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BALLAD OF THE LITTLE SOLDIER
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A FILM BY WERNER HERZOG
AND DENIS REICHLE
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What's wrong with you, boy?
What's wrong?
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00:00:27,835 --> 00:00:34,001
They ask me in school
And ask me at home
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And I suddenly knew
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When they went through roll call
She wasn't present
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The one with the blue schoolbag
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The one with the dreamy eyes
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I can't think of anything else
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And my grades have got bad
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I don't want to go out during break
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Nothing is fun anymore
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I can't read or write
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I miss that look in her eyes
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All I have are her crayons
As a keepsake
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Two pages of a notebook
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Scribbled with the words
"Eternal love"
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I want to see her back at her desk
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Because if she doesn't come back
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My classroom will be a very sad place
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The one with the blue schoolbag
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The one with the dreamy eyes
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I can't think of anything else
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00:02:26,335 --> 00:02:31,543
And my grades have got bad
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I don't want to go out during break
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Nothing is fun anymore
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I can't read or write
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I miss that look in her eyes
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Nicaragua, February 1984.
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A Miskito Indian village in the jungle
near the eastern Atlantic coast.
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The area is a combat zone.
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We walked for three weeks
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through the swamp
and behind enemy lines
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to reach the settlement
with our cameras.
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The Miskitos are an indigenous people
numbering about 140,000
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who have lived for centuries
in isolation on the Nicaraguan coast.
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Their indigenous way of life
has all but disappeared
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00:04:09,168 --> 00:04:13,293
under the influence
of Moravian missionaries
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00:04:13,293 --> 00:04:15,501
and black Caribbean immigrants.
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00:04:16,335 --> 00:04:20,710
The central highlands
and Spanish-speaking western Nicaragua
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00:04:21,626 --> 00:04:24,793
can still not be reached by land.
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00:04:24,793 --> 00:04:30,043
Because of the relative unimportance
of Miskito territory and swampland,
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no attempt has been made to construct
a road leading to their village.
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00:04:35,168 --> 00:04:38,251
Due to their isolated way of life,
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they have developed
a kind of primitive rural socialism.
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They often cook together
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and share the harvest
and whatever fish are caught.
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We later learned
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that the only cow in the village
had been slaughtered for us.
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A Miskito underground army
military camp, Misura.
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00:05:03,626 --> 00:05:06,710
The Miskitos
have always been oppressed.
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00:05:06,710 --> 00:05:11,835
Most recently by Somoza's soldiers,
who plundered their village.
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00:05:11,835 --> 00:05:14,960
In the Sandinistas'
revolutionary struggle
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against Somoza and the CIA,
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the Miskitos
were allied with the Sandinistas.
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00:05:20,251 --> 00:05:24,376
The Sandinistas
were also unable to deal with them,
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and many Miskitos have taken up arms
against the new rulers.
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00:05:29,418 --> 00:05:31,668
The Miskito Indians are well aware
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00:05:31,668 --> 00:05:37,918
they will have to fight against anyone
who comes after the Sandinistas.
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00:05:37,918 --> 00:05:40,043
What is of historical importance
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00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,210
is that for the first time
since the Spanish conquest,
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an indigenous Indian people
has put up armed resistance.
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00:05:48,418 --> 00:05:52,501
This is an elite troop
preparing a commando mission
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from Honduras to Nicaragua
to attack a truck convoy.
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More arms will be needed
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00:05:59,835 --> 00:06:03,960
because at present
there is little support from outside.
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00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,085
The United States
is currently interested
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00:06:07,085 --> 00:06:11,210
in supporting anyone
fighting against the Sandinistas.
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00:06:11,210 --> 00:06:15,376
In the morning, the men
cross the border, the Rio Coco.
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00:06:15,376 --> 00:06:18,585
Having scouted the night before,
they feel confident
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that there are no enemy patrols
in the jungle on the other side.
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In the knowledge that he is safe,
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French reporter Denis Reichle
takes pictures.
