The animated film “Neither Living Nor Dead” delves into the issue of enforced disappearances in Chechnya. According to human rights groups, between 3,000 and 5,000 people went missing during the armed conflict (1994-2009), usually after detention by the Russian state agents. Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted by the Memory Project researchers in Grozny, the story follows the experiences of relatives of the disappeared, often first-hand witnesses of the abductions. Picture this: armed people barge into your home and take away your loved ones, leaving you in a state of uncertainty about their fate for many years. Families of the missing refuse to abandon their search but the state conceals the crimes and ensures impunity to perpetrators. Families are unable to mourn their loss as they have not been able to locate the bodies of the missing. They find themselves in very constrained living conditions but continue to hope and strive for justice. Enforced disappearance is a gross violation of human rights. This is an international crime with no statute of limitations.
Screenplay Writer: Mariia Zakhodiaichenko
Animation Director, Illustrator, Animator and Sound Designer: Voznaya Sofiya
Researcher: Zorgan Bachaeva
The Memory Project is a team of lawyers and researchers who work to keep the memory of grave human rights violations committed during armed conflict in the North Caucasus, with a special focus on abductions and enforced disappearances. The Memory Project draws upon its own independent research, and open data from human rights organizations and narratives of the survivors.
More on the issue of long-term consequences of enforced disappearances for families of victims, please read the Memory project's report by Zargan Bachaeva “The Non-Healing Wound”
