This is the story of Natasha Kaluzhskaya, a patient in an opioid substitution programme in Mariupol, Ukraine. Mariupol was completely destroyed by the Russian army in 2022. Under the bombs, Natasha rescued people who were using drugs. She managed to survive. And today she stands as a witness to the crimes of war in Ukraine.
Drugreporter Video Advocacy Network
The network is a group of video activists engaged in advocating for drug policy reform and harm reduction development all around the world. The network is coordinated by the Rights Reporter Foundation, with the aim of strengthening collaboration and sharing information and resources between members. Some of the network members are people who have been given training in video advocacy by members of the Foundation; others joined the group based on their similar interests and goals. We produce movies together by sharing information and footage. The Rights Reporter Foundation supports its members with funding to produce videos. Currently there are 30 members of the network from 18 countries. Movies produced by the network members either by our support or in cooperation, can be watched below:
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part V. We kept watching
We wanted to remember it, to make sure it would never be forgotten. On 29 August, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an operation to liberate the right bank of Kherson Oblast. And despite the regime of silence imposed by the General Staff, despite the disgusting communications, good news reached us from time to time.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part IV. The ground was burning under their feet
Summer came to Kherson, with thick morning mists and frog concerts at night. Sweet cherries, juicy apples, and all of the many things that the soil generously provides began to appear. And with them came blackouts and mobile phone disconnection.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part III. Substitution therapy under fire
Time passed. The occupation continued. As spring came, the situation in the city hardened. The Russians began to behave more brazenly and defiantly, and gradually life turned into a chronicle of violence and crime.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part II. Under the power of the Dementors
Imagine for a moment that you have been deprived of the ability to do the usual routine things; to leave the house whenever you like, to walk wherever you like, to go to the cinema, museums, or the theatre, to drink coffee with friends at the corner café, to buy something at the shop, to go to a neighbouring town or to another country. When – in one moment – you find yourself under occupation, you lose everything that your life consisted of.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part I. The day that changed our lives
We found out about the war on the morning of 24 February. All the news channels were screaming about it. We were literally crushed by the news: missile attacks on Kiev, Odessa, Dnipro, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk… At the same time gigantic military columns were heading towards Kiev, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odessa…
Support Igor Kuzmenko – a Ukrainian Video Reporter Documenting Harm Reduction during the War!
Igor Kuzmenko, a filmmaker and founder of the Drug Users News (DUNews) video blog, needs your help! Please make a donation today to support his work to produce a series of documentaries about the community of people who use drugs in Ukraine during the war. Movies about the people, organizations, and networks that save thousands of Ukrainians from death and give hope every day.
HR23 Film Festival in Melbourne – Call for Submissions!
The Rights Reporter Foundation and Harm Reduction International, with the support of Elton John AIDS Foundation, welcomes entries to the Film Festival at the 27th Harm Reduction International Conference!
Decriminalisation in Portugal: Through the Lens of People who Use Drugs
In this short film we summarise what the community of people who use drugs in Portugal acknowledges about the famous drug policy model of Portugal, but also what they would like to see improved.
LEt’s Talk about drugs – new MEthods of communication with youth (LET ME)
This short video summarises the activities of the “LET ME” Erasmus+ project.
