Alyssa
Documentaries can be difficult to watch, but they are essential for growth. Below are two documentaries focused on the black community, as well as two others that show violence beyond our eyes. If you only watch one, make it 13th.
13th on Netflix
This documentary speaks of the mass incarceration of the black community after “slavery was abolished”. This in-depth look at the US prison system reveals our nation’s history with racial inequality.
Freeway: Crack in the System (can be found on YouTube)
Rick Ross is not a rapper. ‘Freeway’ Rick Ross was at the epicenter of the crack epidemic with the CIA. The doc focuses on how the infiltration of crack cocaine was purposely placed in inner cities to destroy neighborhoods.
Born in Gaza on Netflix
Filmed during the 2014 siege of Gaza in Palestine, the documentary depicts the devastating violence of the Israel-Palestine conflict and its effects on the children of Gaza.
50 Feet from Syria
This 2015 documentary focuses on a Syrian-American orthopedic surgeon, Hisham Bismar, who travels to the Turkey-Syrian border during the ongoing Syrian civil war. The war began with protestors demanding that their President Bashar al-Assad resign. You can watch this documentary at www.50feetfromsyria.com.
“With a suitcase full of donated stainless-steel bone implants, Syrian-American surgeon Hisham Bismar arrives at a Turkish hospital on the Syrian border, ready for anything. What he finds is horror, chaos, and an ocean of refugees in need of medical care: colleagues who perform operations without anesthesia, stories of Syrian government snipers targeting pregnant women and children, and images of 55 gallon barrels filled with shrapnel and TNT deliberately dropped on civilians.
With dull drill bits and ill-fitting bone and joint implants Bismar repairs the bodies of the wounded fortunate enough to find their way to the hospital – both civilians and fighters. Amongst this remarkable work, remarkable people abound: ‘M’, a ‘Turkish Schindler’ selflessly crossing the border each day to retrieve the wounded and ferry them to the care of surgeons, and ‘AM’ a hero among his peers for his willingness to live for years in Syrian field hospitals repeatedly bombed by the Assad regime.
50 Feet From Syria is a portrait of a quiet and determined man, performing intricate acts of medical necessity undeterred by the chaos and complexity of war around him. The film serves as a snapshot in time for the current plight of Syrian refugees. It also indelibly communicates the human cost of one of the most brutal, dehumanizing conflicts in modern history that continue to destroy and displace millions of lives.”
The pain of this world can be seen through these four documentaries. Stay strong, educate yourself, and encourage your friends and family to do the same. What else should we be watching?