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00:06:29,918 --> 00:06:33,085
He accompanied
the Misura troops for months,
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preparing for this film.
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The Nicaraguan riverbank looks quiet.
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Suddenly, shots are fired
from somewhere in the jungle.
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The troop has been discovered.
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00:07:06,293 --> 00:07:10,668
After the initial confusion,
the troops move into the jungle.
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00:07:10,668 --> 00:07:12,710
There were no casualties.
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00:07:13,626 --> 00:07:17,876
We felt fairly safe there,
since it would be suicide
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for anyone to follow well-armed men
into such dense jungle.
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Having been discovered,
they were in a difficult situation.
84
00:07:28,210 --> 00:07:32,543
They would have to take a long detour
to reach their target.
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00:07:33,418 --> 00:07:35,543
No one knew the terrain.
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00:07:35,543 --> 00:07:38,793
The men had to trudge their way
through the swamps.
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00:07:47,085 --> 00:07:49,251
Soon, they ran out of water.
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Due to the drought this year,
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all the waterholes had dried up.
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00:07:55,501 --> 00:07:58,543
This was the last water we found.
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00:07:58,543 --> 00:08:02,793
After drinking the water,
many fell ill and had cramps.
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00:08:02,793 --> 00:08:07,918
After another day of hardship,
the operation came to a standstill.
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00:08:07,918 --> 00:08:10,043
The decision was made to turn back.
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00:08:17,210 --> 00:08:19,418
Underway again with Misura soldiers.
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00:08:20,293 --> 00:08:23,501
This time
it is a larger troop of regular units.
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00:08:23,501 --> 00:08:27,751
Their uniforms and equipment
are a poor quality pick 'n' mix.
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00:08:27,751 --> 00:08:31,835
Many of the weapons
are from the Eastern Bloc,
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00:08:31,835 --> 00:08:34,918
from deserters or seized in raids.
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00:08:36,001 --> 00:08:39,210
We are in a village
directly on the Atlantic coast
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deep in the Nicaraguan hinterland.
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The Misura underground army
claims that liberated areas exist.
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00:08:46,460 --> 00:08:50,501
But in reality,
these areas are only liberated
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as long as their soldiers are there.
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00:08:52,751 --> 00:08:57,835
Sandinista units
will reclaim them just a week later.
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00:09:05,126 --> 00:09:08,293
This back and forth
has made people sceptical.
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00:09:08,293 --> 00:09:12,543
As long as they can remember,
soldiers have only brought trouble.
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00:09:12,543 --> 00:09:15,501
It's taken people a while to realize
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00:09:15,501 --> 00:09:18,668
that these soldiers
are from their area
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00:09:18,668 --> 00:09:21,668
and they share a common language.
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00:09:25,001 --> 00:09:28,043
A woman starts singing a welcome song.
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00:09:28,043 --> 00:09:31,126
The refrain goes,
"Dame la mano, hermano."
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00:09:31,126 --> 00:09:33,251
"Give me your hand, my brother."
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00:11:25,751 --> 00:11:31,043
These images clearly illustrate
that the people trust their soldiers.
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00:11:40,335 --> 00:11:42,543
The women
talk about their daily worries.
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00:11:43,418 --> 00:11:46,626
The woman in the middle,
wearing the head scarf,
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00:11:46,626 --> 00:11:49,668
had two sons,
who were shot dead a year ago.
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00:12:15,835 --> 00:12:18,918
"They're happy the soldiers are here,"
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00:12:18,918 --> 00:12:22,085
the troop leader tells us
without being asked.
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00:12:25,168 --> 00:12:28,210
An elderly woman
is telling the soldier
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00:12:28,210 --> 00:12:31,501
that several days ago
Sandinista troops were here
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00:12:31,501 --> 00:12:33,585
and seized everything.
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00:12:34,460 --> 00:12:38,793
Her kitchen utensils, sewing machine,
spoons and sewing needles.
