Angels in Exile

With former street kids behind the camera ‘Give Us This Day’ provides an authentic and intimate look into the lives of Durban, South Africa’s most visible members. In search of better lives, these kids find only a world of prostitution, drug addiction, and extreme violence. In an attempt to escape her abusive family, Zuleika, age 9, leaves the home of her mentally ill mother. As she attempts to distance herself from her past, we see her turn to a life of prostitution. With the streets taking control, Zuleika is unexpectedly impregnated. Making it through the pregnancy may be her only answer to a better life. Ariel is a charismatic boy caught in a world of gangsters, thievery, and drug addiction. Confined within the inherent ills of the streets, he must overcome his glue-huffing and find his way back to his family. As their innocence is ripped away, all we can do is watch this gut wrenchingly true story unfold. Our hope lies in the hands of former street children to reach these kids before the government sweeps them away for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Raftery’s film challenges viewers to look past the violent and often times graphic images of Durban’s street kids and to see the homeless youth for what they are… children.