“I considered myself a winner when I heard he was going back to school”

Since the Syrian refugee crisis happened, I heard many tragic stories of Syrian people who fled the war but ended up in difficult circumstances. But there was this one story of a Syrian kid who lived in my village that left an impact on me. Abdulsalam, a 12-year-old boy who always dreamed of going to school ended up working with unhygienic machinery in a car garage to support his family.

So when I heard about the mobile movie competition, when my instructor at university posted the link of the competition on our Media Club group on Facebook, I thought it sounded an interesting and creative way to promote the cause of education, and I was intrigued to participate in it.

I decided to do the film about this boy because I thought his story sums up the tragedy of the many Syrian kids who ended up without education, and I also wanted his story to be heard hoping that someone would help.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV59G3KX8Xw

In the film I aimed to highlight the hopes and the dreams of this kid while showing the dire reality in contrast. I also wanted to include scenes of him working with the unhygienic machinery to shed a light on the unsafe environment of child labor.

Today education is a crucial and basic right that every child should possess. Without it, children are at risk of slipping into child labor. I believe in education and I believe everyone has the potential to make the world a better place if they have proper access to education.

I was glad I won the competition and even more glad that the voice of Abdulsalam was heard.

But I really considered myself a winner when I was told that an organization is willing to help out Abdulsalam and put him back in school. It was an honor for me to take part in this important cause and hopefully changes are on the way.

Mahdi Seyit was the winner of our Capture the Moment: Movies for Education film competition.