Cllr Asher Craig<\/a>, Deputy Mayor of Bristol and Cabinet member with responsibility for Children's Services, Education and Equalities, kicked off the screening by explaining that she found the film triggering but really important. In Asher\u2019s words:<\/p>\n \"The film\u00a0tells the story of tobacco farmers who have become entangled in a cycle of debt and poverty and you will hear in their own words what growing tobacco in the 21st century is really like. You will also hear from local experts and historians who delve into the colonial past and indeed present of tobacco slavery. You will also hear how tobacco still has a huge presence in Bristol.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n After the screening Asher invited the expert panel of speakers to the stage:<\/p>\n In their discussion, the panellists covered diverse topics including the impact tobacco has on Bristol as a city<\/a> and how to challenge the narrative that tobacco production benefits farmers in Malawi. They also praised the farmers who are interviewed in the film for their courage and discussed the importance of their contributions.<\/p>\n \"I see them as very brave individuals who are speaking out against very powerful companies.\"<\/em> - Roy<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The conversation then moved towards areas in which the film could go further such as in its representation of how the farmers are working together in resistance.<\/p>\n \"We need to be conscious of these things when we are projecting and telling stories and to make sure that we center the people and allow them to speak for themselves, not just on their victimhood, but on what they are doing to resist that system.\"<\/em> - Jendayi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Our panellists also discussed similarities between tobacco farming and other exploitative industries and the obstacles that often stand in the way of improving the situation, including the power of industry to influence governments.<\/p>\n \"And we can see the same story, as you said, being replicated over and over, whether you're talking about cocoa, gold, diamonds.\"<\/em> - Roy<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n \"What holds up the global north economically is the raping and pillage and extraction and exploitation of the Global South.\"<\/em> - Jendayi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \"All these farmers are forced to have maize seed, they are forced to have groundnuts, they are forced to have soya seeds so that when you and I are talking about diversification, the industry will tell you that we are also promoting diversification. But they only provide a market for tobacco. They don't buy these crops. This is how clever they are.\" - <\/em>Lonjezo<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Within the room, the audience were very engaged in the conversation and the floor was opened for a Q&A session.<\/p>\n The first question to be asked inspired a conversation between the panellists on the economic, political, psychological and cultural factors that keep generations of people trapped in a cycle of exploitation and how to break this cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt becomes part of tradition. It becomes part of generations of dependency. And the alternatives are not being encouraged because it's not serving bigger interests. We need to enable people to exercise their own agency, their rights to self-determination in terms of how they know best.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Jendayi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cTobacco production in Malawi is generally determined by the practices of the tobacco companies. They are the ones that will decide how much they want and how much they don't want.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Lonjezo<\/p><\/blockquote>\n An audience member asked how farmers can be encouraged to move towards growing crops which would specifically help to improve food security within their local communities. The panellists expressed that tobacco growers are manipulated into continuing to grow tobacco under the false belief that it will provide economic security and lead to a better life.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a pattern we've seen since colonial times - African countries have been encouraged to be raw producers, to produce things that are not consumed in country and then sent elsewhere where profits are made.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Roy<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think in most African countries, a reliable market is the market that buys from you year in, year out, every year, every year for 10 years, 20 years or 30 years or whatever period. So to the farmers, the reliable market is tobacco, not because it gives them a lot of money, but because they know it will keep buying tobacco.\u201d - <\/em>Lonjezo<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Discussions then moved on to the topic of resistance. Examples of resistance to the ongoing \u2018moral corruption\u2019 evident within the practices of the tobacco industry included the legal case currently being brought<\/a> by Malawian tobacco farmers against the tobacco industry. The panellists also discussed what resistance might look like on a local level within Bristol.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are we going to break the back of this industry? It's going to be a long fight. But I think collectively, all of us here in this room, if you feel the way I\u2019ve felt, then let\u2019s work collectively together.\u201d - <\/em>Asher<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It was brilliant to get so many people together in a room talking about the issues raised in Tobacco Slave and to see how many people were affected by the film. We already have further film screenings planned across the globe. We are keen that the film is shared as widely as possible and that the conversation is continued.<\/p>\n If you are interested in hosting a screening of the film, please do fill out this form<\/a> and we will get back to you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/tcrg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2023\/11\/BATH_TOBACCO_012-300x201.jpg\")
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The debate then moved on to the diversification of crops and how the tobacco industry stands in the way of enabling farmers to transition away from growing tobacco to growing alternative crops that could provide them with a better lifestyle.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/tcrg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2023\/11\/BATH_TOBACCO_076-300x208.jpg\")
The second question raised was on whether a decreased demand for tobacco globally would make a difference to the situation for tobacco growers in Malawi.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/tcrg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2023\/11\/BATH_TOBACCO_027-300x219.jpg\")
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