Tag Archives: Violence

Escaping Brazil’s Deadliest Gangs

In the middle of the most violent regional capital in Brazil, a brutal gang war is being fought over control of the drug supply routes of the Northwestern Amazon region. Poverty and coercion force many young men into a life of crime where the only ways to escape are incarceration or death.

But amidst the carnage, there is a glimmer of hope – the “91” is a group of former gang lords turned pastors, who offer salvation to gang members who want to leave the criminal life. Their standing in the gang community, forged out of years of service and hard-fought respect, mean that only they can vouch for criminals looking to trade crime for the path of God.

The Truth About Crystal Meth

Around 500,000 people in California are addicted to methamphetamine. Out of a population of almost 40 million, that’s one in every 200 people. But this goes way beyond the US: Meth is raging across Mexico, the Philippines and South-East Asia too.

Meth is also one of the most misunderstood and unfairly stigmatized of all the illegal drugs. Here we pick apart crystal meth fact from fiction and discover how the War on Drugs has created a world on speed.

We examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade in drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe.
Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

The 12-Year-Olds Drug Dealers

For the past decade, the UK has been horrified by the phenomenon of County Lines – big city criminal groups using kids as young as 12 to take over the drug supply of smaller towns and villages.

It’s taken years for the police to even begin to understand that many of these children are groomed and exploited, rather than just arresting them as dealers. We show how county lines are a direct product of the War on Drugs itself.

We examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade in drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe. Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

The Opioid Crisis Sweeping Africa

As the world has been transfixed by the opioid crisis in North America, another crisis, just as serious, has been unfolding almost unreported across Africa.

The addictive prescription painkiller Tramadol has exploded in popularity, used by everyone from workers trying to cope with long hours and grueling labor, to university students looking to have a good time. It’s even the drug of choice for members of Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram, fueling their violence.

Now, governments are threatening to crack down, using the same War on Drugs methods of repression that have failed everywhere else. And meanwhile, as counterfeit pills flood the continent, new research is questioning whether people are even taking real Tramadol at all.

‘Abo’ Henry: Australia’s Most Notorious Gangster

For almost 30 years notorious gangster Graham ‘Abo’ Henry and his partner Neddy Smith ruled the mean streets of Sydney, Australia’s crime capital, with iron fists. They went head-to-head with other gangs, crooked cops, unsuspecting civilians, and finally each other, all with the endorsement of Australia’s most infamous bent cop, Roger Rogerson.

With violence, bloodshed and fear as his tools of trade, Abo Henry carved a swathe through the criminal underworld, raking in millions, and living by his own code of honor; one of looking after your mates, and never, ever rolling on them. His criminal career came to an end on what is known as Sydney’s deadliest pub crawl, which culminated in Henry stabbing police prosecutor Mal Spence in the stomach and the neck.

Inside Taiwan’s Triad Mafia

The Bamboo Union is the largest of Taiwan’s three main criminal triads, a gang estimated to have about 10,000 members who deal in illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and beyond. It’s a powerful and, at times, brutal organization—if one of its members betrays the gang, it can cost them a limb.

Burning From the Inside

German and Greek nationalists have paradoxically joined forces, and grown in numbers promoting a fascist agenda while on both sides, antifascists have risen to challenge them amidst a backdrop of global recession, finger-pointing and scapegoating. 

Burning from the Inside charts the rise of the Greek Nazis ‘Golden Dawn’ – the ‘monstrous’ child of the crisis – the changes they brought to Greek society after their entry to parliament, their collaboration with German Neo-Nazis in the formation of ‘Black International’, and their fall two years later with the murder of the anti-fascist Pavlos Fissas.

Through the trajectory of the party, we question the political and social structures of Greek leadership that fomented the rise of fascism and corruption, as well as the dis-function of Capitalism and Democracy in the country that gave birth to it. We also look at the role of Germany as the ‘queen of Europe’ and the extent to which she is responsible for developments in southern European countries.

While the rise of far right may seem unthinkable, dramatic scenes of racially motivated blood shed on the streets of Athens, police brutality linked to membership of far-right organisations and institutional racism in Greece tell a different story. Meanwhile, in Germany a more subtle, insidious message reaches the public with headlines blaming ‘lazy Greeks’ and other minorities within the country. Burning from the Inside is a visceral indictment of a deadly minority on the fringes of Europe that we ignore at our peril.

Muslims: Victims of Espionage

After the events of 9/11, propaganda and espionage created by the U.S. Government has provoked a hostile environment towards Muslims or towards any person believed professes the faith of Islam in that country.

Thousands of people each day are dominated by a twisted and manipulative message, which is getting its purpose: hatred and racial segregation.

Espionage, false evidence, fictitious testimonies, innocent victims and rigged trials have caused hundreds of Muslims to be in prison in the United States for crimes they did not commit.

This documentary is the story of innocent Muslims victims of espionage and Islamophobia in the New York City.

Being Gay in Albania

Up until the mid-90s, if you were openly gay in Albania, you would be sent to prison. Many homosexuals still face bigotry and violence, even in their own homes.

In the last five years, Albania has seen a dynamic LGBTQ movement. Gay activists have created secret guest houses in Tirana that offer shelter to young homosexuals who have been brutally abused.

We traveled to Albania and recorded rare glimpses into the lives of people who have been victimized and neglected because of their sexual orientation in one of Europe’s most homophobic countries.