POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and tonight on PBS, it kicks off its 30th season with three documentaries about the Syrian War and the global refugee crisis. Dalya’s Other Country follows a young Syrian girl and her mother who have been displaced by the war at home and are adjusting to their […]
POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and tonight on PBS, it kicks off its 30th season with three documentaries about the Syrian War and the global refugee crisis.
Dalya’s Other Country follows a young Syrian girl and her mother who have been displaced by the war at home and are adjusting to their new life in Los Angeles.
In 2012, Dalya moved to the United States from Aleppo, Syria, as her country disintegrated in the wake of a horrific civil war.
A smiling, effervescent teenager, Dalya comes across as an ordinary Southern California teenager.
She takes selfies and goes to prom. She plays sports and hangs out at the mall. She is also the only student at her Catholic high school who wears a hijab.
However, things grow tense and anxious as the 2016 presidential campaign unfolds and candidate Donald Trump calls for restrictions on Muslim immigrants.
At school, Dalya recites the Pledge of Allegiance. She dances in a talent show and wears her hijab as she plays on the basketball team.
“Before, I was scared of doing everything. I wouldn’t do sports. I didn’t join basketball,” she says.
But as Dalya adjusts to her American life, she becomes comfortable testing her abilities: “It doesn’t matter if have my hijab. I found out that I can do whatever.”
4.1 Miles follows local coast guard officers stationed off the Greek island of Lesbos, where thousands of migrants have braved the Mediterranean to flee conflicts at home.
The coast guard once patrolled the tranquil waters of this small island but now finds itself overwhelmed by the task of saving hundreds from drowning at sea.
Docks previously lined with restaurants have become makeshift first-response centers.
As one migrant’s body is carried out, an onlooker desperately yells, “The world needs to know what’s happening here! We can’t be going through this alone!”
4.1 Miles was nominated for a 2017 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.
In From Damascus to Chicago, two young Syrian siblings recently resettled in Chicago enroll in a dance class as their family navigates a new city and country.
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