Local residents will have an opportunity to learn more about the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis on World Refugee Day with a presentation of the award-winning documentary, Salam Neighbor.
The film is directed by Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple, the first filmmakers to be given permission by the United Nations to register and live in a refugee camp.
Given the same tent and supplies as Syrian refugees, Ingrasci and Temple spend thirty days documenting the overwhelming trauma, untapped potential and ultimate humanity of families struggling to maintain normality in the most dire humanitarian crisis of this century.
Over the last 10 years, the UN estimates that the number of forcibly displaced people has nearly doubled from 37.5 to 59.5 million people, more than half of whom are children. The UN further estimates that the average length of displacement is more than 17 years.
The documentary will be showing on Monday, June 20th at the Key City Theatre in Cranbrook, beginning at 7:00 pm. The event is free to the public, thanks to the efforts of the Humanity Network. Representatives of the Cranbrook Hub for Refugees and Kimberley Refugee Resettlement Group will be attending and will be happy to answer questions afterwards.
More information about the documentary and the Humanity Network is available from amycross@humanitynetwork.ca.
To view the trailer for Salam Neighbor, visit http://livingonone.org/salamneighbor/