FilmAid Helps Refugees Prepare to Return Home
“People only knew that from fighting came separation, but after [viewing] films on peace and conflict resolution, people learn that your enemy can become your friend.” —Sudanese Youth, Kakuma Camp
Imagine, after living for years in the limbo of a refugee camp, you are told that you can return to the place that was once your home. The day you longed for approaches, but your excitement is tempered with trepidation. This year, thousands of refugees in East African camps will return to Burundi and Sudan, places they previously fled in terror. In both the Kibondo district of Tanzania and Kakuma camp in Kenya, FilmAid is contributing to a safer repatriation by providing returnees with essential information.
For the past year, through screenings and workshops, FilmAid has involved refugees and their leadership in preparing for their return home. One way we are accomplishing this is by providing refugee youth with the opportunity and the tools to share their hopes and fears about returning home through FilmAid’s Participatory Video Project. Most recently, the young people in the Kakuma Camp produced “The Storm is Over,” a video about repatriation that was shown to thousands of refugees at outdoor screenings.
In Kibondo, FilmAid held screenings on critical repatriation issues such as peace and reconciliation and human rights for 2,325 Burundian refugees in May alone. In Kenya, more than 17,000 people saw screenings on repatriation hosted by FilmAid for potential Sudanese returnees.
The road back home is a long one, marked by fear and caution. Over the coming year with the support of the many friends of FilmAid, thousands will gain the information they need to tackle this courageous journey. As Sam Bullet, a 23 year old Sudanese Participatory Video Project (PVP) student at Kakuma Camp, said, “I want to go back to Sudan and enrich lives just as FilmAid’s PVP is doing in Kakuma.”
To help Sam and countless others find the strength to imagine and create a new life back home, click on the donate button below.
