Al Jazeera English - Witness: Chechen Syndrome
Valera Voronov plays his guitar in his cramped living room and sings: "Boys won't forget their time at war, as it was their first love." Back home after six tours of duty in Chechnya, Valera writes songs about war and likes watching videos from his time spent fighting there. He has joined a veteran's association for companionship and since being sacked from his job, he is finding it hard to get by. Other men need the consistent routine from their army days and continue to train as patriotic guardians of the Russian cause. It’s certain that they are not being heralded as heroes by the civilian population they return to. They seem to be suffering 'Chechen Syndrome', a form of post traumatic stress disorder which affects thousands of former Russian veterans.
Filmmaker Nick Sturdee has spent many years living in Russia and covering the Chechen conflict. He followed some ordinary soldiers returning home with invisible yet debilitating wounds from their time fighting in Chechnya.
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About Al Jazeera - Witness
Rageh Omaar presents Witness, a half-hour daily documentary series which features short, specially commissioned or acquired films gathered from independent filmmakers.
Each documentary reveals the unknown lives of ordinary people, following their lives, telling their stories and portraying the challenges that confront them. Our witnesses are people in a situation or those who have observed them first hand.
The films cover conflict, belief, the past and the future and as well as bringing new stories to light they showcase the talents of a new breed of multi-skilled, frontline journalist. In the studio, Rageh will further explore the issues raised in the films, with expert guests on the subject matter and the filmmakers themselves.
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