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00:12:39,751 --> 00:12:41,918
This was her sewing machine.
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00:12:52,376 --> 00:12:54,418
In broken English,
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00:12:54,418 --> 00:12:57,501
she tried to explain to us
what had happened.
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00:13:05,793 --> 00:13:08,835
Nothing,
I have absolutely nothing left.
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00:13:14,001 --> 00:13:16,210
"Pialka" means sewing machine.
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00:13:21,501 --> 00:13:25,585
They took everything.
She invites us to take a look inside.
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00:14:01,085 --> 00:14:06,210
This is Sang Sang,
with a population of just under 1,500.
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00:14:06,210 --> 00:14:11,418
Or rather, this is the place
where Sang Sang was two years ago.
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00:14:11,418 --> 00:14:14,626
In a huge campaign along the Rio Coco,
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00:14:15,501 --> 00:14:19,710
the Sandinistas burnt down
some 60 villages and towns.
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00:14:19,710 --> 00:14:23,001
An entire area
was utterly depopulated.
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00:14:23,001 --> 00:14:25,918
The indigenous Indian people
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00:14:25,918 --> 00:14:28,210
were robbed of their land
and resettled.
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00:14:28,210 --> 00:14:32,251
This 15-year-old girl,
a Misura soldier,
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shows us where her house once stood.
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00:14:47,168 --> 00:14:51,960
The town of Asang was not far.
This is a photograph of the church.
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00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,126
It had a population of 2,500.
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00:14:54,126 --> 00:14:58,210
All we could find
was the concrete base of the church.
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00:14:59,251 --> 00:15:03,501
The Sandinistas explained
that it was a military necessity.
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00:15:03,501 --> 00:15:06,668
But another factor
certainly played a role.
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00:15:06,668 --> 00:15:11,835
In one giant quantum leap,
they planned to convert the Miskitos
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00:15:11,835 --> 00:15:14,001
to a new socialist way of life.
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00:15:14,001 --> 00:15:18,210
To do this, they needed to destroy
the old village structures.
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00:15:18,210 --> 00:15:22,293
This soldier also accompanied us
to Sang Sang.
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00:15:22,293 --> 00:15:24,335
This is his village.
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00:15:28,585 --> 00:15:33,751
He recounts what happened on the spot
where his house once stood.
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00:15:33,751 --> 00:15:35,835
It is hard to believe
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00:15:35,835 --> 00:15:38,085
the Sandinistas
could really have wanted
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00:15:38,085 --> 00:15:40,501
events to unfold as they did.
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00:15:48,501 --> 00:15:53,543
He says they chopped down
nearly all the coconut palm trees.
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00:16:03,168 --> 00:16:06,293
He's showing us
the posts of his old house.
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00:16:06,293 --> 00:16:10,418
They burnt down his house
and then the entire village.
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00:16:10,418 --> 00:16:15,626
People started running away.
Anyone who was caught was killed.
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00:16:15,626 --> 00:16:20,751
Those trying to escape were shot
and children were also killed.
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00:16:20,751 --> 00:16:23,960
Prisoners were tied up
and then beheaded or shot.
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00:16:24,835 --> 00:16:27,085
They left the corpses
tied to the stakes.
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00:16:27,918 --> 00:16:30,251
They were left there
to decay for days.
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00:16:30,251 --> 00:16:33,210
There were also women among them.
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00:16:42,585 --> 00:16:46,585
Bombs were dropped from a helicopter.
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00:17:04,293 --> 00:17:07,335
Everything was razed to the ground.
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00:17:07,335 --> 00:17:10,626
The villagers were very scared
when they came under fire.
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00:17:10,626 --> 00:17:15,751
They threw themselves into the river
and swam over to Honduras.
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That's how he escaped too.
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00:17:25,210 --> 00:17:29,501
After the terrible events
at the end of 1091,
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00:17:29,501 --> 00:17:33,543
refugee camps were set up in Honduras.
