I'm a documentary kind of girl.
Watching credits roll up at the end of a film, I love having the satisfaction of knowing that the "characters" are really out there somewhere--living, breathing, running, crying, fighting, laughing, hoping beings. One of my favorite documentaries is Promises, which shows the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through the eyes of Israeli and Palestinian children. I've been thinking about those kids ever since I saw it; they're older than me now, since the movie was filmed a while back.
And I desperately wanted to know:
Are they okay? Have they been hurt by the terrorists or soldiers they were so afraid of?
And most of all:
Do they still believe in peace? Has growing up hardened them into little shells of cynicism?
I was half scared to find out the answers. But thanks to youtube, I found an update on Promises, shot in 2004--four years after the movie was made. Of course, I freaked out. All the kids--well, adults now--were alright, and for the most part, seemed to have progressed in making peace with their Israeli/Palestinian neighbors. Despite all the tragedies they've had to trudge through, they seem incredibly open-minded and anxious for peace. The sad thing is, I have this sinking feeling that they're never going to see it.
I definitely don't know the perfect solution to the fighting in Israel. The peace talks don't seem to be getting anywhere, at least not in a concrete sense. From afar, the whole deal looks like a childish argument, where each party folds their arms and refuses to apologize or compromise...I just don't see a bunch of politicians in polite business suits really getting down to business and speaking plainly and openly. Not like the kids in Promises. A couple of the Israeli kids hung out with the Palestinian refugee kids, ate a meal with them, played some soccer, and that was it. They were friends; they saw each other as people. Simple.
No need for elaborate discussions and lengthy, webbed "talks."
I just wonder, now that those kids are in their 20's, some of them having served in the Israeli army, some living in the U.S...do they still have the ability to befriend one another? When do we lose that precious, simple ability to just sit down and see each other as people? Why can't we do that at peace talks?
Soon, the whole peace talk deal will probably drop out of the news even further; it's not even a campaign topic for 2008 really.
But I STILL can't stop thinking about those kids.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GReeVn0FjbE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8IO8uxGDSUE&feature=related
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peace is something that needs to be spread around. u writing this blog is helping. people speaking their minds is helping. we just all have to do our parts for peace to begin to work. i think it is slowly working....one day in the future there will be peace...im hoping im still around for that glorious day!
I too am a fan of documentaries, and I also find myself always wondering what happens next. The movie has to end somewhere, but life doesn't. It's like one doc I saw a while back about black tar heroin. I have no idea if the people in it are still alive. I think documentaries really are a great media as they give the world insight into another point of view.