Beyond the headlines
October 29, 2008
metrobostonnews.com
Smith grad’s documentary on Iraq focuses on the ordinary people affected by war
INTERVIEW. A native of Pakistan and a graduate of Smith College, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an award-winning journalist who has made 13 documentary films. Her latest film, “Iraq: The Lost Generation,” examines the plight of Iraqi refugees displaced due to war. She will screen the film Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Waltham’s Embassy Cinemas.
What message do you want to deliver with this film?
I want people to see Iraqis as people, not just numbers behind headlines. Usually when people in this part of the world think of Iraq they think about the headlines but they never get to know who the people are.
How much of a crisis is the situation surrounding Iraqi refugees?
We’re talking about 4 million people who have been driven from their homes. This is a country that had a functioning society. It had a middle class, schools, colleges, universities, doctors and lawyers despite the politics of Saddam Hussein. And the social fabric of the country has absolutely been torn. These are educated people who don’t know how to survive in war because they’ve never had to face that reality before.
Is there a common thread in the people you have profiled worldwide that transcends the distance between them?
My films are not about the government or prime ministers or presidents. They’re about what happens to the people of a country when a government makes a certain policy or when war is forced upon them. That’s what binds them, whether I am in Canada filming the Aboriginal community or in Syria filming Iraqi refugees. Ordinary people very often don’t get the chance to tell their stories. I myself have learned so much from their resiliency and their courage. I think the world should get the same chance.