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00:17:33,543 --> 00:17:36,710
This one is in Tapamlaya,
not far from the border.
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00:17:36,710 --> 00:17:40,876
It seems to be here for good.
It even has its own school.
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00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,043
While we were there filming,
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less than a mile away,
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00:17:47,001 --> 00:17:50,126
another temporary refugee camp
was being set up.
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00:17:50,293 --> 00:17:53,418
Approximately 1,400 people had fled
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00:17:53,418 --> 00:17:57,501
from the Nicaraguan village
Sandy Bay and its vicinity.
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Fighting had broken out there.
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00:17:59,668 --> 00:18:04,835
These people walked eight days
through swampland to get here.
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00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:10,043
Many of them came
because they feared reprisals
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00:18:10,043 --> 00:18:13,168
if they stayed behind alone.
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00:18:14,293 --> 00:18:18,418
Except for canvas tents,
drinking water, beans and rice,
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there was nothing there yet.
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Medical care was not available.
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00:18:23,460 --> 00:18:25,751
In one month,
when the rainy season begins,
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the whole place
will turn into one big swamp.
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00:18:46,085 --> 00:18:49,668
We took these shots shown here
on the spur of the moment
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00:18:50,543 --> 00:18:52,835
in the first 20 minutes
after arriving.
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00:18:52,835 --> 00:18:55,793
At first, we followed the music.
187
00:19:06,251 --> 00:19:10,460
We later asked about the lyrics.
It's a love song.
188
00:21:01,793 --> 00:21:06,043
She says that they were attending mass
on 5 January,
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00:21:06,043 --> 00:21:09,251
when the Sandinistas
seized the village.
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00:21:09,251 --> 00:21:12,418
They captured her children
and tied them up.
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00:21:12,418 --> 00:21:15,418
Tied their hands behind their backs
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00:21:15,418 --> 00:21:17,585
and led them to the churchyard.
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00:21:23,835 --> 00:21:25,876
And what happened then?
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00:21:57,501 --> 00:22:01,335
She says
they opened fire on the people,
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00:22:01,335 --> 00:22:03,460
after they tied up her children.
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00:22:03,460 --> 00:22:06,460
The women ran out of the church
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00:22:06,460 --> 00:22:08,668
to the river and escaped that way.
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00:22:08,668 --> 00:22:11,626
It felt like it was raining bullets.
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00:22:40,876 --> 00:22:43,918
She says
when she fled into the mountains,
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00:22:43,918 --> 00:22:46,043
she suffered a great deal.
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00:22:46,043 --> 00:22:52,210
She had cuts all over her face,
arms and body from navajuelas.
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00:22:52,210 --> 00:22:55,543
Navajuelas is a leaf
as sharp as a razor blade.
203
00:22:55,543 --> 00:23:00,626
They spent the night under trees
and were stung by mosquitoes.
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00:23:05,918 --> 00:23:09,001
Did she see how her children died?
205
00:23:23,501 --> 00:23:28,710
She says she didn't see them die,
because they were trying to escape.
206
00:23:28,710 --> 00:23:32,918
They ran away
when they opened fire on the children.
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00:23:32,918 --> 00:23:36,001
That's why they ran away.
208
00:23:36,001 --> 00:23:38,043
How many were killed?
209
00:23:44,418 --> 00:23:46,501
Nine.
210
00:23:46,501 --> 00:23:48,626
And how many of your children?
211
00:24:05,168 --> 00:24:08,418
They killed four of her children,
of both sexes,
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00:24:09,293 --> 00:24:10,460
including a little girl.
213
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,210
She says
she doesn't want to go on living
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00:24:29,210 --> 00:24:31,376
when she thinks of her children.
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00:24:31,376 --> 00:24:36,543
But she has no other choice.
She simply continues to survive.
216
00:24:36,543 --> 00:24:39,585
Just the thought of it all
makes her cry.
