HEND

Yet another refugee family in dangerous road to Greece was divided. The father with the children were found in Germany while the mother with her youngest injured daughter in Mytilene. The effort and the suspense is not bent nor a moment up to find her family and manage to reunite. The tears that escape are for the joy that she managed at the end but also the unhappiness of that she should be separated from her beloved of people standing by her until that time.

 

Creative Team:

Michalis Aivaliotis, Narsi Nasser, Aljanadi Hend, Alhila Maria, Faten Alobidi, Rawaa Mahmood

Directing/Script consultant: Aggelos Kovotsos, Marco Gastine

Filming/Editing consultant: Andronikos Karakatsanis

 

Director's interview

In a camp you can find immigrants and refugees with a lot of common characteristics, like the very few belongings, the suspicious feelings, their agony for the future, the desire for a better life for them and their children. If you stick to that perception, then you just have a category of people and nothing else. But if you approach them, talk to them and understand them, then stories that are unique, powerful and many times tragicomic, as well as human, come to the surface. The beautiful Maria and the playful Hend invite you to meet them and share with the viewers their happy ending story after an odyssey that lasted almost two years. 

 

You can only have friendly feelings and feel closely to those people who ask you to share with them a cup of tea or their lunch. You can never be in their position by making a documentary or having a friendly conversation. However, what you feel with Hoda is solidarity and compassion.

 

Every story is different, every need is differentiated, but what does not change by watching the story of Hoda is that we need to act, because nobody should be in danger, nobody should suffer and especially the children. For that, neither the state nor the ministry, the local authorities, the organisations  and the other people should be held accountable. All and each of us should take action because out there, there are needs and we can satisfy them.