CWS Film Library - Refugees

BEYOND HUNGER

Map of Somalia

(17 minutes - VHS - Age level High School to Adult, 1982)
This program presents a close-up of the hardship and bitterness of life in a refugee camp. This particular refugee camp is found in Somali Republic, an independent republic on the East coast of Africa, formed from the former British Somaliland and the former Italian Somaliland. Food supplies are often erratic, and sometimes this life-sustaining nourishment comes too late. Some of the refugees may be beyond hunger and are suffering from illnesses which are life-threatening to individuals in such a weakened state. This audiovisual is a good hunger education resource. Not only will it teach children about the problems others face but it will also help them to appreciate their own lives.

CARLY
(7 minutes, VHS, Age level Children 5-8 years, 1999)
An animated film for children, on dealing with cultural differences and exile. Produced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and narrated by Mike Farrell.

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: HELPING A HURTING WORLD
(26 minutes - VHS - Age level Middle School to Adult, 1994)
Originally broadcast on the VISN television cable channel on the Faith and Values network June 27, 1994, this program features Rwanda, Haiti, Cambodia, and Cuba. The program begins in Rwanda, where violence has extracted a tremendous toll in human life. It includes dramatic footage from the Ngara Refugee camp in Tanzania to which a quarter of a million Rwandan refugees have fled. The program next goes to Haiti, where people are suffering under a cruel dictatorship and embargo. Interviewed is a Haitian refugee who fled his country out of fear for his life. The program continues to Cambodia, where Church World Service had been at work for the past 15 years and where people are regaining self-sufficiency after years of repression. The final segment is on Cuba, where an embargo had caused severe shortages of essential medicines and other supplies. Church World Service has recently sent nearly 100 tons of medicines and food to the Cuban Ecumenical Council. The program concludes with a music video on hope, Child of the Universe.

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: JOURNEY TO GOMA
(26 minutes - VHS - Age level High School to Adult, 1994)
Journey with a married doctor-nurse team to Goma, Zaire, where hundreds of thousands of refugees from Rwanda are working to rebuild their lives. Also, go to Cambodia, where Church World Service was one of the first agencies to provide assistance following the regime of Pol Pot, and then to Haiti, a country which is struggling, with the churches' assistance, to emerge from oppression, violence, and great poverty. Cleared for TV broadcast.

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: JOURNEY TO HOPE
(26 minutes - VHS - Age level Middle School to Adult, 1993)
Fleeing the fighting in Sudan, a group of 21,000 refugee boys trekked across miles of African desert to find safety in the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya. This video, which aired in July of 1993 on the VISN cable network, visits this unique camp and talks with Church World Service Africa Office Director Willis Logan and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Week of Compassion Director Johnny Wray about what is being done there to help. Also, travel to southern Lebanon to see the rebuilding that is going on there after the war and hear from Middle East Office Director Dale Bishop and Church Women United Director Patricia Rumer. Cleared for TV broadcast.

FAMILIES FLEEING WAR
(15 minutes - VHS - Age level Middle School to Adult, 1989)
Filipino families who are being forced to flee military and vigilante violence share their stories. Christians are encouraged to stay informed and to make their opinions known.

FROM A DARK HOUSE TO ONE FILLED WITH LIGHT: A REFUGEE JOURNEY TO SOMALIA
(20 minutes - VHS - Age level Middle School to Adult, 1984)
War, drought, refugees: An emergency situation in the Horn of Africa. Church World Service-assisted development efforts at Ali Matan Camp enabled refugees to learn to care for their own needs, present and future. Cleared for TV broadcast.

A FUTURE WITH HOPE: WELCOMING REFUGEES
(15 minutes - DVD - Age level Middle School to Adult, 2007)
Viewers meet refugees resettling in the U.S. under CWS auspices, and the local congregations, volunteers, and employers who are welcoming them. Viewers are introduced to the world refugee crisis, the U.S. Refugee Program, and CWS's role in offering these persecuted people safety and a new start in life. The video challenges viewers to extend friendship and practical assistance to these newcomers.

MAKE A LITTLE DIFFERENCE
(13 Minutes - VHS - Age level Upper Elementary School to Adults, 1993)
Through the cases, voices, and stories of uprooted children all over the world, this video introduces the harsh reality of refugees to North American children. Featured are 13-year-old Vietnamese refugees in Thailand. Despite the difficult conditions under which these children live, the video is inspirational in its equally positive images of the children's lives.

REFUGEES IN OUR BACKYARD
(58 minutes - VHS - Age level High School to Adult, 1989)
The unprecedented flow of people out of Central America, the root causes underlying this movement, and the controversies surrounding the arrival of so many undocumented individuals into the United States is the focus of this video. It reviews the obstacles faced by Central Americans seeking entry into the United States, and the problems this migration has created for much of the nation.

SANCTUARY: A QUESTION OF CONSCIENCE
(25 minutes - VHS - Age level Middle School to Adult, 1986)
Who is a refugee and what does it mean to provide refuge? Beginning with the Refugee Act of 1980, this film answers those questions by examining the plight of Central American refugees. Support, protection, and advocacy are the areas in which sanctuary providers minister. The refugees, while often needing to maintain their anonymity, are anxious to let people in the U.S. know what is happening in their home countries--often with U.S. complicity. Includes interviews with several of the sanctuary movement's better known members.

TO BE A REFUGEE
(16 minutes - VHS - Age level Junior High to Adult, 1998)
Highlights the experiences of young people from Sudan, Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina who have had to flee their countries. A good introduction to the issue of uprooted peoples. Produced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

WELCOMING STRANGERS
(16 Minutes - VHS - Age level High School to Adults, 1999)
Tells the story of four refugee families who resettle in the United States. You will see Christians meeting refugee families, clothing them, finding them a place to live and helping them find jobs. Sense what it means to love those who come to us as strangers.