The people of Syria and Turkey continue to endure the devastation from the earthquakes that have killed over 47,000 people and made millions homeless in the middle of a freezing winter. And this March 15 will be the 12th anniversary of the start of the horrific Syrian civil war. It’s important to learn from the unrelenting violence the people of Syria continue to face. A good way to do that is to watch the documentary film, For Sama. Here is a link to the film on PBS.
In the middle of the siege of Aleppo, filmmaker Waad al-Kateab filmed her life in a makeshift hospital run by her husband while trying to raise her daughter Sama in a war zone. She explains to her infant child why she and her husband made the decisions they did. The documentary shows us the impossible decisions people in war face, including choosing to stay in or leave a war zone.
The documentary holds no punches. Viewers see the tortures of war: the destruction of homes, the fear of dying, going hungry, and what the death of innocent people, including children, looks like. Waad shows us the human costs that innocent people around the world suffer when capitalists make war to divide the world to reap more profits. Whether these are the people of Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine, or elsewhere, it is our responsibility to see what people go through and fight to prevent it continuing.