217
00:24:39,585 --> 00:24:41,751
She apologizes for crying.
218
00:24:46,876 --> 00:24:49,918
Can she tell us more
about her children?
219
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:18,210
The woman on the left says
220
00:25:19,085 --> 00:25:22,251
that after she fled
she had a son here,
221
00:25:22,251 --> 00:25:26,626
who took care of her,
brought her food and other things.
222
00:25:26,626 --> 00:25:31,751
But now she's even worse off,
because this son has been wounded.
223
00:25:31,751 --> 00:25:35,793
He was shot in the shoulder and hand,
224
00:25:35,793 --> 00:25:39,126
and her husband is in the hospital,
also badly wounded.
225
00:25:39,126 --> 00:25:42,085
That's why their situation is so bad.
226
00:25:57,751 --> 00:26:01,876
This is her son.
We spoke to him the next morning.
227
00:26:04,085 --> 00:26:09,168
He tells us that it happened
at 5 p.m. one Thursday.
228
00:26:09,168 --> 00:26:11,376
He was sitting on his veranda,
229
00:26:11,376 --> 00:26:16,460
when a large troop of Sandinistas
came and surrounded the village.
230
00:26:16,460 --> 00:26:19,668
They stormed into the refugee camp.
231
00:26:19,668 --> 00:26:23,918
Only then did they realize
that they were Sandinistas.
232
00:26:23,918 --> 00:26:28,960
It was too late to flee,
because they were already too close.
233
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:33,210
Then they captured
as many men as they could find,
234
00:26:33,210 --> 00:26:38,418
led them to the church,
tied their hands behind their backs.
235
00:26:38,418 --> 00:26:41,501
Then they threw them to the ground.
236
00:26:41,501 --> 00:26:45,668
They held a knife to his throat
to make him talk.
237
00:26:45,668 --> 00:26:48,710
But he had nothing to confess.
238
00:26:49,710 --> 00:26:54,960
Then the Sandinistas told them
that they seemed to be strong men,
239
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,210
that they should show
how tough they were.
240
00:26:58,210 --> 00:27:03,293
They started to mock the prisoners
for their pious ways,
241
00:27:03,293 --> 00:27:06,585
saying they should
get on their knees and pray
242
00:27:06,585 --> 00:27:09,710
and see if God came to their rescue.
243
00:27:09,710 --> 00:27:12,793
That's when they opened fire.
244
00:27:12,793 --> 00:27:16,960
One of the prisoners jumped up
and ran off.
245
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,085
They didn't hit him, so he escaped.
246
00:27:21,043 --> 00:27:26,418
At that moment, his father
happened to come back from the jungle.
247
00:27:26,418 --> 00:27:30,460
They started shooting
and wounded him badly.
248
00:27:30,460 --> 00:27:33,585
He was shot along with the others
249
00:27:33,585 --> 00:27:35,710
and we assumed he was dead.
250
00:27:35,710 --> 00:27:40,751
When he came to hours later,
he had lost a lot of blood
251
00:27:40,751 --> 00:27:42,918
and the soldiers were gone.
252
00:27:42,918 --> 00:27:47,085
A five-year-old girl
took care of him and led him away.
253
00:27:48,168 --> 00:27:52,335
Of the eleven prisoners,
nine had been killed.
254
00:27:52,335 --> 00:27:56,501
He and the man who ran away
were the only survivors.
255
00:28:03,876 --> 00:28:06,960
A Misura army training camp.
256
00:28:07,918 --> 00:28:11,001
Around half of the recruits
are children.
257
00:29:22,835 --> 00:29:26,126
Because the Miskitos
have no military tradition,
258
00:29:27,001 --> 00:29:29,126
they had to enlist instructors.
259
00:29:29,126 --> 00:29:33,376
Almost all of them were
from Somoza's former national guard.
260
00:29:50,085 --> 00:29:53,168
The camp's firing range.
261
00:29:53,168 --> 00:29:55,335
Only live ammunition is used here.
