Like tidal waves to clean the depths of the soul… Damien Castera and Arthur Bourbon, professional directors and surfers, set off for the north of Liberia to meet former child soldiers who found, in the foam of the waves , the way of redemption and hope.
They made a documentary "Water Get No Enemy"
(Editor's note: water has no enemy)
, which has just been released on VOD platforms.
Their camera guides us around the Robertsport surf spot to discover Augustin Tregbee and his three sons.
Coming from Sierra Leone, Augustin was one of those children at the heart of the civil war that ravaged the country between 1989 and 2003 and left behind 250,000 dead.
These young people were recruited against their will in the "Forces of the demon" of Charles Taylor, condemned in 2012 for crimes against humanity and war crimes, or in other factions.
Augustine saw many atrocities.
Has committed a lot too.
When it comes time to lay down your arms, surfing has become his lifeline.
The way to find some carefree crystals in the salt of the Atlantic.
To wash your body and mind.
Like this cannon, the remains of the civil war are still present in Liberia./Arthur Bourbon
"The war has really ravaged the country, the walls remain riddled with bullet holes, most of the buildings are dilapidated, unsanitary, drinking water is lacking ... It is one of the poorest countries in the world, says Damien. Castera.
But at the same time there is a momentum.
When we arrived with our boards, we were immediately welcomed.
Surfing is a universal language.
They wanted to share their passion.
"
A little less their past, scalded by the sensationalist reports which continue to flourish in the international media fifteen years after the end of the conflict.
“Confessions were more difficult, continues Damien Castera.
They want to turn the page and war remains a taboo subject.
But we have clearly explained our positive approach to them.
They had just been shocked by a subject in
Vice
about a former warlord who ate children's hearts… ”It is obviously this human part, as dark as it is, which makes the richness and the power of this 46-minute documentary.
"Respect their modesty and make them talk"
“Beyond their country, their daily life, it was important that they tell what they experienced so as not to simply make yet another surf film, blows Arthur Bourbon.
We had to both respect their modesty and make them talk.
This generation of child soldiers is being shunned because people find it hard to sort things out, to understand that they have been forced to take up arms and do all these horrible things.
"
“What they manage to do is still surprising,” observes Damien Castera./Arthur Bourbon
Even though the number of surfers in Liberia as a whole is far less than a beach in the Basque Country in fine weather, the fates of Augustin and a few others have created vocations.
“What they manage to do is still surprising, observes Damien Castera.
To learn, you need either a teacher or watch videos online.
And they have no access to the Internet.
They have developed some amazing skills in the style and manner of surfing.
Their playground is great.
They lack material (Editor's note: NGOs have come forward to help after the presentation of the documentary) but they are starting to organize themselves, will create a surf club.
In a generation or two, good surfers will come from there.
»Who will only have promises for the future, lightened from the burden of the past.
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“For now, the situation in the country is stable and the coming to power of George Weah in 2017 is undoubtedly the best thing that could have happened, analyzes Damien Castera.
But it remains a very corrupt country, with former warlords still in place and made up of multiple ethnicities that are difficult to unite in a single policy.
Today, there are between 250,000 and 300,000 child soldiers in the world ...
“Water Get No Enemy”,
available on VOD on Apple TV, Google, Microsoft, Orange and Amazon platforms.
