RTDocumentary

‘Many people imagine they break my bones and pull out the marrow’. Ruslan from Dagestan tells why his fellow villagers are afraid to become bone marrow and stem cell donors. Their blood is quite rare, so in the case of Caucasian ethnic groups, the probability of finding a suitable donor for a bone marrow transplant is almost zero. How does Ruslan fight the prejudices of his fellow villagers? We show this story on World Blood Donor Day. You can also watch the film You’re my Type: The Donor Lottery. #humanstories#health Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘I think my martial arts training helped me survive in the prison system’. Otis Johnson is a Kung Fu trainer who was wrongly imprisoned for 40 years. His Kung Fu and Tai Chi martial arts helped him get by. After Otis was freed, he started to adjust to a new life, amazed at how the world had changed since he was incarcerated in the 70s. He began to tap into the zeitgeist and reunite with his family. Watch the documentary Imprisoned: The Man in a Tan Jacketto learn how martial arts can help people harden their characters and strengthen their spirit. #humanstories#series Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘To be born with albinism in Tanzania is very tough. People think we do not die. People have been hunting us, have chopped off our body parts.’ Hasan Hamisi, an albino, is from Tanzania. His mother was advised to kill him with poison because of his albinism at birth. Today is International Albinism Awareness Day. And what do you know about these unique people? In Tanzania, many believe the white-skinned are immortal spirits who bring bad luck to their families. Others believe that albino body parts can be used in witchcraft to cure diseases or make them rich. That’s why people with albinism in Tanzania fear being maimed or killed for the colour of their skin. On such a day, find out more about the white-skinned people in the documentary Albino Africa. #humanstories#history Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

This teenage boy is really a 33 year-old man. Denis Vashurin, from Russia’s Pacific Coast, didn’t produce enough growth hormones as a child, and so his body isn’t fully grown. To find out what it’s like to be a man trapped in a child’s body, check out our video. Would you want to look young all your life? To find out more about this unique life story, watch the film Eternal Boy. #humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘Jorge was my only son, he meant everything to me. He and his pregnant wife were taken from their home in handcuffs with bags over their heads.’ Delia de Califano from Argentina has never seen her son or daughter-in-law after the event she describes. From 1976 to 1983 Argentina was ruled by the junta. Those who disagreed with the military dictatorship were kidnapped and tortured. Children of opposition members were given away to childless military families. For more than 30 years Delia hasn’t lost hope to find her grandson. Those women, whose kids were kidnapped back then created a group and became known as mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Mostly being 80+, they are still looking for their children. Their stories are in the documentary Argentina’s Stolen Children. #humanstories#children Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘Luckily, the cat was lying on her chest. An artillery shell landed where the bus is. Glass shards flew through the room, killing the cat, but she lived.’ Liliya Chernova described how her young daughter Sasha survived Ukrainian army shelling. Their house in the Lugansk region is close to the frontline. But it is hard to call it home now. ‘The fence is in shambles, and the roof is full of holes and leaking,’ says Lilia. According to her, Ukrainian soldiers have been bombing them for eight years, and Sasha is no longer reacting to it: ‘It’s been like this eight years, what do you think? We’ve been under constant fire.’ The story of mother and daughter is included in the film Battle for Freedom: On the Frontline. #Ukraine#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘He used marijuana starting at the age of 14, and battled for the next five years his addiction, and eventually became psychotic, abusing very high-potency wax, and he jumped off a six-storey building’, said Laura about her son Johnny, who was suffering from marijuana addiction. Johnny became a victim of cannabis legalisation in Colorado State. Watch our video to learn the story of his addiction. Find more information about the effects of legal marijuana on physical and mental health in the documentary film Marijuana Victims: Colorado. #health#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘They’re [Ukrainian nationalists] 500m this way and 500m that way. Maybe 700, no more. We hear gunfire all the time. We crawl! We’ve forgotten how to walk. We’re scared to go anywhere’, says Tatyana, a Zaytsevo village resident. The Ukrainian army shelled her house: the windows were broken, the gates were destroyed, and the barn collapsed. She says the Ukrainian military has begun to use drones. ‘They watch all the time and don’t care who or what. You walk and they chase you’. Watch the stories of residents and those who help them in the RT Documentary film Foreign Fighters of Donbass. #Donbass#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Every year on 3 June, World Bicycle Day is celebrated. For the young people of the Congolese town of Goma, cycling is an opportunity to start a better life. The town lies at the foot of an active volcano. There is poverty here; armed gangs are in the surrounding jungle. The alternative to them is the local cycling club. The athletes are constantly hungry but dream of becoming African champions. One of the main characters of our documentary is the president of the local cycling club. He trains the boys and feeds them to have at least one meal a day. Find out more about the club in our clip. Then, watch the entire film Congo: Cycle of Life to learn about the hope the club gives the young Congolese. #Congo#sport#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

June 1 is Children's Day. Today is also the Global Day of Parents, established by the UN ten years ago to mark parents’ commitment. On this day, we have a video about Kristina Yevtushenko from the Chelyabinsk region. At 19, after the death of her parents, she refused to send her five brothers and sister to an orphanage. Instead, she left her studies in the city, returned to the countryside and became the head of the family. The younger brother was then only four years old. The young girl had a house and livestock to look after. Kristina milks, mows, repairs, and cleans from early morning until night in the film. How does she live now? See our post. The entire Big Sister is in our film Telegram channel. #Russia#family#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

'Our real life happens here. Our children grow up here. Raising kids in the tundra is tough, but children are still needed'. That what's our film's subject says about living in the far North. Pavla lives in the tundra, and she is a ‘chumwife’, a housewife of Russia’s traditional far North nomadic people. She runs all the household and brings up children by herself. Her family also raise deer. Watch our video to learn more about their life. Pavla's family story is in the documentary Tundra Wonder Mums. #traditions#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Two years ago, the World Health Organisation excluded being transgender from the list of mental disorders. But is it the real salvation? In most cases, psychological problems are not being solved by changing sex. A character in our film, Walt Heyer, says, '40% of people attempting suicide are people who regret ever-changing genders'. Walt was suffering from gender dysphoria, the feeling of being uncomfortable with his original sex. Doctors insisted a sex transition would be the solution, but it didn't help. Changing the gender did not solve the internal problems but only made them stronger. Watch our video to see why Walt didn't overcome gender identification problems by changing sex. You can learn more about transgender people who regretted changing sex in our documentary film I Want My Sex Back. #humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary