Emory Researcher and Filmmaker Team up to Expose Nepal’s New Maoist Government’s Human Rights Violations Against Children.

“Many Nepalese’s’ worst fear was realized when Prachanda, the leader of the Maoist party became Prime Minister of Nepal today,” says Robert Koenig, who interviewed Prachanda and other Maoist leaders during the time he spent making the documentary Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army, which premieres in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 22 at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival (http://www.festivalleague.com/docshorts2008.cfm).

Prachanda, the former guerrilla leader who led a successful war on Nepal's despotic royal dynasty, has finally taken charge as the Prime Minister of the Himalayan republic on Monday, ending a four-month political vacuum.

Prachanda has received worldwide criticism for his party’s role in the death of thousands and the inclusion of child soldiers in the ten-year-long Nepalese Civil War, also known as the “People’s War”.

Koenig’s documentary Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army follows several Nepali boys and girls as they attempt to reintegrate into civil society after their association with armed Maoist groups to fight the "People's War." The film examines why these children are compelled to join armed groups and explores the prevention of future recruitment through the voices of two girl soldiers, two boy soldiers, and experts in the field.

Former child soldiers in Nepal are more than twice as likely to suffer from symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as Nepali children who experienced war trauma as civilians, according to a study led by Brandon Kohrt, an MD-PhD student at Emory University in Atlanta.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published the study results Aug. 13 (http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/300/6/691), in a theme issue on violence and human rights. It is the first published study of the mental health of child soldiers that includes comparative data with children who were not coerced into military service.

Kohrt speaks Nepali and has studied mental health issues in Nepal for over a decade. Along with Atlanta filmmaker Robert Koenig, Kohrt recently won the jury award from the Society for Visual Anthropology for co-writing Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army. The documentary, about the impact of the long-running battle between the Nepal government and Communist insurgents, will premiere this Friday in Atlanta.

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To see a preview or learn more about the film Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army go to http://nepaldocumentary.com/

To arrange an interview with Robert Koenig or Brandon Kohrt, please contact Cassie Bouldin by phone at 727-209-1745 or by email at cassie@savvybuzz.com.