This was a great 17min animated short, created from the diary entries of one brave individual who kept track of daily life under Daesh rule. Where shopkeepers are taxed unlawfully, men are arrested for wearing trousers that are too long and women for failing to wear a veil. Where stoning to death is a just punishment and lashing and beheadings a daily occurrence. How can we possibly understand what it's like to live our lives like this?
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| bbc.co.uk |
Animators Ross Plaskow and Scott Coello have done a brilliant job in portraying these scenes in ways that will not distance us as Westerners. It informs us, shows us only the humanity of the victims and does not aim to shock or turn us away from its content - which is important when all too many turn their backs on the problem. Not only are the drawings skilful, with the aid of dan Pollard's score, they are symbolic of the many meanings behind the look in a man's eye, of the acts of violence, of defiance and of despair.
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| bbc.co.uk |
What came across most for me is the loneliness of a life in Raqqa. Attending any meetings in public places can see you accused of plotting against Daesh, you cannot see your friends, you cannot watch television to connect with the outside world, what
can you do? There is nothing but the four walls of your home, and the sound and tremor of bombs dropping all around you. The world has deserted you. Our diarist is advised, 'Live your life without considering the present' - well what else can he do?
It is frustrating for me as a viewer as I too search for ways to act, to fight back, to help the civilians of Raqqa - but fail to come to any hopeful conclusion. All I can do is write this post and let someone somewhere know that I am thinking of them, that they are not forgotten, that they are not alone.
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