"Today, there is a new front in the fight for human rights. I used to carry a big gun. Now, I am carrying this. This is a much more powerful and much, much more effective weapon. But we have to use its power wisely. By putting the right images in the right hands at the right time, we can truly create an impact." -Oren Yakobovich
During a
TED Talk in October of 2014, human rights activist Oren Yakobovich discusses, in depth, one of the greatest weapons we have to fight human injustices—the hidden camera.
Although in America we are seeing citizens record more crimes in the streets, with their cell phones, it is not safe to do so in some places. Ramsey Orta recorded his late friend, Eric Garner, being tackled and then choked to death by NYC police. Garner desperately pleaded for his life, crying out, 11 times, 'I can't breathe.' The video shocked the nation and has triggered some of the largest ongoing public protests. In another city or country, you can have your hand cut off—or worse, be murdered on the spot for pulling out your cell phone to record injustice. There needs to be a safer means to expose human rights violations, and thanks to an Israeli activist and a new organization, now there is.
Born into a right-wing family, Oren Yakobovich, a former officer in the Israeli IDF military, became inspired into activism after witnessing disturbing images of injustices taking place against Palestinians on the West Bank.
“I didn’t like what I saw,” says Yakobovich. “It took me a while, but eventually I refused to serve in the West Bank and had to spend time in jail. And I kept thinking, I need people to know. I need them to see what the reality in the West Bank looks like. People who are suffering need to be able to tell their own stories. We need Palestinians to be able to tell their own stories, not journalists or filmmakers who are outside of the situation.”
Yakobovich later joined the Israeli human rights organization
B’Tselem and helped train families to use hidden cameras. Eventually, Yakobovich founded the organization called
Videre, which seeks out oppressed communities in remote areas, and equips them with cameras, training and technology, so they can
safely expose violence, human rights violations, and other systemic abuses. The word
videre is short for the Latin phrase “videre est cruder”—
to see is to believe. Yakobobich stresses four important and most effective ways to best use the material:
1) Engage with communities in rural areas. We need to understand which images are not making it out of there, and help people document those stories.
2) Enable people to film in a safe way. Security has to be the priority, and feeling secure starts way before turning the camera on. There has to be a backup plan if something goes wrong, and everything has to be in place pre-operation.
3) Verify the clip, or it’s worth nothing. Check metadata. Check road signs, newspapers, maps, occasion dates.
4) Use the images to create positive change. To do that, you have to understand what images are missing to describe the activity on the ground, who is influencing the situation, and when and to whom to release the material. Is your goal to create awareness? To work with decision makers? To give lawyers something they can use as evidence? Above all, the most effective way to create social change is to work within the community.
Most Videre hidden camera operations are very dangerous, and when caught (which thankfully, is not common) the consequences can be heavy. Here is Oren Yakobovich speaking to an audience in December 2013 for WIRED. Some images shown in this presentation go a bit further than in his TED Talk, and you will find them very disturbing—but then, aren't all human atrocities disturbing? To better view some of the clips Yakobovich shows in this video, please open up to the full screen.
To read WIRED's article related to the video, visit wired.co.uk.
Think of how such devices will help victims around the world safely record acts of government corruption, domestic violence, and police brutality/murder -
as well as terrorism. To find out more about this incredible life-saving movement,
visit Videre.