• About

The Wilderness Road

The Wilderness Road

Category Archives: Ger Duany

World Refugee Day

21 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by victoriaperpetua in #ShareTheJourney, Ger Duany, Movies, Refugees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Refugees, World Refugee Day

TheGoodLieGer

World Refugee Day is actually on June 20 each year and features events, prayer services and other activities. Many churches will feature special prayers and sermons in honor of the contributions refugees have made to their new homelands.

With more than 60 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people worldwide, we are living in what Chilean playwright and human-rights activist Ariel Dorfman calls “the age of the refugee.”

I thought I would offer a completely different route to understanding the plight of refugees. There are many documentaries out there that provide insight into the horrific world of the refugee, but there are also many movies as well. Below are a dozen movies, just a taste, mind you, that offer a look into the various aspects of being a refugee. The plight of humans forced to leave their homes is almost as old as time itself and these movies span just a little over a century of that. I’ll start with most recent:

I was not lost. I was just a boy on a journey.

Ger Duany, who plays the character, Jeremiah, in the 2014 film, The Good Lie, with Reese Witherspoon, does not like the term “Lost Boys of Sudan” as he feels it misrepresents their situation. Duany was a child soldier before ending up in a refugee camp and finally being resettled in the United States. There he worked hard, went to college and is now an actor with five films under his belt.

TheGoodLiequote

We spent time with Ger at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Hub in Nairobi where he offers his support in their ongoing work with refugees. He said his fellow South Sudanese refugees have been very supportive of the film as it captures their story very well.

“My heart still pounds when I see it on the screen and I see the problems again,” Ger said. The movie tells the story of five siblings–four who are resettled in the United States and one who is left behind. Having recently become familiar with the resettlement process, the story is very real even down to details like the plastic bags that are their luggage or the mattresses they pull onto the floor to sleep on.

Other movies worth seeing are:

  • The Piroque, 2012. This Senegalese film is about the people smugglers who, in this case, must transport a group of refugees across the North Atlantic to Spain in a small and poorly-equipped boat.
  • When I Saw You, 2012. This movie takes place in a Palestinian Refugee Camp in the Jordanian desert in 1967. It centers around a young boy who flees the camp in search of his father.
  • Monsieur Lazhar, 2011, about a Algerian man who has fled tragedy to live in Montreal as an illegal immigrant. Despite its unrealistic moments (an illegal immigrant probably couldn’t get hired as a teacher), and some predictability, it is worth watching for its humanity–refugees are people too.
  • District 9, 2009. Okay, the refugees in this movie are aliens, but the xenophobia and ethnic displacement are very real.
  • Welcome, 2009, about an Iraqi Kurdish teenager’s attempt to seek asylum in the United Kingdom by swimming across the English Channel.
  • The Visitor, 2007, about a lonely college professor who finds a Palestinian-Syrian drummer and his Senegalese girlfriend living in his apartment in New York City and the effect this couple have on his life.
  • Children of Men, 2006. Despite the fact it is dystopian fiction, this film by Alfonso Cuarón is about asylum seekers fleeing worldwide anarchy only to find themselves hunted down and forced to live in offshore penal colonies. And, although they can no longer reproduce, one refugee miraculously finds herself pregnant and must be saved from sure death.
  • In This World, 2002. Two Afghani asylum seekers leave a Pakistani refugee camp for a new life in the United Kingdom, but they face very real dangers along the way.
  • El Norte, 1983. Two Guatemalan children flee north to California when their family is killed by the army. Not only is the trip there harrowing, but they face many obstacles once they arrive.
  • America, America, 1963. In this film by Elia Kazan, Greek refugees flee to America from the Ottoman oppression of the 1890s.
  • Casablanca, 1942. This classic film is more than just a romance. It is about people (refugees) fleeing the Nazi occupation in Europe. And it is true today as it was then–sometimes you can get on that plane and sometimes you just wait. And wait. And wait.

Recent Posts

  • Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
  • Fascicle Three, Sheet 1f
  • Fascicle Three, Sheet 1e
  • Fascicle Three, Sheet 1d
  • Fascicle Three, Sheet 1c

Archives

  • November 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • January 2021
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012

