Betrayal
(Canada, 90 min.)
Dir. Lena Macdonald
Programme: World Showcase (World premiere)
It is often said that if one sees acts of injustice, you should say something. To be silent is too be complicit in the deeds that go unchecked. As the audience observes in Lena Macdonald’s documentary Betrayal, sometimes being the first to break the silence comes at a heavy cost.
Separated from his family, and without a country to call his own, Cindor Reeves understands the devastating price entailed in doing what is right. Labelled a traitor by some in his former homeland of Liberia, and in constant fear for his safety, he is a whistleblower who has been forced to live in hiding. What makes Reeves’ predicament unique from other truth tellers is the fact that the person he was exposing was not just the president of Liberia at the time, but also his brother-in-law.
Beloved and feared with equal measure, depending on which side of the aisle one stands, Charles Taylor ruled with an iron fist. An idealistic populist rebel turned authoritarian leader, Taylor used his position to pillage Liberia of its resources, including diamond minds, to fund his wars in the country and in neighbouring Sierra Leone. His journey from being a liberator to becoming the same type of oppressor he once fought against is a striking tale of persistence, politics, and power.
Taylor’s reign of terror was so brutal that he became the first former president since World War II to be convicted by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity, for his actions in Sierra Leone..
As Betrayal notes, few had a better seat to observe the rise and fall of Taylor’s regime than Reeves, who came of age in the leader’s home. Born into an impoverished family, Reeves’ life took a drastic turn when his sister Agnes sent for him to live with her and Taylor. Since this invitation was before Taylor became a rebel leader, Reeves’ initial experiences with him were no different than what one would expect from any stable loving home. Placing extra emphasis on the importance of education, Taylor became the father figure that had been stripped from Reeves years earlier.
Taylor planted in him the seeds of morality that would be the bases of the roots of character on which Reeves now stands. The irony being that those seeds grew into the moral tree that ultimately blocked his regime’s path.
Using Macdonald’s documentary as an oral record of his experience in case he is killed, Reeves offers a chilling account of how corruption and unchecked power can divide a country and ruin so many innocent lives. Incorporating interviews with politicians, historians, and journalists, Macdonald presents a well-rounded look at Taylor’s impact in Liberia and how his international ties, including America’s influence, such as helping Taylor and his guerrilla movement to overthrow Samuel Doe’s tyrannical regime in Liberia, played a pivotal role in his success and failures.
It is in exploring the international aspect where Betrayal finds its emotional core. Although Macdonald notes how mind boggling it was for Reeves to take the actions he did, what is more shocking is how the international community hung him out to dry. Displaced from his home, due to threats against his life, Reeves was placed in the Netherlands, Germany, and eventually Canada with little resources or support. Despite helping the world bring down a man they agreed was bad, his association with Taylor was used against him. Although Canada agreed to provide citizenship for his ex-wife and children, the country would not extend him the same grace.
While Macdonald could have delved even further into the myriad challenges Reeves faced living in a post-Liberia, Betrayal does a solid job of capturing the daily pain he feels being separated from his children. Macdonald reveals that the biggest betrayal of all was how the world used and discarded Reeves while reaping the benefits of his sacrifice.
