02-12-2022, 20:53
The Swimmers – Netflix
![[Image: 220px-The_Swimmers.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/The_Swimmers.jpg/220px-The_Swimmers.jpg)
The story of two Syrian sisters whose father coaches them in swimming – one girl, particularly, has Olympian aspirations. Then came the war and the sisters fled the country, heading for Germany. This movie really sheds light on the plight of refugees the world over. Wow – humans can be so horrible to one another. They are abused on all levels, manipulated, extorted, and treated as though their lives have no value … and they were the lucky ones.
Naturally, you will aim for a better life for yourself and/or your children if your country has gone to the dogs. Who would not? Why, just because by an accident of birth you happen to be born in one place on the planet, should you be condemned to endure whatever that locale throws at you for the rest of your life? As corny as it sounds, we are all citizens of planet earth – well, most of us. Some come from other galaxies I sometimes think, but you know what I mean! LOL! And yes – I understand that there need to be support structures in place so that things work, and that there are budgets and systems, and that some countries are overwhelmed by the influx of refugees - it just seems to me that we humans have our priorities all the wrong way round. And I do not know the answers either, I just know it is absolute bollocks.
Back to crossing the Aegean, from Turkey to Greece, and the terror of being in a ridiculously overladen life raft with no options if you are unable to swim. I would be petrified and can only imagine the horror stories. I am ashamed to say to say that I have not been hugely sympathetic to the plight of refugees up to now. And while not wanting to oversimplify what is a complex matter – there are always so many angles – one is helped to understand that people are not all doing this simply to take advantage of a of another country’s social system – that is a misconception. Rather, it is a case of Hobson’s choice – that is, no choice at all. They choose to take a chance rather than roll over and accept the prospect of a horrible life, and some of them die en route; they are not accepted in society, often, and they have left their entire known world and their people behind. They do it because their situation is intolerable, and they would rather run than accept their fate.
Suffice to say, the movie was a bit of an eye opener for me. It is based on a true story - check out the scene on Lesbos showing the abandoned life jackets to see the enormity of it all – or just Google it.
The story of two Syrian sisters whose father coaches them in swimming – one girl, particularly, has Olympian aspirations. Then came the war and the sisters fled the country, heading for Germany. This movie really sheds light on the plight of refugees the world over. Wow – humans can be so horrible to one another. They are abused on all levels, manipulated, extorted, and treated as though their lives have no value … and they were the lucky ones.
Naturally, you will aim for a better life for yourself and/or your children if your country has gone to the dogs. Who would not? Why, just because by an accident of birth you happen to be born in one place on the planet, should you be condemned to endure whatever that locale throws at you for the rest of your life? As corny as it sounds, we are all citizens of planet earth – well, most of us. Some come from other galaxies I sometimes think, but you know what I mean! LOL! And yes – I understand that there need to be support structures in place so that things work, and that there are budgets and systems, and that some countries are overwhelmed by the influx of refugees - it just seems to me that we humans have our priorities all the wrong way round. And I do not know the answers either, I just know it is absolute bollocks.
Back to crossing the Aegean, from Turkey to Greece, and the terror of being in a ridiculously overladen life raft with no options if you are unable to swim. I would be petrified and can only imagine the horror stories. I am ashamed to say to say that I have not been hugely sympathetic to the plight of refugees up to now. And while not wanting to oversimplify what is a complex matter – there are always so many angles – one is helped to understand that people are not all doing this simply to take advantage of a of another country’s social system – that is a misconception. Rather, it is a case of Hobson’s choice – that is, no choice at all. They choose to take a chance rather than roll over and accept the prospect of a horrible life, and some of them die en route; they are not accepted in society, often, and they have left their entire known world and their people behind. They do it because their situation is intolerable, and they would rather run than accept their fate.
Suffice to say, the movie was a bit of an eye opener for me. It is based on a true story - check out the scene on Lesbos showing the abandoned life jackets to see the enormity of it all – or just Google it.
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson