NGO to hold charity screening of "Africans in World War II"

Accra, Aug. 9, GNA - The Africa Media and Democracy Institute in association with the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture would be organizin= g a charity screening of the film 93Africans in World War II", on Friday. The 60-minute documentary on the gallant contribution and participatio= n of Africans in the World War II would take place at the National Theatre in Accra on 1800 -2200 hours.

A release issued to the Ghana News Agency said the film, which was originally commissioned by Channel 4 Television of the UK, was to be screened in aid of Ahudu Foundation, a local non-governmental organisation which sought to address challenges and issues in relation to modern day child trafficking and the slave trade.

It said the film would begin with Africa's contribution in World War= I with silent archival footage and adopt early cinema silent period caption lead-narrative style to establish the role played by Africans in the World War I. It maps a stylistic departure as it enters the 1939 period, with a prelude of the Adowa War (Ethiopian-Italian) and to Africans in Burma and North African campaigns.

"This is interposed with live interviews and anecdotes from World Wa= r II Veterans to set up consequences of personal stories from West and East Africa to Jamaica Islands introduced by the theme music from the country of origin of each individual interviewee." According to the release the film would also capture the story of Ghanaian War Veteran, Rans Boi, who was captured on board of a British vessel on the River Plate in South America and sent to the German Nazi camp= .. It stated that the film would end with an overview from a Ghanaian veteran who on returning to Gold Coast also participated in the 28th February incident which accelerated the independence of Ghana. Barima Adu-Asamoah, Director, Africa Media and Democracy Institute, said it was significant to note that democracy and rule of law consolidated in Europe, and the rest of the Western World, could not have come about without the victory of the allied forces during the war. He said it must also be recognized that Africans, though still under colonial rule at the time, contributed immensely towards the emergence of Western liberal democracy with human resource and manpower, adding that the war demonstrated to all that premium must be placed on nurturing and maintaining peaceful coexistence. "This observation is more relevant in contemporary African societies where peace and stability is most needed to ensure sustainable and holistic development," he said.