Why We Speak: Help Spread Refugee Stories

The brutal civil war in Syria is approaching its eight year. Over six million people are internally displaced, over five and a half million have fled the country, over four hundred thousand have died and one million have been wounded. And yet this crisis has all but disappeared from the news cycle: collateral damage of international politics and our limited attention span. Reports that say it is safe for refugees to return home are both exaggerated and untrue.

Over the last 5 years, 3 Generations has filmed stories of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: producing the short film THREE, the feature documentary LOST IN LEBANON and additional short videos on our website. We continue to follow the progress of those we have filmed and to make their stories available to broad audiences. We do not forget their suffering and the destruction of this once vital and culturally rich country.

Since its release in Spring 2017, LOST IN LEBANON has toured the globe, playing at film festivals and human rights events, such as one for Humanity House at The Hague. Now, along with THREE, it is available for non-theatrical, educational and community screenings in the USA, Canada and elsewhere. If you have not seen our films and heard the voices of the brave Syrians who shared their stories, please consider setting up a screening in your community. These stories are more vital than ever.

The civil war in Syria began in 2011 and continues to this day. At 3 Generations, we began our research and story-gathering to tell the stories of Syrian victims in 2013. Since then we have produced a feature documentary - Lost in Lebanon - and a short film - Three - as well as a series of videos on this tragic conflict.

Most of the news is dismal. There are now more than 400,000 documented deaths, more than 5.6 million Syrians who have fled the country, more than 6 million people displaced internally and more than 1 million wounded.

An important part of our work at 3 Generations is keeping in contact with the survivors whose stories we tell and thus, we are delighted to share some good news and a glimmer of hope. One of the survivor/refugees profiled in each film has found sanctuary far from the conflict zone. One in Europe and one in South America (due to ongoing threats we are not at liberty to disclose more information). Thankfully there are others who try and mitigate this every day horror, like those who designed Hala Systems, which warns Syrians minutes before devastating attacks (read more here).

Refugee status is a difficult one - no passport, no security, no going home. It is life in limbo. And today there are more refugees in the world than ever before in human history. At 3 Generations, we monitor the situation there on a daily basis. Follow us on social media to see news and consider arranging a screening of either film in your community.