262
00:31:27,835 --> 00:31:30,126
The instructor
briefs them on the mortar,
263
00:31:30,126 --> 00:31:34,210
warning them
about the sensitive percussion fuses.
264
00:31:34,210 --> 00:31:38,293
If anyone drops a grenade,
or touches the fuse,
265
00:31:38,293 --> 00:31:41,210
they'll blow up
everyone around them.
266
00:33:43,418 --> 00:33:47,460
We ask the twelve-year-old
to tell us about his situation.
267
00:33:49,460 --> 00:33:51,751
"The Sandinistas
are very bad people," he says.
268
00:33:52,626 --> 00:33:54,835
"That's why they came here.
269
00:33:54,835 --> 00:33:58,001
They chased
the young people and the priest away.
270
00:33:58,001 --> 00:34:02,126
They burned down the village,
church and bibles included.
271
00:34:02,126 --> 00:34:06,126
That's why I came here.
I came to save my life."
272
00:34:10,460 --> 00:34:13,585
- And now you're going into combat?
- Yes.
273
00:34:14,626 --> 00:34:16,751
- Aren't you scared?
- No.
274
00:34:17,835 --> 00:34:20,751
- Do you want to fight?
- Yes.
275
00:34:23,918 --> 00:34:26,001
How did you get here?
276
00:34:28,043 --> 00:34:30,210
"From where?" he asks.
277
00:34:30,210 --> 00:34:32,251
From the refugee camp.
278
00:34:33,418 --> 00:34:35,376
Voluntarily?
279
00:34:39,626 --> 00:34:43,710
- And what does your mother say?
- She sent me here.
280
00:34:47,001 --> 00:34:49,085
And your younger brothers?
281
00:34:51,126 --> 00:34:55,251
"They shot them,"
the ten-year-old tells us.
282
00:34:55,251 --> 00:34:58,251
- How old were they?
- Two years old.
283
00:34:59,293 --> 00:35:02,460
- And the other one?
- Six.
284
00:35:05,585 --> 00:35:08,835
- Did you see how it happened?
- Yes.
285
00:35:10,751 --> 00:35:12,835
Could you tell us?
286
00:35:16,168 --> 00:35:18,210
We'd like to know.
287
00:35:35,710 --> 00:35:38,960
They just killed them for fun.
288
00:35:47,376 --> 00:35:50,335
And what happened to your mother?
289
00:35:53,668 --> 00:35:57,668
They cut her up like a piece of meat
and then shot her.
290
00:35:57,668 --> 00:36:00,710
Then I came here, all by myself.
291
00:36:04,918 --> 00:36:07,126
- Do you want to fight now?
- Yes.
292
00:36:11,251 --> 00:36:14,418
- You want to kill the Sandinistas?
- Yes.
293
00:36:19,710 --> 00:36:23,793
But there are children
in the Sandinista army like you.
294
00:36:23,793 --> 00:36:26,835
"Yes," he says.
He's aware of that.
295
00:36:26,835 --> 00:36:29,876
And why do you want to kill them?
296
00:36:43,501 --> 00:36:46,793
Because they killed my brother
and my father too.
297
00:36:46,793 --> 00:36:49,710
So now I want to kill too.
298
00:36:58,210 --> 00:37:03,293
- When do you go into combat?
- When I've finished the course.
299
00:37:03,293 --> 00:37:05,376
In five weeks at the latest.
300
00:37:06,543 --> 00:37:10,668
- What do you dream about at night?
- About my mother.
301
00:37:23,085 --> 00:37:25,293
Because they're still young,
302
00:37:25,293 --> 00:37:28,376
we see them
as the future army of Nicaragua.
303
00:37:28,376 --> 00:37:32,543
They all come
from different villages in Nicaragua,
304
00:37:32,543 --> 00:37:34,668
from Indian settlements.
305
00:37:34,668 --> 00:37:36,710
Most of them came here
306
00:37:36,710 --> 00:37:41,793
because their parents
or brothers and sisters were killed.
