Docuseek | The Alarm Rings Softly

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In the Caribbean, women subjected to violence from their partners as a result of substance abuse often felt they had no right to appeal to the law. Low self-esteem and the feeling that it was somehow their fault left them trapped in a cycle of dependency and guilt. But a new generation of women is using drama and reggae to focus attention on a once taboo subject.

'Express(es)...women's desire for independence, self-sufficiency and the important role of having a voice in the process of decision-making...fast paced, yet informative... geared toward the advanced high school student and above...has a place in all video collections in the areas of Women's Studies, History, Sociology and Anthropology. Highly Recommended.' Belinda L. Robinson-Jones, MC Journal

Citation

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Main credits

Laird, Judith (film director)
Laird, Judith (film producer)

Other credits

Editors, Mark Cropper, Christopher Laird; sound, Robin Foster; camera, Walt Lovelace.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Caribbean, domestic violence,; women,; reggae,"The Alarm Rings Softly",Bullfrog Films

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It\'s been a week since
Katherine was buried.

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I feel so helpless, so lost. I
keep avoiding facing the truth

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because it means feeling guilty that
none of us did anything to help her.

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How could we? Once you born
into this social class,

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you abide by the roots especially
as a woman and that\'s what hurts.

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Katherine and Peter were married
and they lived together.

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Well, that caused a scandal. He
being disrespectable business man.

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But he used to beat her. Katherine
couldn\'t tell anybody that.

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Who think that this outgoing, energetic,

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open woman that we all knew had become
so withdrawn. Everybody at the funeral

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kept talking about how she killed
herself just like in the film

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Sugar Cane Arrows. She must
have been so desperate,

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so lonely, unable to talk to anybody.

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Nobody to remind her that she was only 21

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with a beautiful 18 month old daughter.

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So many reasons to live not die.

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[music]

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To bring about Shelley
is that she went in law

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and still her husband killed her.
Just imagine this thing.

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She even got a high court marshal and
two police men to go with her to her

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(inaudible) homes when she went to collect
her belongings. (inaudible) was there too

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at the inside their house or outside
loading up. And he killed her.

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He let them into the house and
he didn\'t get any trouble

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but it was when Shelley
went into their living room

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to identify her piano and a few other
belongings that he followed her

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and you know what this man did?

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He shut the iron gates in their living room

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and while Shelley was shouting out the
trial alerted to police men outside.

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He hacked her to death. The
had to break down a wall

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with a sledged hammer to reach
her but it was too late.

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By then he was trying
to slit his own truth.

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At age 54, poor Shelley,
all she was trying to do

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was start her life again, a new home

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without any violence, just
her and Noel and a piano.

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[music]

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[music]

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Bob (ph) and I separated a few months ago.

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He\'s an alcoholic and I have had enough
of veiling him out of police stations.

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When I started seeing Juny(ph), Bob
and I was still sharing the house.

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One night I had just come in

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when Bob started hitting me, forcing
me to have sex with him right then.

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So I could know the difference
between him and Juny(ph).

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He came to ask me what it was
like to be screwed by a black man

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and than a white man. It obviously gave
him some (inaudible) sense of control

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to torture me like that.

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He still continues to hell, abuse at me whenever
he sees me but he can\'t touch me anymore.

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I won\'t stand for it
from any man ever again.

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Juny(ph) and I have a
good study relationship

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and we met at Sunday school.

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[music]

Main content

The Alarm Rings Softly

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