As the world watches the geopolitical crisis unfold in Ukraine, media activists around the globe work to document the effects of foreign policy decisions and domestic conditions that go underreported in their daily lives. From drone strikes to bonded labor, their stories expose the countless injustices behind larger struggles for social and political change.
Here are highlights from recently featured videos on the channel:
Drones:
Last week’s report by UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson, includes details of 30 drone strikes that he says demand a public explanation. Rarely do we see videos from the remote locations where drone strikes take place, but in this video, members of the Alkarama Foundation visit the site of the December 12 drone attack that hit members of a wedding party in al-Baydha, Yemen. The HRC is working to verify videos from citizens of the aftermath of this and other drone attacks. Keep an eye on the HRC’s YouTube page and Twitter feed for an in-depth playlist with footage from the ground.
India:
This video by the Indian community media collective Video Volunteers tells the incredible story of a group of men and women who migrated to Goa for work, and found themselves living in bondage, enduring physical abuse with no rest breaks and no access to cell phones. The community correspondent who reported the story helped family members find the group and free them from slavery.
Bahrain:
Four detainees have died behind bars in Bahrain in the past three months, including 23-year-old Mohammed Jaffar Aldurazi, who suffered from sickle cell anemia. His family and supporters documented his death in late February, resulting in protests and international attention regarding the treatment and conditions of detainees in the Gulf country. Read our blog post, published earlier today, on this case and for an associated playlist of videos.
This week, we’re keeping our eyes on:
Spain:
In Melilla, the Spanish enclave in North Africa, twice last week hundreds of African migrants climbed the border fence that separates it from Morocco. This raw video by the activist group EQUO shows the elation of young men running through the streets on Friday night, blowing kisses to the sky after entering European soil. They tell the filmer they came from many different countries, including Mali and Cameroon. “I spent three years in Morocco just to enter Spain,” one says. However, we anticipate potential violence and injury as Spanish authorities crack down on their border security, and more groups of migrants risk their lives to enter the country. 
The most recent citizen videos of human rights issues can always be found on our Citizen Watch and Watching Syria video playlists. Both are updated daily. Catch the latest citizen videos by following the Human Rights Channel on Twitter (@ythumanrights).
Video still from YouTube user VideoVolunteers.