Children of Syria

Gr 9 Up—This series addition puts faces to what may be distant and theoretical issues. For most students, this moving film will be an eye-opener. Sara, Farah, Helen, and Mohammed are siblings who live in what used to be a middle-class suburb of Allepo, Syria. Their father, trained as an engineer, now fights with the rebel army. Sara, four, talks of death by explosion. Farah, seven, cocks her elfin head at a sound and wonders whether it was a missile or a projectile. An afternoon of what the children call "exploring" abandoned homes looks suspiciously close to looting and sparks a stern parental discussion. About halfway through the program, the father is taken by ISIS. Words such as slaughter and torture are used, and the mother makes the decision to seek asylum in Germany. By liquidating the family's assets, they secure passage to relatives in Turkey and eventually immigrate legally to a welcoming town in Germany. There, Sara's games still involve guns and shouted "rat-a-tat-tat," but Helen and Mohammed, now young teens, blend into school activities. As the film closes, the father is still missing, and Germany's previously friendly attitude has waned in many places. At 55 minutes, this program is a great length for educational use. (Most of the film is in Arabic, with English subtitles.)