Recently on “Amanpour and Company” (PBS), I witnessed some clips from a movie called “Capernaum.” It is about the struggles to survive of refugee children from Syria. It tells the story of a young street urchin named Zain living in the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, where his family has fled.
He is suing his parents for “having brought him into such an unjust world where being a refugee with no documents means that your rights can easily be denied.” His suit asks them to have no more children. The film is made largely by non-actors who have suffered the lives they portray in the film. Only the trailer is available now, but the picture has already won 11 awards in as many different countries, including at the Cannes Film Festival. It has been nominated for the Golden Globes.
In this season of reflection, I would urge you to see this picture when it arrives and compare the blessings of the comforts we all enjoy with the sufferings of more than 120 million children worldwide who have been born into poverty and have no “documents” and therefore no rights. It will make our sufferings seem small, and the constant and often hateful expressions of political animosity I see almost daily in this venue to be seen clearly for the pettiness and ingratitude for our comforts that they truly represent. Each of us should ask ourselves if we would trade places with such refugees for one day at any price.
Here is a link to the trailer: www.capernaum-movie.com The movie will be shown in Winter Park on Feb. 8 and soon afterward in The Villages, I hope.
Don Hess is a resident of The Villages.