SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE


Brothers In Arms (4 August 2009)

Written by TVSA Team from the blog Special Assignment on 04 Aug 2009
Favourite this post


Coming up on Special Assignment:

Episode Title: Brothers In Arms
Broadcast date: Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Tonight's Special Assignment looks at the lives of South African civilian contractors injured on duty in Iraq - and how an apparently unsympathetic medical insurance industry has turned its back on them.

Behind the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a vast, parallel corps of civilian contractors.

In 2003, the US-led invasion of Iraq targeted key infrastructures in their bid to oust Saddam Hussein. This, coupled with years of neglect, left the country in ruins.

In the aftermath, international efforts turned to the reconstruction and stabilization the country. Private contractors were tasked with construction of hospitals, roads, water supply, security and systems maintenance.

Currently the number of private contractors in Iraq almost equals the number of military and, as the troops withdraw, may soon exceed them. Playing an indispensable role in support of the US war effort, more than 1,400 have died and 31 000 have suffered devastating injuries.

South Africans make up the second largest contingent of civilian contractors. 27 have been killed and many more have suffered severe physical and psychological wounds.

Yet on their return home, they’ve had to face the battle of their lives, simply to obtain basic medical care, artificial limbs, and other treatment. Under an American law called the Defence Base Act, companies working under U.S. contracts in Iraq or Afghanistan must purchase insurance that pays for medical care and disability benefits for workers injured on the job, as well as death benefits for those killed.

However, the insurance carriers routinely deny or delay payments to injured contractors, while recording hundreds of millions of dollars profit in the process. AIG is the biggest culprit. They have received 1.5 billion dollars in premiums from private contractors, but only paid out 900 million dollars in compensation and expenses.

They have turned misery of men, wounded or killed in action, into a giant profiteering venture. This documentary is the story of a disposable army.

It was produced by Sasha Wales-Smith.



Special Assignment is on SABC3 on Tuesdays at 20h31.



Comments


Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.






LATEST ARTICLES

New on TV today: Wednesday 2 April 2025

Reality show Coming from America debuts on TLC and Netflix serves up more Love on the Spectrum.


Evil Witch Teasers - April 2025

Rocky becomes suspicious of Rani's brother's photograph, and Pavithra tries to reveal the truth.


Soapie Digest: April 2025

Tap here for this year's April Fool's moral of the story, with all your teasers in case you've missed your faves.


Kelders van Geheime Teasers - April 2025

Allison's Alzheimers progresses, Athandwa has reservations about initiation, and Joey and Nenna's big day arrives.


New on TV today: Tuesday 1 April 2025

The only new show today is a run of Delicious Miss Brown starting on Real Time.


Smoke & Mirrors 2 Teasers - April 2025

Season 2 finale! Caesar's malevolent plans inch closer to their gruesome conclusion as he prepares to sacrifice Thandiswa.


New! Inimba Teasers - April 2025

A choice made 20 years ago haunts Zoleka Mabandla. Your first tease of Mzansi Magic's new 21h00 'novela


iThonga Teasers - April 2025

Sanele accepts a dangerous proposition from his brother despite his mother's fight for his soul.


New on TV today: Monday 31 March 2025

Bollywed 2 begins on S3 and Klop die Kunstenaar begins a run on VIA.


My Brother's Keeper on Mzansi Wethu Teasers - April 2025

Mshengu reveals how Fakazile's new husband will be chosen. She makes a dangerous decision.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS





×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.