“a film everyone should see and no one should ever have to experience”
Leshyra G. // University of Lousianna Student
April 24th, 2024
Eng 211 / Art of Empathy
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After watching the film “Gaza is our Home” I was deeply touched by the people that this problem affects. This film was made to give people who live outside of Gaza a spectacle of what it is really like to live there. The film does a beautiful job of capturing the authenticity of what is going on. To be able to see what really happens on a day to day basis and compare it to our own lives is honestly the only thing we can really do because living in countries like America we don't have a sense of what it's like to get bombed everyday. In this film Monear Shaer follows and speaks about the genocide in Gaza to help bring humility into what is happening. Throughout the whole film this is displayed however, in this paper I will talk about three specific scenes that highlight the humility of the people of Gaza.
The first scene I will touch on is the scene where Shaer’s little cousin Sara speaks about what is happening. To give context this is Shaer’s six year old cousin and she lives in Gaza with her family. She gives a monologue about how she is tired of getting bombed and how she feels scared. A six year old is able to articulate her feelings about a mass genocide something no one let alone a six year should have to speak about. Sara expresses that what israel is doing is “inhumane.” Sare then goes on to say “I don’t want to die.” Reading that off the screen broke my heart because this little girl is afraid she may not live to see the next day. Growing up in America I faced my own issues however there was never a time where I was scared for my life due to bombing and so while I can not relate to the little girl I can surely sympathize with her. This genocide is taking the lives of actual people but the people that are doing the bombing fail to see them as human beings they just see them as collateral damage. I think adding this into the film shows the audience the innocence that is being taken away from kids in Gaza. I believe this gave the outside world a look at what was actually being done, because on the front line we have both sides pleading their cases, however in this we see the aftermath of the ideology behind the stances that people choose to take. Lives being taken away are the aftermath, innocent lives, hard working people, people who love their families and intent to do the right thing in their everyday life. This is painful for the people that go through it and I feel as though it is also painful for the families of the people who are dying to have to watch this unfold and can not do much about it.
Words fail to express the impact within the Director’s interlude, when Monear Shaer began to speak… His monologue stood out to me as well because when he spoke, he spoke with such a brokenness that you could not only see it but hear it as well. He talked so soft and delicately as he spoke about his family and the pain they are going through. He does a great job of expressing to us what the warmth of his family and the contrasting agony within his voice reminded us that they are human beings just like us and we should all see a part of ourselves in them because this could always be us. This reminder helps the audience understand that the only difference between us and the people in Gaza is where we grew up, so they deserve the same basic human rights as we do. Shaer questions the purpose of this film, his uncertainty paints an expression unlike any film I’ve witnessed before. He further shares how it was his life goal to film a documentary about his homeland, however this painful documentary was not the one he had anticipated ever having to create. He questioned why should he share his family’s smiles and the beautiful life he witnessed?
The final scene that stood out, is when Monear’s sister, Nabeha, spoke out an hour after she heard her family had been killed from a bomb. She showed strength, vulnerability and desperation. Her strength stood out because despite the situation she was actually able to speak up for the cause and articulate what she was trying to say. I say vulnerability because she was torn as she was talking about the murder of her family and this helped the audience sympathize with her and show the depth of what is happening in Gaza. I then noted her desperation, because though she was strong and vulnerable, all she truly wanted was for someone to care for her pain and the thousand of lives lost at the hands of this genocide. The people of Gaza are desperate for our support and help, desperate for someone to see that they are just like us.
All in all I was touched by this film, as previously said so much of the film talked about the emotion and damage caused to the people of Gaza. It was nice to step outside of my own view of the world and step into someone else's so I can see the reality that others live and learn empathy and to be grateful that I don’t have to wonder if I will live to the next day. The film was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, something that everyone should see and something no one ever should have to experience.