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Sana'a: Movies will be a new method to combat terrorism from now on, said the Yemeni deputy prime minister for defence and security affairs, Rashad Al Alimi, in an opening ceremony of the first Yemeni film on terrorism.
The 105-minute film portrays how terrorists recruit the poor, unemployed, and school drop-outs as potential suicide bombers under the name of "defenders of the religion and nation."
"The film deals with a very important issue which is to uproot the malignant seed of terrorism, and also educates people about its ideas that have nothing to do with Islam and Yemeni traditions," said Fadhel Al Olofi, director of the film, in the opening.
The Yemeni government says the film comes in the framework of a new strategic plan to combat terrorism. Al Qaida has an active presence in Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden.
Raising awareness
"It gives a clear picture on the causes of terrorism, and it also raises awareness about the dangers of terrorism for society," said Al Alimi.
A 14-year old Yemeni girl, Shayma, who in real life works as a tourist guide, takes part in the production.
In the film she forms a friendship with a European tourist Maria, in her 20s, in one of the tourist sites near Sana'a. Shayma, is the only breadwinner in her poor family after her brother joins an armed group calling for Jihad.
While Maria and Shayma are enhancing their friendship, a group of terrorists including Shayma's brother plan to kill tourists "to get closer to Allah." Despite the fact Maria is injured and loses her father in a suicide bombing that targeted a group of tourists, her friendship with Shayma, who also loses her brother in the same incident, continues.
Will you come back again to Yemen, Maria?, Shayma asked.
"Yes, I will. My father loved Yemen. And I love it too," Maria answers at the end of the film.
The film, which cost the government about 10 million riyals, (Dh100,000) took three months time to shoot.
Yemeni actors including Nabeel Hezam, Abdul Kareem Al Eshmouri and Ahmad Abdullah Hussain participated.
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