Salam Neighbor

Gr 9 Up—Salam is an Arabic greeting, roughly translated as "peace," something that is in short supply in Syria these days. Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci, two 20-something Americans, along with a film crew, undertake to live for a month in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan near the Syrian border. The Za'atari refugee camp, managed by the United Nations, houses 80,000 Syrians in almost four square miles. The treeless and dusty camp is home to a busy market, a school, and a hospital and has connections to programs to counsel women and children. Although the young men are willing to live as the refugees do, they are not allowed to stay overnight. They assemble their temporary living structure (more than a simple tent, less than a building) and arrive each day at six a.m., staying well after dark. The film style is similar to reality shows, with hand-held cameras, intense scrutiny of mildly dramatic moments, and close-ups of tense looks and eyes brimming with tears. Clearly the filmmakers' hearts are in this "sociological experiment," and there is a genuine effort to know people in the camp, as refugees and as the people they were before being displaced by war (parents, nurses, teachers, students). The film makes a compelling case for increased attention and aid for Syrian refugees. Its message: we are all more alike than different.