This week has been achingly busy in all manner of ways, not in the least with the culmination of the conference at which I touted my latest academic creation.
The weekend then, was something to look forward to; regrettably, though for the first time in days the rain has held off, it is still (in a non-meteo fashion) promising to be a damp squib.
And so I found myself in the city buying a bunch of DVDs – for nothing shuts out the world quite like a good book, or in a pinch, movie.
Admittedly, my choices were not exactly of the mood-tickling variety: Death in Gaza and Waltz with Bashir.
Nevertheless, it was the cashier’s response that proved the lifting part.
A young Englishman with a shaven head and delightful North East accent, he exclaimed in recognition when scanning the latter.
“Have you seen this film? Amazing. I felt like I had been kicked about after watching it. What these people go through is tragic, so terrible, and yet we know nothing about it. All this happened and where were we?”
[Picks up Death in Gaza]
“And this. I was in tears. It really makes you wonder why we don’t get involved. Those poor children, growing up in that environment – why don’t we say to Israel, ‘Oi, look mate, this is wrong – stop’? We just sit here. Doing nothing. Do you know about it?”
I nodded assent and said I work on this. Have known about it for years.
“Wow. And yet you can still smile. How can you know about this and still be happy every day? I felt so down. I really want to do something, but don’t know what. Here I am just recommending DVDs [he had recommended Death in Gaza] when they need real help.”
I thought about it, then told him he was helping.
The media does not cover the issues in Gaza and Lebanon extensively and the result is, as he said, that many British youth (and even older) do not know of the human rights abuses occurring in the region.
That he learned of the events through film is indicative of the power exerted by the medium, a power to educate and enhance awareness.
And so, I told him that his recommendation was a small step, but a step nonetheless towards helping.
The more people know, the greater the awareness.
The greater the awareness, the larger the capacity for change.
And so, from tiny seeds can large trees grow.
