolado, Promises depicts friendship and mistrust between seven Arab and Jewish children. Lauded by critics, it won Emmy Awards for best documentary and best background analysis in 2002. A critic for the Los Angles Times found the children inspiring, writing, "Their acts of camaraderie transcend politics and ethnicity."

According to an Amnesty International report in 2002, 250 Palestinian children and 72 Israeli children were killed during the first two years of the Intifada. Most were suicide bombers or victims of the Israeli military. The report criticizes both the Israeli government for failing to investigate any of the killings by soldiers, and the Palestinian Authority for failing to halt attacks on civilians or to bring attackers to justice.

Working in conjunction with the East Providence chapter of Amnesty International, the East Providence library is one of 50 in the United States to receive Promises, along with 12 other human rights films and a $2000 grant to publicize them. The National Video Resources and the American Library Association operate the grand program, with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. East Providence is the only Rhode Island library with the films, although the library in Sharon, Massachusetts, also received copies.

The October 24 showing begins at 1:30 pm at the Weaver Library, just down Grove Avenue from East Providence City Hall. A discussion led by Joshua Rubenstein, the northeast regional director of Amnesty International USA, will follow. Rubenstein, a fellow at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian Studies, has written several books about Stalin and human rights in Russia. In 1985, he spent two months in Israel, working with Jews and Muslims to build a local Amnesty International chapter.

May and Philip Amaral, coordinator of East Providence’s Amnesty chapter (www.aiusa702.=org) are considering additional programs to publicize the documentary collection and promote public discussion of human rights issues. As Amaral says, "The library is where you should come to increase your understanding of the world."

After October 24, all 13 films will be available to teachers and any Rhode Islander with a library card, says May. A brief description of the films is available at http://www.eastprovidencelibrary.org/hrvpfilms.htm. Those who live outside East Providence can call May at (401) 435-1986 to borrow a film.