Mar 08 2018
Exodus: Our Journey to Europe
Written by: Amanda Ruvolo
Summary
For my blog post I watched the PBS Frontline documentary called Exodus produced by James Bluemel. The 1 hour and 54-minute film took me on a journey through the lives of five different refugees and migrants who were seeking asylum in Europe. The first story followed a brave 11-year-old girl named Isra’a from Aleppo, Syria who was forced to leave her home after it has been bombed. Then the documentary switch over to a man named Hassan Akkad who was a former English teacher in northern Syria who was trying to relocate to the United Kingdom. The third story explained the journey of 21-year-old Alaigie, who was traveling from Serrekunda, Gambia to Italy in hopes of finding better opportunities to provide for his family. Then there was Ahmad from Aleppo, Syria who left his wife and daughter behind in hopes of gaining asylum in the United Kingdom so that he could eventually move them away from Syria. Finally, there was Sadiq who left Kabul, Afghanistan in hopes of finding a better and safer life in Finland.
Each of their stories provided the real life insight on what it meant to be a refugee or migrant trying to find asylum in Europe. The film was unique in the fact that each of the stories were being filmed by the refugees themselves. Due to that realistic perspective, the documentary at some points was painstakingly heart breaking to watch. The all experienced immense difficulties through their journey.
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