307
00:37:49,126 --> 00:37:50,335
What's more,
308
00:37:50,335 --> 00:37:54,418
the Sandinistas
capture boys of their age
309
00:37:54,418 --> 00:37:56,501
and recruit them by force.
310
00:37:56,501 --> 00:37:59,668
They send them into combat
with hardly any training,
311
00:38:00,501 --> 00:38:04,668
to fight us in our struggle
for Nicaragua's liberation.
312
00:38:04,876 --> 00:38:08,918
As good sons of Nicaragua,
as good Indians,
313
00:38:08,918 --> 00:38:11,168
they have joined our organization
314
00:38:11,168 --> 00:38:14,085
and prefer to die in battle.
315
00:38:16,210 --> 00:38:18,251
Are they brave?
316
00:38:22,626 --> 00:38:26,751
That's extremely important.
We have already seen the results.
317
00:38:27,626 --> 00:38:30,918
We've sent them to the frontline
on various occasions
318
00:38:31,751 --> 00:38:35,960
and they were usually the bravest,
braver than the adults.
319
00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,210
They're ideally suited
for military training,
320
00:39:27,210 --> 00:39:30,293
because they're ten, nine and eleven.
321
00:39:33,251 --> 00:39:35,376
This boy is eleven years old.
322
00:39:35,376 --> 00:39:38,460
He's one of the best.
Why is that?
323
00:39:42,751 --> 00:39:45,835
At his age,
his mind is not yet corrupted.
324
00:39:45,835 --> 00:39:49,126
So we can teach him
to become a professional soldier
325
00:39:49,126 --> 00:39:52,001
in the fight against communism.
326
00:39:52,210 --> 00:39:56,376
"Does he know what communism is?"
Denis Reichle asks.
327
00:39:58,210 --> 00:39:59,501
He knows what it is.
328
00:39:59,501 --> 00:40:03,668
All of them know
the conditions our people live in,
329
00:40:03,668 --> 00:40:05,710
and why he had to run away.
330
00:40:05,710 --> 00:40:10,793
His parents were killed
and he knows what communism means.
331
00:40:14,001 --> 00:40:15,960
Could you ask him?
332
00:40:17,001 --> 00:40:21,251
The instructor asks indirectly
what the Sandinistas did.
333
00:40:21,251 --> 00:40:24,376
And the only thing the boy says is,
334
00:40:24,376 --> 00:40:27,501
"They're 'Piricuacos'."
That means rabid dogs.
335
00:40:35,793 --> 00:40:37,918
They're at the best age.
336
00:40:37,918 --> 00:40:42,085
Their minds are still pure
and can absorb the training.
337
00:40:51,460 --> 00:40:54,710
- You can brainwash them.
- Yes, sure.
338
00:40:54,710 --> 00:40:58,668
We show them the facts.
Why they have to fight.
339
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,918
"Soldiers, attention now.
340
00:41:06,126 --> 00:41:11,210
We are here as voluntary soldiers
in Misura training camp,
341
00:41:11,210 --> 00:41:13,418
in the Nicaraguan mountains."
342
00:41:15,460 --> 00:41:18,626
The instructor is lying
because of the camera.
343
00:41:18,626 --> 00:41:22,710
The camp is in Honduras,
not Nicaragua.
344
00:41:22,710 --> 00:41:25,876
"We are fighting
to liberate our fatherland.
345
00:41:25,876 --> 00:41:31,043
We have chosen to come here
and are determined to fight communism.
346
00:41:31,043 --> 00:41:35,251
We're prepared to do this training,
and to make sacrifices
347
00:41:35,251 --> 00:41:38,293
for the benefit of our fatherland."
348
00:41:40,460 --> 00:41:43,543
"Soldiers who have been well trained
349
00:41:43,543 --> 00:41:47,668
are the soldiers
that survive on the battlefield."
