From the words of Author Demez White:
I could spend an entire Saturday afternoon watching documentaries on Netflix so when TotallyRandie invited me to Rice University to see a screening of Nat Geo’s ‘Hell On Earth’ about the Fall of Syria and Rise of ISIS and contribute my thoughts I was beyond interested. I made it too late for the amazing food spread they had but luckily not too late to be on time for the screening.
Before I get into the social and political implications touched on in the film let me first say that the footage and storytelling alone makes you feel as though you’re feeling these Syrians pain.
The documentary literally starts out with a young man telling the story of how he and his friends were tortured at only sixteen for spray painting on buildings. That story, that moment sets the stage for what feels like dozens of stories that break your heart over and over.
Images of dead and mutilated children and their parents cradling their bodies as if they’ll magically awaken from the destruction the bombs have caused. Images of boys no older than fifteen running into collapsed buildings and broken down streets to save people from the terror of their own government waging war on them in the streets.
“When we see the bombs drop or smoke we go to our neighbors. We either try to save them or return their bodies to their families.” They don’t say it with arrogance or bravery but with a sense of calm that says this is everyday life for them.
There are so many moments in the film that it’s impossible to touch on them all. It debuted on The NatGeo Channel last night June 11th at 8:00pm. Check local listings for the right time in your area.
The Baker Institute Screening of Hell On Earth
There are a couple stories that I must touch on though. The first is this concept that America and other countries have that we know what’s right and wrong for smaller countries. Whether it’s a bomb from the US, Russia or Syria itself the damage is all the same to the innocent people on the ground. The documentary followed a family that consisted of two brothers, their wives and their children. It followed them from having to leave their city and go to the countryside to having to leave the countryside because of ISIS and flee to Turkey. From Turkey they tried to make it to Greece but were sent back.
You see a father that’s desperate to get his children to safety. A father that talks about his son not knowing what school or books are because all he knows his bombs and war. A father that’s so close to losing his mind and giving up but won’t stop smiling because he doesn’t want his children to feel his fear.
One moments sums up the intensity, vulnerability and pain of Hell on Earth more than anything else. The husband is trying to find smugglers to take the family to Greece and the wife is afraid they will drown. The wife refuses to go because she doesn’t want to see her children die. The husband very calmly in front of the children, his brother and everyone else says, “No one stays behind, if we die, we die together with our children in our arms.”
The moment made me look away from the screen not knowing what I was really feeling. It wasn’t until TotallyRandie pointed it out to me afterwards that I realized even in the midst of a warzone the woman was pregnant again.
Hell On Earth presented by National Geographic debuted last night June 11th 2017 at 8:00pm.
About Author Demez White:
Published author of the acclaimed erotica series Conversations Between Adults and well received debut novel Walking Down the Aisle, Demez F. White, is a native author of Houston, TX and writer for Houston Style Magazine. Launching in 2012, www.demezw.com combined a unique mix of intellectual stimulation with short stories and articles touching at the core of mental and emotional arousal. That fiction fused with dialogues and thoughts gave this humble author one of the fastest growing blogs on the net with over 10,000 hits per day. His over 30,000 online fan base is currently awaiting his newest Sci-Fi/Drama novel Redliners. You can interact with Demez on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where he often touches on everything from current events to politics to romance/dating.