"RUNNING FROM RESCUE" 2009.
Today, the illegal arrest and detainment of Manila's street children continues under another name: Rescue.
As part of the city's campaign to combat urban poverty, government welfare agencies have been removing children living and working on the streets and placing them in centers that are said to provide them with food, shelter and clean water. A closer look at this practice, however, reveals a different story. Rescued street children typically report being taken involuntarily and with violence. In addition, the conditions in the centers to which they are taken are often comparable to Manila's infamous jails.
Running from Rescue gives voice to the countless number of Manila's street children who have been harmed by the government's latest quick-fix solution to creating a more gwapo (handsome) city.
With the support of UNICEF, NGOs working in the Philippines demand the government improve their
treatment of 'Rescued' street children.
For the protection and best interest of Manila's street children it is recommended that the government's 'Rescue' operations be immediately suspended while a complete review takes place.
A film by Cameron Sugden and Carla Chan Unger
, made in collaboration with Manila's street children.
Length: 22 minutes.
English Subtitles.
For more information email: Camsugden@gmail.com or
visit the website: http://sites.google.com/site/runningfromrescue/