350
00:41:52,001 --> 00:41:55,085
"Every drop of sweat
shed during training
351
00:41:55,918 --> 00:41:59,251
will save one litre of blood
on the battlefield."
352
00:42:03,376 --> 00:42:07,376
"This is why we must give our all
during training."
353
00:42:08,626 --> 00:42:11,793
"See how our fatherland
and our mothers
354
00:42:11,793 --> 00:42:15,710
have been crushed by the communists."
355
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:21,918
"We must fight these international
communists to the death."
356
00:42:25,710 --> 00:42:29,668
No, he's not afraid.
He's ready to die.
357
00:42:31,460 --> 00:42:33,418
So young?
358
00:42:35,626 --> 00:42:38,668
- You're not afraid?
- No.
359
00:42:39,876 --> 00:42:42,835
No, he's not afraid.
360
00:42:45,043 --> 00:42:48,085
Why do you want to die so young?
361
00:42:57,460 --> 00:43:00,710
He wants to fight
because his brother was killed.
362
00:43:06,793 --> 00:43:11,001
That reminds me of a sad story
when I was 14 years old.
363
00:43:11,001 --> 00:43:12,210
I was drafted in Berlin
364
00:43:12,210 --> 00:43:16,251
during the last weeks of battle
against the Russians.
365
00:43:16,251 --> 00:43:19,376
We also believed
we had to save our country.
366
00:43:19,376 --> 00:43:23,668
Many of us died and what I see here
doesn't bode well for the future.
367
00:43:23,668 --> 00:43:27,626
It reminds me too much
of my own childhood.
368
00:43:39,043 --> 00:43:41,168
You were also an orphan.
369
00:43:43,293 --> 00:43:45,543
Yes,
but it has nothing to do with that.
370
00:43:45,543 --> 00:43:48,626
It has to do with the fact
that when you're 13 or 14
371
00:43:49,460 --> 00:43:52,793
and someone says,
"You're a man, save your country",
372
00:43:52,793 --> 00:43:54,918
you automatically believe it.
373
00:43:54,918 --> 00:43:56,960
I see that here again.
374
00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:02,126
That happened to us 40 years ago
and it still happens the world over.
375
00:44:02,126 --> 00:44:04,251
That still preys on my mind.
376
00:44:04,251 --> 00:44:08,335
When I see all these kids,
I can already see them dead.
377
00:44:13,626 --> 00:44:17,835
Flower of all flowers
Flower of my love
378
00:44:18,668 --> 00:44:22,001
Come with me
Give me your love
379
00:44:22,001 --> 00:44:26,168
Flower of all flowers
Flower of my love
380
00:44:26,168 --> 00:44:30,251
Come with me
Give me your love
381
00:44:30,251 --> 00:44:35,376
Come back, treasure of my life
382
00:44:35,376 --> 00:44:38,626
Mistress of my loves
383
00:44:39,501 --> 00:44:42,835
Come, flower of all flowers
384
00:44:42,835 --> 00:44:45,918
Come and make me happy
385
00:44:46,793 --> 00:44:50,085
I went to your house
But didn't see you there
386
00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:54,293
Who ordered me?
I walk in my sleep
387
00:44:54,293 --> 00:44:58,460
I went to your house
But didn't see you there
388
00:44:58,460 --> 00:45:02,543
Who ordered me?
I walk in my sleep
389
00:45:02,543 --> 00:45:07,668
Come back, treasure of my life
390
00:45:07,668 --> 00:45:10,960
Mistress of my loves
391
00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:15,126
Come, flower of all flowers
392
00:45:15,126 --> 00:45:18,210
Come and make me happy
393
00:45:19,126 --> 00:45:23,460
Come back, treasure of my life
394
00:45:23,460 --> 00:45:27,585
Mistress of my loves
395
00:45:27,585 --> 00:45:31,668
Come, flower of all flowers
396
00:45:31,668 --> 00:45:34,710
Come and make me happy
30589
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