A 20-year film project - blood, land and where Kenya is heading today
Friday 5th April 2013
Blood and Land: Erodos Story
A 48-minute film for Witness
As Kenya swears in its new President, Uhuru Kenyatta, Al Jazeera's, Witness strand broadcasts tve's latest documentary Blood and Land: Erodo's Story. It's a unique 20-year film project which sheds light on a society still plagued by tribal conflict and political corruption - at odds with its status as a democracy and the economic driving force of East Africa.
Although there has been no return to the bloody ethnic violence which followed the 2007 elections, Uhuru Kenyatta's narrow win has been clouded with controversy. The new President and his deputy, William Ruto, face charges at the International Criminal Court relating to post-election violence five years ago.
Over the last 20 years, we've been filming Erodo, a boy born to cattle nomads in 1992, in lawless, remote northern Kenya. His life has been shaped by ethnic conflict and by the tension between his father's desire to continue a nomadic way of life and his mother's belief that settled society and education are the future. Through Erodo's eyes we see Kenya and where it is heading today.
Blood and Land: Erodo's Story will be broadcast in Al Jazeera's Witness strand at the following times: (all times given are GMT - ie UK Summer Time minus one hour)
Wednesday April 10: 20.00;
Thursday April 11: 12.00;
Friday April 12: 01.00;
Saturday April 13: 06.00;
Sunday April 14: 20.00;
Monday April 15: 12.00;
Tuesday April 16: 01.00
Wednesday April 17: 06.00
To view the film online visit Al Jazeera Witness.
Award-winning director Bruno Sorrentino has been filming Erodo and his family for tve, since 1992. They are Turkana one of Kenya's tribes of nomadic cattle herders - and their precarious existence and sheer endurance have been played out against a background of lawlessness, ethnic strife, and political corruption.
Erodo's life has been one of serious hardship, lived in the shadow of violence. When he was still a baby, the community came under attack by armed cattle raiders and each day would bring new risks. The family fled for their lives, and when they returned they found their huts destroyed, their food and cattle stolen and the school, ransacked.
Alongside the banditry, there was also family strife. By the time Erodo was three, Esther, his mother, had given birth to 11 babies. Instead of having more children, Esther wanted to focus on the wellbeing of the ones she already had, but this had brought her into confrontation with his father, Christopher. Believing that the best chance for her son's future was not from herding but through education, Esther left Christopher to build a hut nearer to the school - and the child born into nomadic tribal society was now a schoolboy.
In 2002, we again caught up with Erodo, now aged 10. Esther had established herself as a maize farmer but a settled life didn't offer easy solutions. She had battled three years of drought, while Christopher kept moving his cattle in search of grass. But he and the other herders now made sure they were armed ancient rifles always at their side. When we asked what concerned him most, 10-year old Erodo replied War and hunger and he told us that cattle raiding bandits, or shiftas' should be shot.
It was to be nearly 10 years before we could catch up with with Erodo, transformed into a strapping 19-year-old with much to tell. As a teenager he had come to the local town of Isiolo, to try to find work to help the family. He fell in with a gang of street children. Then by a stroke of luck a small Italian voluntary group rescued him from the streets, and sent him back to school. Although at 19 much older that many of the other children, his education was back on track. My talent is to sing and to draw he told us, but what I'd like to become is a lawyer or be in government.
During filming in April 2012 ethnic unrest was swirling through the district around Isiolo. Erodo had a narrow escape. After being surrounded by a mob and beaten with sticks because he was Turkana, he managed to get free jump on the back of a passing motorcycle.
Erodo's life has bridged two profoundly different ways of living. He started life as a nomad, but through his mother's determination he has chosen a settled way of life and the possibility that brings of education - and just maybe the chance to grasp some of new economic opportunities springing up in Africa. My mother is the most important person in my life. She's never turned her face from me. She's only ever taught me the best she can. She encouraged me to go to school, and always want us all to go to school.
So far Erodo has managed to survive the ethnic violence and lawlessness that's been an ever present feature of his life and which is endemic in Kenyan society and in the country's political system. It continues to plague his life and his ambitions - but it hasn't stopped him yet.
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows
Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management.
Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
Media releases
NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
Share this article
width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
wid...
07/05/2024
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
07/05/2024
SVG Sit-Down: AWS's Julie Souza on the Cloud and AI in Broadcast-Content Cre...
07/05/2024
Deloitte Analysts Peter Giorgio and Michael Vovk: Sports Properties Need To Reth...
07/05/2024
University of Texas' Jeff Hanel to Keynote 16th-Annual SVG College Summit Industry vet to discuss uniting live and creative in athletic department media arm...
07/05/2024
Premier League trials RefCam during Crystal Palace v Manchester United fixture By George Bevir
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 - 09:34
Print This Story
In a Premier ...
07/05/2024
CBS Sports Previews PGA Championship Plans; 125+ Cameras Include FlyCams, Bunker...
07/05/2024
Rohde & Schwarz brings cutting-edge solutions to TECNOSEC and DRONExpo 2024 Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its innovative portfolio at TECNOSEC and DRONExpo 20...
07/05/2024
Back to All News
Five New Games Join Netflix in May
Netflix Staff
Entertainment
07 May 2024
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Five new games are launching ...
07/05/2024
Back to All News
Top 10 Week of Apr. 29: Baby Reindeer' Holds Strong; Hee...
07/05/2024
Home News & Press Blancco Wins 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award
Blancco Wins 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award May 07, 2024
Blancco's v...
07/05/2024
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today unveiled the all-new Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for Mac 11, delivering breakthrough professional experiences for songw...
07/05/2024
Apple's new Privacy Manifest requirement mandates that apps explicitly disclose the privacy-related data they collect, the purposes for this collection, and...
07/05/2024
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour arrives to shake up EuropeHaving shaken four continents, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour finally brings the biggest pop culture icon o...
07/05/2024
Isiphetho: Destiny' beats Scandal!'E.tv's latest telenovela Isiphetho: Destiny' beat the channel's longest running soapie, Scandal!' ...
07/05/2024
Now there's HELP for ex-prisoners to find work in South AfricaNew initiative for ex-prisoners to find work in South Africa proves it's never too late fo...
07/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Cohen is pulled into keeping a secretDon't miss Tuesday, 7 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! on e.tv on DStv c...
07/05/2024
Skeem Saam: Monday's episode, 6 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soapie...
06/05/2024
By Ilyse McKimmie
Now, more than ever
That's a phrase so often used in the last few years that I've come to dread seeing it in notes like this one. A...
06/05/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12099 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Blog-Exabyte-Storage-Demand-960x540-1.jpg/> Demand for storage solutions has reached unprece...
A 20-year film project - blood, land and where Kenya is heading today 
