Over the last few years, I started following several photographers covering the Syrian refugee crisis. Their images captured the anguish of families who were trying to escape the horror engulfing their homes, and I began to see what was happening in the Middle East in a way that I never have before. As I investigated the war more, I started reading stories about hospitals and schools that were being bombed. This was terror that I’ve never had to experience, even though my country has been at war for the past 15 years. The only difference is where I live.
As the Assad regime, as well as ISIS, have continuously targeted doctors and other emergency personnel, hospitals have been forced underground to basements, houses, and even into the streets, making Aleppo the most dangerous place in the world to be a doctor. Many doctors cannot reveal their identity for fear of being killed. As the international community has largely turned a blind eye to humanity while Aleppo burned, these doctors, with the help of organizations like the Syrian American Medical Society, UOSSM-USA, and the Independent Doctors Association, are the only people on the ground who are risking everything to help those who have been living in a perpetual state of war.
My hope in telling a story about a doctor who is face blind, is not only to shed light on the courageous people who are bearing witness to the atrocities in Syria, but also to put the viewer in the position of someone who is forced to see the world in a new way: a refugee, an immigrant, a doctor. When you can’t recognize the world around you, where is home? When you can’t place your loved ones, who can you trust? What becomes of our collective identity when we lose sight of the suffering of those affected in a seemingly endless war?
Please join me in supporting this film, so that stories of doctors in Syria can be shared, and their sacrifices won’t go unnoticed. By donating to this project, you can make a direct impact on doctors working in Syria; a portion of your donation will go to the Syrian American Medical Society and their efforts to save lives as the war continues.
Hundreds of thousands of have died. Millions have fled. We are all watching history unfold on our televisions, laptops, and cell phones. We cannot afford to be passive viewers anymore.