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BALLAD OF THE LITTLE SOLDIER

A FILM BY WERNER HERZOG
AND DENIS REICHLE

What's wrong with you, boy?
What's wrong?

They ask me in school
And ask me at home

And I suddenly knew

When they went through roll call
She wasn't present

The one with the blue schoolbag

The one with the dreamy eyes

I can't think of anything else

And my grades have got bad

I don't want to go out during break

Nothing is fun anymore

I can't read or write

I miss that look in her eyes

All I have are her crayons
As a keepsake

Two pages of a notebook

Scribbled with the words
"Eternal love"

I want to see her back at her desk

Because if she doesn't come back

My classroom will be a very sad place

The one with the blue schoolbag

The one with the dreamy eyes

I can't think of anything else

And my grades have got bad

I don't want to go out during break

Nothing is fun anymore

I can't read or write

I miss that look in her eyes

Nicaragua, February 1984.

A Miskito Indian village in the jungle
near the eastern Atlantic coast.

The area is a combat zone.

We walked for three weeks

through the swamp
and behind enemy lines

to reach the settlement
with our cameras.

The Miskitos are an indigenous people
numbering about 140,000

who have lived for centuries
in isolation on the Nicaraguan coast.

Their indigenous way of life
has all but disappeared

under the influence
of Moravian missionaries

and black Caribbean immigrants.

The central highlands
and Spanish-speaking western Nicaragua

can still not be reached by land.

Because of the relative unimportance
of Miskito territory and swampland,

no attempt has been made to construct
a road leading to their village.

Due to their isolated way of life,

they have developed
a kind of primitive rural socialism.

They often cook together

and share the harvest
and whatever fish are caught.

We later learned

that the only cow in the village
had been slaughtered for us.

A Miskito underground army
military camp, Misura.

The Miskitos
have always been oppressed.

Most recently by Somoza's soldiers,
who plundered their village.

In the Sandinistas'
revolutionary struggle

against Somoza and the CIA,

the Miskitos
were allied with the Sandinistas.

The Sandinistas
were also unable to deal with them,

and many Miskitos have taken up arms
against the new rulers.

The Miskito Indians are well aware

they will have to fight against anyone
who comes after the Sandinistas.

What is of historical importance

is that for the first time
since the Spanish conquest,

an indigenous Indian people
has put up armed resistance.

This is an elite troop
preparing a commando mission

from Honduras to Nicaragua
to attack a truck convoy.

More arms will be needed

because at present
there is little support from outside.

The United States
is currently interested

in supporting anyone
fighting against the Sandinistas.

In the morning, the men
cross the border, the Rio Coco.

Having scouted the night before,
they feel confident

that there are no enemy patrols
in the jungle on the other side.

In the knowledge that he is safe,

French reporter Denis Reichle
takes pictures.

He accompanied
the Misura troops for months,

preparing for this film.

The Nicaraguan riverbank looks quiet.

Suddenly, shots are fired
from somewhere in the jungle.

The troop has been discovered.

After the initial confusion,
the troops move into the jungle.

There were no casualties.

We felt fairly safe there,
since it would be suicide

for anyone to follow well-armed men
into such dense jungle.

Having been discovered,
they were in a difficult situation.

They would have to take a long detour
to reach their target.

No one knew the terrain.

The men had to trudge their way
through the swamps.

Soon, they ran out of water.

Due to the drought this year,

all the waterholes had dried up.

This was the last water we found.

After drinking the water,
many fell ill and had cramps.

After another day of hardship,
the operation came to a standstill.

The decision was made to turn back.

Underway again with Misura soldiers.

This time
it is a larger troop of regular units.

Their uniforms and equipment
are a poor quality pick 'n' mix.

Many of the weapons
are from the Eastern Bloc,

from deserters or seized in raids.

We are in a village
directly on the Atlantic coast

deep in the Nicaraguan hinterland.

The Misura underground army
claims that liberated areas exist.

But in reality,
these areas are only liberated

as long as their soldiers are there.

Sandinista units
will reclaim them just a week later.

This back and forth
has made people sceptical.

As long as they can remember,
soldiers have only brought trouble.

It's taken people a while to realize

that these soldiers
are from their area

and they share a common language.

A woman starts singing a welcome song.

The refrain goes,
"Dame la mano, hermano."

"Give me your hand, my brother."

These images clearly illustrate
that the people trust their soldiers.

The women
talk about their daily worries.

The woman in the middle,
wearing the head scarf,

had two sons,
who were shot dead a year ago.

"They're happy the soldiers are here,"

the troop leader tells us
without being asked.

An elderly woman
is telling the soldier

that several days ago
Sandinista troops were here

and seized everything.

Her kitchen utensils, sewing machine,
spoons and sewing needles.

This was her sewing machine.

In broken English,

she tried to explain to us
what had happened.

Nothing,
I have absolutely nothing left.

"Pialka" means sewing machine.

