News and Films from the Frontline of the War on Drugs
Alexei Kurmanaevsky, an activist and human rights activist, emigrated from Russia to Israel four years ago.
Alexei Kurmanaevsky is known to everyone in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He was always in the public eye, but disappeared after he moved to Israel. We did not manage to arrange an interview with him for a long time. And just recently he wrote that he was ready to talk.
The lives of people who use drugs mean death, prison, disease, stigma and discrimination, lack of access to treatment and employment, destroyed families, and children taken away. This is the story of human rights activists and RuNPUD (Russian Speaking Network of People Who Use Drugs) from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region, from the series of “People by Right” videos.
The film ‘Targets’ is a story about the women in Ukraine who are branded as “drug addicts” and who are being destroyed by the state today. These women are targets, and a real war is being waged against them. The film is an attempt to understand why this is happening and what needs to be done to stop these deaths.
Today, the whole world is watching the situation in the Republic of Belarus as potentially historic events take place. Peaceful revolution and unification of the people – this has not been the case in the country for a very long time.
Sergiu Grimalski is a person to whom thousands of people from all over the world owe their freedom, health, and life. For 16 years he has walked the streets of Berlin with a backpack on his shoulders, helping the people who are most marginalised – drug users and sex workers.
“Road 184” is a movie about the Estonian Community of People who Use Psychotropic Substances, LUNEST, the first officially registered Estonian organization that protects the rights of drug users. Today, LUNEST unites people who speak different languages and have different citizenship, as well as those who do not have any citizenship in Estonia.
“The Rising Wave” is a movie about the organization from Lithuania “Young Wave” (“Jauna Banga” in Lithuanian), which deals with the use of psychoactive substances by young people.
DU News, member of the Drugreporter video network visited last summer the harm reduction services of Sofia, Bulgaria and filmed its findings. Watch the video and learn more about what kind of problems can be caused by the lack of funding!
There is a lot to learn from the Dutch example when it comes to preventing overdoses and infections. DU News, member of the Drugreporter video network visits a complex drop-in centre in Amsterdam. Watch the video!
Harm reduction in Kazakhstan performs surprisingly well compared to other countries of the region. The DUNews filming crew visited Almaty, Kazakhstan’s ‘Southern Capital’ and Largest City – watch their video with English subtitles to learn more!
