In 2006, comedian and campaigner Mark Thomas, Irish NGO Afri, Sr. Barbara Raftery and students from Scoil Chriost Ri Portlaoise, along with a school in the UK, collaborated in developing a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary to highlight the inconsistencies, loopholes and legal omissions that enable virtually anyone, anywhere to broker and purchase ‘illegal’ arms.
The students involved in the After School Arms Club in Ireland were able to set up a dummy arms-brokering company, make contact with arms dealers, arrange arms deals over the internet and phone and purchase weapons of torture.
Marketed by a sales company in South Africa, as ‘worn by Nelson Mandela’ while in prison on Robben Island, which were purchased by the students who had them delivered to Ireland. The students were able to highlight the loophole in Ireland that legalised leg irons despite being banned in other European countries.
Source: Afri
Year: 2006
Courtesy of Joe Murray; Afri
Irish Global Solidarity in 100 Objects is organised by developmenteducation.ie, an online hub focused on learning about the unequal and unjust shape of the world today, and is coordinated by Aidlink, Concern Worldwide, the Irish Development Education Association, the National Youth Council of Ireland, Self Help Africa, Trócaire and 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World.
DevelopmentEducation.ie is part funded by Irish Aid.