They took everything.
She invites us to take a look inside.

This is Sang Sang,
with a population of just under 1,500.

Or rather, this is the place
where Sang Sang was two years ago.

In a huge campaign along the Rio Coco,

the Sandinistas burnt down
some 60 villages and towns.

An entire area
was utterly depopulated.

The indigenous Indian people

were robbed of their land
and resettled.

This 15-year-old girl,
a Misura soldier,

shows us where her house once stood.

The town of Asang was not far.
This is a photograph of the church.

It had a population of 2,500.

All we could find
was the concrete base of the church.

The Sandinistas explained
that it was a military necessity.

But another factor
certainly played a role.

In one giant quantum leap,
they planned to convert the Miskitos

to a new socialist way of life.

To do this, they needed to destroy
the old village structures.

This soldier also accompanied us
to Sang Sang.

This is his village.

He recounts what happened on the spot
where his house once stood.

It is hard to believe

the Sandinistas
could really have wanted

events to unfold as they did.

He says they chopped down
nearly all the coconut palm trees.

He's showing us
the posts of his old house.

They burnt down his house
and then the entire village.

People started running away.
Anyone who was caught was killed.

Those trying to escape were shot
and children were also killed.

Prisoners were tied up
and then beheaded or shot.

They left the corpses
tied to the stakes.

They were left there
to decay for days.

There were also women among them.

Bombs were dropped from a helicopter.

Everything was razed to the ground.

The villagers were very scared
when they came under fire.

They threw themselves into the river
and swam over to Honduras.

That's how he escaped too.

After the terrible events
at the end of 1091,

refugee camps were set up in Honduras.

This one is in Tapamlaya,
not far from the border.

It seems to be here for good.
It even has its own school.

While we were there filming,

less than a mile away,

another temporary refugee camp
was being set up.

Approximately 1,400 people had fled

from the Nicaraguan village
Sandy Bay and its vicinity.

Fighting had broken out there.

These people walked eight days
through swampland to get here.

Many of them came
because they feared reprisals

if they stayed behind alone.

Except for canvas tents,
drinking water, beans and rice,

there was nothing there yet.

Medical care was not available.

In one month,
when the rainy season begins,

the whole place
will turn into one big swamp.

We took these shots shown here
on the spur of the moment

in the first 20 minutes
after arriving.

At first, we followed the music.

We later asked about the lyrics.
It's a love song.

She says that they were attending mass
on 5 January,

when the Sandinistas
seized the village.

They captured her children
and tied them up.

Tied their hands behind their backs

and led them to the churchyard.

And what happened then?

She says
they opened fire on the people,

after they tied up her children.

The women ran out of the church

to the river and escaped that way.

It felt like it was raining bullets.

She says
when she fled into the mountains,

she suffered a great deal.

She had cuts all over her face,
arms and body from navajuelas.

Navajuelas is a leaf
as sharp as a razor blade.

They spent the night under trees
and were stung by mosquitoes.

Did she see how her children died?

She says she didn't see them die,
because they were trying to escape.

They ran away
when they opened fire on the children.

That's why they ran away.

How many were killed?

Nine.

And how many of your children?

They killed four of her children,
of both sexes,

including a little girl.

She says
she doesn't want to go on living

when she thinks of her children.

But she has no other choice.
She simply continues to survive.

Just the thought of it all
makes her cry.

She apologizes for crying.

Can she tell us more
about her children?

The woman on the left says

that after she fled
she had a son here,

who took care of her,
brought her food and other things.

But now she's even worse off,
because this son has been wounded.

He was shot in the shoulder and hand,

and her husband is in the hospital,
also badly wounded.

That's why their situation is so bad.

This is her son.
We spoke to him the next morning.

He tells us that it happened
at 5 p.m. one Thursday.

He was sitting on his veranda,

when a large troop of Sandinistas
came and surrounded the village.

They stormed into the refugee camp.

Only then did they realize
that they were Sandinistas.

It was too late to flee,
because they were already too close.

Then they captured
as many men as they could find,

led them to the church,
tied their hands behind their backs.

Then they threw them to the ground.

They held a knife to his throat
to make him talk.

But he had nothing to confess.

Then the Sandinistas told them
that they seemed to be strong men,

that they should show
how tough they were.

They started to mock the prisoners
for their pious ways,

saying they should
get on their knees and pray

and see if God came to their rescue.

That's when they opened fire.

One of the prisoners jumped up
and ran off.

They didn't hit him, so he escaped.

At that moment, his father
happened to come back from the jungle.

They started shooting
and wounded him badly.

He was shot along with the others

and we assumed he was dead.

When he came to hours later,
he had lost a lot of blood

and the soldiers were gone.

A five-year-old girl
took care of him and led him away.

Of the eleven prisoners,
nine had been killed.

He and the man who ran away
were the only survivors.

A Misura army training camp.

Around half of the recruits
are children.

Because the Miskitos
have no military tradition,

they had to enlist instructors.

