A powerful and moving video featuring the children of black sand beaches at Piha and Karekare was today released online.

Motivated by finding out what seabed mining and how it would affect their local playground, and being upset about the injustice, local children wanted to have a say.

The children came up with their own lines about seabed mining and they were put together by director Emily Carter of Karekare and filmed on Piha beach last month by DOP/cameraman Marc Mateo and a volunteer crew.

"I was talking with my children about seabed mining and what it could do to their beach, where they have lived and played their whole lives. They had a lot to say so we facilitated them having a voice. I asked the kids to write down their thoughts about seabed mining and we turned it into a long poem," said Carter.

They really understood - and were concerned - about the threat to their surf-breaks, the Maui's dolphins, and the beach itself. Many children were particularly concerned that their childrens children could experience the beach the same way they do now. The economic factors - where the companies are 98% foreign-owned and would bring a royalty of only 5% to New Zealand, also featured.

"Children are so clear. They can see a bad deal when it's in front of them, and the fact that we would get only 3-5c in every dollar for their precious black sand beach seemed crazy," said Carter.

"The intensity and belief in what they are saying is emotive and unusual. We dont often see kids speaking in this way - but then again they are not often given a chance to have a voice."

80 children, all local or kids with strong associations with the beach, came down to South Piha to film the video, which took a day of filming. The video was a collaborative work by locals and members of the film industry who volunteered both their skills and equipment.

The video speaks for itself. http://youtu.be/4d4x6sWEHCE

Read the original here:

Children of black sand beaches speak against mining