Each year, Oxfam estimates that more than 500,000 people are killed due to armed violence with countless more left devastated, displaced, traumatized, and angry.  Armed violence destroys lives, drains government resources, undermines development efforts, and fosters a culture of violence, fear, and corruption. It is big business with huge ramifications. 
   
At the moment, there is no global arms trade treaty regulating the transfer of arms. Too often, cheap yet highly destructive weapons land in the hands of those who use them to assert power insidiously and further continue a vicious cycle of violence. For developing countries, particularly those in conflict or post-conflict situations, the low-cost accessibility of weapons wreaks havoc on efforts to achieve reconciliation and development. While decades of tensions slowly settle, an arsenal of cheap, available weapons remains—stunting efforts to move forward peacefully.  Families are left displaced and devastated by the loss or injury of a family member; their home may be destroyed or no longer safe to live in, and they may be left virtually income-less with no able-bodied workers or farmland. Already struggling health care systems are overburdened; schools are forced to closed or get by with meager support; access to food becomes limited. Anger, hopelessness, and fear grow. Any tensions that may arise or continue in communities—ethnic or religious conflicts, neighbor or land disputes—are resolved through violence. And when you are angry and disempowered with no job or education opportunities—no potentials to grow or support your family, when an AK-47 or grenade is as cheap and accessible as a pint of beer, as is the case in Burundi, it is easy to see how violence remains the preferred medium for conflict resolution. Violence infiltrates every aspect of the culture; it becomes a daily part of life.
   
“Weapons call out to other weapons,” says Teddy Mazina, a journalist in the documentary film Bang for your Buck. The huge supply of cheap weapons leftover from Burundi’s civil war has contaminated his country, he says, causing an intractable cycle of violence and corrupt power that undermines all development efforts. Underlying issues such as why violence is so easily resorted to are obscured by the sheer supply and availability of cheap grenades and Ak-47s. There needs to be regulation: a path towards disarmament.
   
Bang for Your Buck beautifully illustrates this need. As winner of Oxfam’s "Shooting Poverty” contest, the film was made to galvanize the Control Arms Campaign, a global civil society alliance, of which Oxfam is a part of, calling for a universal Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) would outline universal standards for arms exporters and importers, eradicating any loopholes or variance in regulation that could be used to evade responsibility and further fuel armed conflict, poverty, and human rights violations. The Campaign calls on members of the United Nations to secure this urgent treaty—one round of negotiation is underway this week in New York with the final conference scheduled for July 2010.  You can join the campaign and help ensure the government takes this opportunity to comprehensively regulate the deadly weapons trade.
   
A universal Arms Trade Treaty is an important step towards ending irresponsible arms transfers that promote corrupt agendas and violate human rights, drain resources, and hinder development efforts in countries striving to rebuild, particularly in the aftermath of civil war. Much more needs to be done, however, in order to start over. To learn more about the struggle for new beginnings check out ViewChange.org’s new episode, Starting Over, where Bang for Your Buck is featured along with two other powerful films. In the episode you will meet Teddy Mazina as he walks you through the realities of daily grenade attacks in Burundi, learn about Rwanda’s Gacaca justice tribunals, and witness one ex-patriot’s dream to promote economic development through tourism in Sierra Leone. 

Starting Over airs on Direct TV Channel 375 and DISH Network Channel 9410 on:

Friday, July 15th 4 pm PST
Sunday, July 17th 12am PST
Tuesday, July 19th 8pm PST
Wednesday, July 20th 3am and 10am PST
Friday, July 22nd  5am PST
Saturday, July 23rd 11:30pm PST.

And can also be viewed online at LinkTV.org.

(Euronews: 0421 PT, May 11, 2011) Anti-Gaddafi fighters in Misurata are engaged in trench warfare against Libyan government forces. Euronews has exclusive pictures from the fluid frontline as the rebel army make slight gains against a better-trained and well-equipped foe.

Government forces are deploying snipers to keep the rebels pinned down and then hit their positions with shells and mortars. Those opposed to Gaddafi say they are expecting NATO air strikes to target government troops at any time.

EU to Open Office in Rebel Stronghold Benghazi

(Euronews: 0726 PT, May 11, 2011) The European Union says it will open an office in the rebel-held Libyan city of Benghazi. However, this is not a sign of recognition for the rebel administration. The aim is to help with security and getting aid to where it is needed. The office will also assist with health and education.

(Euronews: 0742 PT, May 10, 2011) NATO aircraft conducted raids over Tripoli overnight with government buildings bearing the brunt of the attacks. Libyan officials escorted journalists to the High Commission for Children, which suffered extensive damage. Witnesses in the capital say NATO planes were trying to hit Gaddafi's compound.

NATO Launches Airstrike on Libyan Capital

(Al Jazeera English: 2352 PT, May 9, 2011) NATO warplanes launched a new round of airstrikes in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, witnesses said. They told Al Jazeera the attacks targeted several sites, including Muammar Gaddafi's compound. Earlier, the United Nations humanitarian chief called for a break in fighting to allow medical aid into the country. Al Jazeera's Monica Villamizar reports.

Algerians Mark May Day Amid Tight Security
(Press TV: May 2, 2011, 1200 PST) Following on the success of the students march in April, members of the "Unemployed Rights Defense Committee" gathered at Civil Harmony Square in the Alegrian capital, to proclaim the rights of thousands of unemployed youth:

Libyans Jubilant: Gaddafi's Son Killed
(Press TV: May 2, 2011, 1130 PST) Press TV reports on the latest developments of the Libyan revolution:

Protests Continue as Saleh Refuses to Exit
(Press TV: May 2, 2011, 1130 PST) For the third month running, anti-government protesters took to the streets of Yemen's capital Sanaa calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immediate ouster, as he refused to sign a Persian Gulf-brokered agreement:

(Euronews: 2313 PST, April 28, 2011) Fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi has provoked an angry response from Tunisia. The storming of the Dehiba-Wazin crossing by government troops saw artillery shells land on the Tunisian side of the border.

Tunis strongly condemned the incursions demanding an immediate halt. Nevertheless, the offensive appeared to be a wider move by Gaddafi's men to weed out opposition in the west of the country. Though the rebels rapidly countered, one anti-Gaddafi fighter desperately demanded international help.

'Fierce Fighting' Along Libya-Tunisia Border

(Al Jazeera English: 0147 PST, April 29, 2011) Reports are coming in of fresh fighting at a Libyan border crossing with Tunisia. Al Jazeera's Sue Turton has this update from near the Libyan border.