Almost all of them were
from Somoza's former national guard.

The camp's firing range.

Only live ammunition is used here.

The instructor
briefs them on the mortar,

warning them
about the sensitive percussion fuses.

If anyone drops a grenade,
or touches the fuse,

they'll blow up
everyone around them.

We ask the twelve-year-old
to tell us about his situation.

"The Sandinistas
are very bad people," he says.

"That's why they came here.

They chased
the young people and the priest away.

They burned down the village,
church and bibles included.

That's why I came here.
I came to save my life."

- And now you're going into combat?
- Yes.

- Aren't you scared?
- No.

- Do you want to fight?
- Yes.

How did you get here?

"From where?" he asks.

From the refugee camp.

Voluntarily?

- And what does your mother say?
- She sent me here.

And your younger brothers?

"They shot them,"
the ten-year-old tells us.

- How old were they?
- Two years old.

- And the other one?
- Six.

- Did you see how it happened?
- Yes.

Could you tell us?

We'd like to know.

They just killed them for fun.

And what happened to your mother?

They cut her up like a piece of meat
and then shot her.

Then I came here, all by myself.

- Do you want to fight now?
- Yes.

- You want to kill the Sandinistas?
- Yes.

But there are children
in the Sandinista army like you.

"Yes," he says.
He's aware of that.

And why do you want to kill them?

Because they killed my brother
and my father too.

So now I want to kill too.

- When do you go into combat?
- When I've finished the course.

In five weeks at the latest.

- What do you dream about at night?
- About my mother.

Because they're still young,

we see them
as the future army of Nicaragua.

They all come
from different villages in Nicaragua,

from Indian settlements.

Most of them came here

because their parents
or brothers and sisters were killed.

What's more,

the Sandinistas
capture boys of their age

and recruit them by force.

They send them into combat
with hardly any training,

to fight us in our struggle
for Nicaragua's liberation.

As good sons of Nicaragua,
as good Indians,

they have joined our organization

and prefer to die in battle.

Are they brave?

That's extremely important.
We have already seen the results.

We've sent them to the frontline
on various occasions

and they were usually the bravest,
braver than the adults.

They're ideally suited
for military training,

because they're ten, nine and eleven.

This boy is eleven years old.

He's one of the best.
Why is that?

At his age,
his mind is not yet corrupted.

So we can teach him
to become a professional soldier

in the fight against communism.

"Does he know what communism is?"
Denis Reichle asks.

He knows what it is.

All of them know
the conditions our people live in,

and why he had to run away.

His parents were killed
and he knows what communism means.

Could you ask him?

The instructor asks indirectly
what the Sandinistas did.

And the only thing the boy says is,

"They're 'Piricuacos'."
That means rabid dogs.

They're at the best age.

Their minds are still pure
and can absorb the training.

- You can brainwash them.
- Yes, sure.

We show them the facts.
Why they have to fight.

"Soldiers, attention now.

We are here as voluntary soldiers
in Misura training camp,

in the Nicaraguan mountains."

The instructor is lying
because of the camera.

The camp is in Honduras,
not Nicaragua.

"We are fighting
to liberate our fatherland.

We have chosen to come here
and are determined to fight communism.

We're prepared to do this training,
and to make sacrifices

for the benefit of our fatherland."

"Soldiers who have been well trained

are the soldiers
that survive on the battlefield."

"Every drop of sweat
shed during training

will save one litre of blood
on the battlefield."

"This is why we must give our all
during training."

"See how our fatherland
and our mothers

have been crushed by the communists."

"We must fight these international
communists to the death."

No, he's not afraid.
He's ready to die.

So young?

- You're not afraid?
- No.

No, he's not afraid.

Why do you want to die so young?

He wants to fight
because his brother was killed.

That reminds me of a sad story
when I was 14 years old.

I was drafted in Berlin

during the last weeks of battle
against the Russians.

We also believed
we had to save our country.

Many of us died and what I see here
doesn't bode well for the future.

It reminds me too much
of my own childhood.

You were also an orphan.

Yes,
but it has nothing to do with that.

It has to do with the fact
that when you're 13 or 14

and someone says,
"You're a man, save your country",

you automatically believe it.

I see that here again.

That happened to us 40 years ago
and it still happens the world over.

That still preys on my mind.

When I see all these kids,
I can already see them dead.

Flower of all flowers
Flower of my love

Come with me
Give me your love

Flower of all flowers
Flower of my love

Come with me
Give me your love

Come back, treasure of my life

Mistress of my loves

Come, flower of all flowers

Come and make me happy

I went to your house
But didn't see you there

Who ordered me?
I walk in my sleep

I went to your house
But didn't see you there

Who ordered me?
I walk in my sleep

Come back, treasure of my life

Mistress of my loves

Come, flower of all flowers

Come and make me happy

Come back, treasure of my life

Mistress of my loves

Come, flower of all flowers

Come and make me happy