In 1994, 60 students in Ariel School, Zimbabwe, claimed they saw an UFO and a big-eyed alien in the bush next to their school playground. At that time, the tale was told worldwide.
One of the first BBC crews on the site spoke to students and instructors. Strange lights and an 'oval aircraft' have also been reported in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa.
So, what exactly occurred in 1994 at Ariel School in Ruwa, which is East of Harare? After the news spread worldwide, an American Film Maker came to Zimbabwe to track down the witnesses. Here's what he got:
"It's been a morning break, and kids have been playing in the schoolyard," Nickerson said. "They observed a big silver craft with four others," Nickerson adds. "It came down on a slope that was out of boundaries beyond the schoolyard. The border was on the edge of the schoolyard and then on the hill and the bush.
"They rushed to the schoolyard border to see what it was. They observed this tiny thing walking over the ship while another one came down to see the youngsters. Everything was in black, with a very close suit. The youngsters claimed he had "like rugby balls" huge eyes.
"The kids said that they get in contact with this alien directly face-to-face. There, it appears to be some conversation with the children about the condition of the globe — the devastation that we are doing to the earth, although not all of the youngsters received that message. Some of the kids were traumatized, some thrilled. As they stood in front of the gathering, the small ones were most traumatized."
"They all ran back to the teachers shouting. At first, their teacher didn't believe them. But then they walked home and informed their parents who had come to school to know what was happening."
Shortly afterward, the youngsters were instructed to draw something they saw. They did the drawing separately. However, they all produced the same graphics.
At that time, the first media on the site was a BBC TV team. John E. Mack, Harvard Professor of Psychiatry, was brought by BBC to visit the school in November 1994 and recorded interviews with the youngsters.
He was helped by South African producer Nicky Carter, who had previously produced a short SABC documentary. "At school, I had a half-brother," she adds. "The day he was off ill, but the kids told him everything, and he called me."
Carter did not doubt that the kids spoke the truth. "When Mack interviewed them with all their professional abilities, it was obvious that they told the truth — their voice, the language of their body.
They were so consistent, with such passion, they told the story in their own language. One kid remembered the alien saying that we shouldn't be too 'tech-savvy. Why did kids make up anything like this?"
These witnesses are young adults now spread all over the world. Nickerson tracks them and interviews them about their experience. "In my opinion, they didn't alter their story at all," he said.