Categories

  • #MeToo
  • #ShareTheJourney
  • 7-Week Advent
  • A Sand County Almanac
  • A Spring in the Desert
  • Abrams Falls
  • Active Imagination
  • Acts 8
  • Advent
  • AdventWord
  • Albert Einstein
  • Alberto Ríos
  • Aldo Leopold
  • All Sinful Desires
  • Alvin C. York
  • Amma Syncletica
  • Amma Theodora
  • An Affair to Dismember
  • Anaïs Nin
  • Anastasie et Rémy
  • Angel Falls Rapid Trail
  • Angels
  • Animals
  • Anteater
  • anti-resolution
  • Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  • Any Way the Wind Blows
  • Apache
  • Apache Trail
  • Appalachian Trail
  • Archetypes
  • Arizona
  • Art
  • Arthur Symons
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Ash Wednesday
  • Atlanta
  • August
  • Autumn
  • backpacking
  • Beach
  • Beastie Boys
  • Bhagavad Gita
  • Big Ridge State Park
  • Big South Fork NRRA
  • Biodiversity
  • Birds
  • Bishop
  • Blessing
  • Bonaventure
  • Book covers
  • Book of Common Prayer
  • Book Reviews
  • Book Trailer
  • Bookmarks
  • Books
  • Botany
  • Breathing
  • Brian Weiss
  • Bungalow
  • Burundi
  • butterflies
  • Butterfly
  • cacti
  • cactus
  • California
  • Camp NaNoWriMo
  • Camping
  • Canada Geese
  • Canticle of Brother Sun
  • Carl Jung
  • Carmel
  • Casco Viejo
  • Cats
  • Cemetery
  • Cherokee National Forest
  • Chickadees
  • Chihuly
  • Christ
  • Christianity
  • Christmas
  • Claude McKay
  • Coal Seam
  • Collect
  • Colombia
  • Conservation
  • Cordell Hull
  • Costa Rica
  • Covid-19
  • Culture
  • Daffodils
  • Davy Crockett
  • Deadline
  • Death
  • Death's Dark Shadows
  • Desert
  • Desert Botanical Garden
  • Desert wisdom
  • Desire
  • Devotional
  • Diocese of Georgia
  • Divine
  • Dominican Republic
  • Don Quixote
  • Dr. Suess
  • Dracula
  • Dream Groups
  • Dream Journal
  • Dream Work
  • Dreams
  • Dylan Thomas
  • Earth
  • Easter
  • Ecology
  • Edgar Allan Poe
  • Edinburgh
  • Egypt
  • Elephant Seals
  • Eliora
  • Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  • Emily Brontë
  • Emily Dickinson
  • England
  • Enneagram
  • Environment
  • Ephrem the Syrian
  • Episcopal
  • Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
  • Evelyn Underhill
  • Existensialism
  • Extinction
  • Faeries
  • Fall Creek Falls State Park
  • Fantasy
  • Fate
  • Faust
  • Fear
  • Fiction
  • Fishing
  • Flora
  • Flowers
  • Forgiveness
  • Forward Movement
  • Four-Dimensional Man
  • Four-step dreamwork
  • Fox
  • Franciscan
  • Francois Truffaut
  • Frogs
  • G.K. Chesterton
  • Garden
  • Gender Equality
  • Gene Keys
  • Generosity
  • geocaching
  • George Herbert
  • Georgia State Parks
  • Ger Duany
  • German Shepherd
  • Ghost Flowers
  • Gihembe
  • Gilbert Gaul
  • Glastonbury
  • Glendale Glitters
  • Gnostic Gospels
  • God
  • GoodReads Giveaway
  • Great Smoky Mountains
  • Greenwich Cemetery
  • Grow Christians
  • Haden Institute
  • Hallowed Treasures Saga
  • Halloween
  • Hamlet
  • Happiness
  • Hemlock
  • Henry Miller
  • Henry Vaughan
  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • Heredia
  • Herrens Veje
  • Hieroglyphs
  • Hiking
  • Hiking Tennessee
  • Historical Fiction
  • history
  • Hohokam
  • Honey Creek
  • Hope
  • Horror
  • horses
  • Hunting
  • Hurricane Irma
  • Hurricanes
  • Hymns
  • I-Ching Hexagram
  • Iceland
  • Image Activation Dreamwork
  • In Lonely Exile
  • Indian Pipe
  • Infrared
  • Inner Work
  • Insects
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Jabberwock
  • Jalalu ’d Din
  • Jane Bald
  • January
  • Jeanne Moreau
  • Jekyll Island
  • Jeremiah 6:16
  • Jeremy Taylor
  • Jerusalem
  • Jesus
  • John A. Sanford
  • Joshua Tree National Park
  • Joshua Trees
  • Joyce Kilmer
  • Jules et Jim
  • Julian of Norwich
  • July
  • June
  • Junipero Serra
  • Katahdin
  • Kentucky Derby
  • Kenya
  • King Crimson
  • King of Peace
  • Kirkus Review
