FOR SAMA was presented courtesy of FRONTLINE | PBS as part of the Rising Up for Human Dignity Film Series.
Watch For Sama HERE.
FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.
Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Panel discussion included Dr. Hisham Bismar, Noura Shikh Ayob and Elias Matar.
Partners for this presentation include Action for Sama, Frontline | PBS, Portland Refugee Support Group, Lighthouse Peace Initiative and Alliance for Peacebuilding.
The Rising Up For Human Dignity Film Series is brought to you by World Oregon, PSU Holocaust and Genocide Studies Project, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Amnesty International USA Group 48, and Never Again Coalition
About the panelists:
Dr. Hisham Bismar is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in surgery of the hand and upper extremity. He grew up in Damascus, Syria but has lived in America for over 30 years. He moved to Dayton, Ohio at age of 18 to study engineering. Hisham got his masters in biomedical engineering and worked for while as an Engineer in Michigan. He decided to switch careers and studied medicine at Michigan State University. He volunteers with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS). He travels to the Middle East on medical missions, performing surgery for Syrian refugees. He participated in the documentary "50 Feet From Syria." He resides in Portland, Oregon where he is President of the Northwest Chapter of SAMS.
Noura Shikh Ayob is a Syrian activist and Agriculture Engineer with over seven years of experience in the humanitarian field. Nora has previously worked for Chemonics International, Global Communities, INSO International, IBTCI, and a Quality Management System manager and Women Advocacy/ outreach Manager with HALA Systems (Sentry Project, a mutual project with the Syria Civil Defense/the White Helmets). Nora works as a Consultant Coordinator with the International Republican Institute since 2015, on various projects that focus on women’s empowerment and political participation.
Elias Matar was born in Syria, and has lived his adult life in the United States. As a longstanding film maker, he found his current calling in 2015, when he traveled to Serbia, Germany, Greece and Turkey to document the exodus of Syrian refugees, who were risking life and limb in search of safety. In June of 2016, Elias traveled to Lebanon to work with an NGO distributing food to an informal settlement of Syrian refugees. The Bekaa Valley had a massive impact on him, and inspired him to form the Lighthouse Peace Initiative (LPI), a non-profit organization dedicated to raising the quality of life for the most vulnerable population across the world. LPI’s primary programs are educational and artistic, with community support at their core. LPI believes in providing a safe space for the youth and uplifting their spirits through individualized and communal care regardless of their nationality, ethnicity and gender.
Moderated By Dr. Amanda Smith Byron - is a social justice educator with over 30 years of experience working with diverse communities to heal trauma and transform conflict. Dr. Byron is an Assistant Professor in Conflict Resolution at Portland State University, where she directs the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Project, and focuses teaching and research on unsettling the role of identity in conflict, understanding enmification and hatred as root causes of violence, and developing peacebuilding strategies to effectively address ethnoreligious conflict. Current research interests are focused on the restoration of dignity in the aftermath of atrocity.
TAKE ACTION FOR SAMA and For Syria.
Check out the Action for Sama campaign - spearheaded by For Sama director Waad Al-Kateab via this link and also more information below.
Learn more about Lighthouse Peace Initiative and their work to provide safe spaces for youth through educational and artistic programming to vulnerable Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian youth living in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.
From waad and the action for sama team
ENGLISH VERSION
The first question that people ask after watching FOR SAMA is, “How can I help?”
Syria is complicated. Unfortunately there is no single petition or button we can press to stop the violence but there is so much we can do to stand with the millions of other Syrians struggling for freedom and democracy.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
I often say that I think that the hardest way for people to die is in silence. After watching For Sama, please take a picture of yourself with a Stop Bombing Hospitals sign to show Syrians across the world that you are hearing their stories and standing with them in their struggle for freedom and democracy.
Share it on social media and don’t forget to tag us:
Hashtags: #forsama #actionforsama #stopbombinghospitals
DONATE
One of the ways you can support is to give to the heroic humanitarians and medics still saving lives on the ground in Syria. As the global Coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the world, the people of Syria need our help more than ever. The humanitarian conditions are appalling and there is always the threat of further conflict. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and are now living in overcrowded camps, with no chance of self isolation.
All of the money donated to Action For Sama goes via our partners at Help Refugees, who ensure that every penny goes directly to those working inside Syria.
You can donate by card or PayPal online here.
If you would prefer to make a bank transfer or are interested in making a larger donation, please contact us at hello@actionforsama.com.
GET CREATIVE
Has For Sama left you feeling inspired to use your creativity?
We have received many beautiful designs, images & words from supporters, which have been created with For Sama in mind.
Whether it is a piece of art, photography or a poem, we’d love to see what you have created!
Email us at hello@actionforsama.com or tag us on social media.
WRITE YOUR LOCAL MP
If you are based in the UK, you can also show your solidarity by joining me in asking your local MP to #WatchForSama and act for Syria.
I hope that if every MP watches For Sama, they can experience what life is like for Syrians under attack and will be encouraged to take action to protect civilians by enforcing a ceasefire and urgently preventing an outbreak of COVID-19 in Idlib’s severely overcrowded displacement camps on the Turkish border.
You can watch my message on Instagram and Twitter and then please write to your MP to support the campaign here.
Thank you for your support,
Waad
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ARABIC VERSION:
تحرّك من أجل سما
أول سؤال بيسألونا ياه الناس بعد ما يشوفو فلم إلى سما هوة "كيف منقدر نساعد؟"
الوضع بسوريا معقّد وللأسف ما منقدر بعريضة وحدة أو بكبسة زر نوقف العنف يلي عم يصير, بس في ملايين الشغلات يلي منقدر نعملها لنوقف مع السوريين يلي عم يناضلو من أجل الحرية والديمقراطية
شارك على مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي
دائماً بقول أنو أصعب طريقة للموت هية الموت بصمت, بعد ما تشوف فلم إلى سما خود صورة لحالك أنت وحامل لافتة "أوقفوا قصف المشافي" لتورجي السوريين حول العالم أنك عم تسمع صوتهم وواقف معهم بنضالهم للحرية والديمقراطية
شاركها عالسوشال ميديا ولا تنسى تذكرنا على هي الحسابات
Hashtags: #forsama #actionforsama #stopbombinghospitals
تبرّع
إحدى طرق المساعدة هية أنو تتبرع للأبطال العاملين بالقطاع الإنساني وللعاملين بالقطاع الصحي يلي لهلأ عم يحاولو يأنقذوا الناس ويحافظوا على حياتهن, الناس بسوريا بحاجة المساعدة أكتر من أي وقت سابق بسبب الوباء العالمي (كورونا) الأوضاع الإنسانية مروعة ودائماً في خطر لتدهور الأمور أكتر, مئات الآلاف من الناس تهجّرو وحالياً عايشين بمخيمات مكتظة بدون القدرة على العزل الإجتماعي
كل المبالغ يلي بيتم التبرع فيها لحملة "Action for Sama" بتروح لشركائنا بمنظمة "Help refugees"ويلي بيتأكدوا أنو كل قرش بيروح بشكل مباشر للناس اللي عم يشتغلوا جوا سوريا
للتبرع باستخدام أي بطاقة بنكية أو باستخدام PayPal اضغط على الرابط
إذا كنت بتفضل تتبرع كحوالة بنكية, أو بدك تتبرع بمبلغ أكبر من المتاح بالرابط, أو إذا بدك تعرف معلومات أكتر عن عملية التبرع تواصل معنا على البريد الالكتروني التالي hello@actionforsama.com
كن مبدعاً
مشاهدة فلم إلى سما ألهمك لإستخدام مهاراتك الإبداعية؟
استقبلنا كتير تصاميم حلوة, صور وكلمات تم إنشائها بالإستيحاء من فلم إلى سما.
سواءً كانت عمل فني, صور, أو قصائد شعرية نحنا دائماً متحمسين لنشوف الشي يلي أنشئتو أنتو, أرسل لنا بواسطة الايميل hello@actionforsama.com أو شاركوه على مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي ولا تنسوا تذكرونا
أكتب لعضو البرلمان الذي يمثلك
إذا أنت موجود بالمملكة المتحدة بإمكانك تأظهر دعمك بأنو تشاركني بسؤال عضو البرلمان المحلي يلي بيمثلك أنو يشوف فلم إلى سما ويتحرّك ويعمل شي بخصوص سوريا
بتمنى أنو كل عضو بالبرلمان يشوف فلم إلى سما, لحتى يختبروا ويشوفوا كيف حياة السوريين تحت الهجوم والقصف, هالشي لح يشجعهن أنو يعملو شي ليحموا المدنيين بتطبيق وقف إطلاق نار والمساعدة بمنع إنتشار فايروس (COVID-19) بمخيمات المهجرين المكتظة على الحدود السورية التركية
بإمكانك تشوف رسالتي على إنستغرام و تويتر, بعدين بطلب منك تكتب لعضو البرلمان يلي بيمثلك أنو يدعم الحملة من الرابط
شكراً لدعمكم,
مع الحب
وعد