  • La Paz Waterfall Gardens
  • Lady's Slipper
  • Lao Tzu
  • Lao-tse
  • Laurel Grove Cemetery
  • Le Tourbillon
  • Lent
  • Leo Tolstoy
  • Lomo'Instant Wide
  • Lomography
  • Love
  • m
  • Macro photography
  • Madame Guyon
  • Magnolia Springs State Park
  • March
  • Mary Magdalene
  • Matter
  • meditation
  • Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park
  • Meister Eckhart
  • Mesa
  • Michael Drayton
  • Miguel Cervantes
  • Mindfulness
  • Mission Carmel
  • Missions
  • Mountain Laurel
  • Movies
  • murder
  • mushrooms
  • Music
  • Myers-Briggs
  • mystery
  • Mystic
  • Mysticism
  • NaNoWriMo
  • Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park
  • National Parks
  • Nativity
  • Natural arch
  • Natural Bridge
  • Nature
  • Nevermore
  • New Year
  • New York City
  • Newsletter
  • Nicolai Gogol
  • Nietzsche
  • Non-fiction
  • November
  • O Come Emanuel
  • Ocotillo
  • Okefenokee
  • Opposites
  • Osho
  • Palestine
  • Palm Sunday
  • Panama
  • Papago Park
  • Paradox
  • Parque Nacional Soberanía
  • Parque Natural Metropolitano
  • Parrots
  • Pentecost
  • Petroglyphs
  • Phoenix
  • Photography
  • Piedras Blancas
  • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
  • Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
  • Pines
  • Pocket Jamie
  • Poetry
  • Prayer
  • Prudentius
  • Quail
  • Quotes
  • R.H. Blyth
  • Rainer Maria Rilke
  • Rapids
  • rattlesnakes
  • Rémy
  • Redemption
  • Refugees
  • religion
  • Revolutionary War
  • Richard Rudd
  • River
  • road trip
  • Roan Mountain
  • Robert A. Johnson
  • Robert Browning
  • Rock Houses
  • Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Romance
  • Rose
  • Roslyn Center
  • Route 66
  • Rwanda
  • Saint Augustine
  • Saint Clare
  • Saint Columba
  • Saint Cuthbert's Way
  • Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
  • Saint Francis
  • Saint John Chrysostom
  • Saint John of the Cross
  • Saint-Martin
  • Sancho Panza
  • Satan
  • Savage Gulf
  • Savannah
  • Savannah Film Festival
  • Scotland
  • Self-actualization
  • Serial Killers
  • Seven Deadly Sins
  • Shadow work
  • Shakespeare
  • Sheldon Church
  • Shepherd.com
  • Short Stories
  • Silphium
  • snakes
  • Snow
  • Society of Saint Francis
  • Song
  • Songs
  • Sonnets from the Portuguese
  • Soul
  • South Cumberland State Park
  • Spanish
  • spirituality
  • Spring
  • Spur Cross Ranch Recreation Area
  • St. Augustine's Prayer Book
  • Stabat Mater
  • stillness
  • Stone Door Trail
  • Summer
  • Sunflowers
  • supernatural
  • Superstition Mountains
  • T.S. Eliot
  • Television
  • Temperance Smith Alston
  • Tennessee State Parks
  • Termites
  • Terrorism
  • The Bird
  • The Cloud of Unknowing
  • The Devil's Beatitudes
  • The Donkey
  • The Favourite
  • The Garden of Love
  • The Little Prince
  • The Man of LaMancha
  • The Mule
  • The Night
  • The Path to Misery
  • The Raven
  • theater
  • Third Order
  • Thirteen Kingdoms
  • Thirteen Treasures
  • Three-Dimensional Man
  • Tonto National Monument
  • tortoise
  • Traffic
  • Travel
  • Treasures
  • tree frogs
  • Trees
  • Trout
  • True Confessions
  • True Love
  • Two-Dimensional Man
  • Tybee Island
  • Uncategorized
  • Unicorns
  • vampire hunters
  • vampires
  • Vegetables
  • Venetian Victoria
  • Violets
  • Virgin Mary
  • W.H. Auden
  • Walt Whitman
  • Waterfalls
  • Wave Cave
  • Wayne Dyer
  • Wendell Berry
  • Werewolf
  • Widow's Mite
  • Wild Goose Festival
  • wildflowers
  • Wildlife
  • William Blake
  • William Butler Yeats
  • William Cowper
  • William Wordsworth
  • Winter
  • Wisconsin
  • Wisdom
  • Women
  • woodcock
  • writing
  • Yoga
  • Zen

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Wilderness Road
    • Join 467 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Wilderness Road
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.