February 2016
n
Beachwood Buzz
41
at the
Cuyahoga County Public Library, Beachwood Branch
25501 Shaker Boulevard
Wednesday,
February 10, 2016
4:00 pm
Led by:
Zehava Galun
Early Childhood Educator & Hebrew Specialist
Hebrew Storytime
Brought to you by the
Jewish Education Center of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County Library
BHS Student
Raises Awareness of
Refugees' Plight
By June Scharf
"In that instant when you
cross this imaginary line, you
become a refugee and your life
is in the hands of others," rolls
the voiceover in the Syrian
refugee crisis documentary
"Salam (Hello), Neighbor."
The film played for a single
screening at the Cedar Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights on Decem-
ber 10 before an audience of about 100. But the story of its migration
here is one starring Sydney Eisenberg, a BHS senior with a keen
interest in the challenges worldwide involving refugees. Her own
awareness of this issue began when she saw "Living on One Dollar,"
a documentary film (available on Hulu, a streaming video website)
that captured the filmmakers' experiences living on a dollar a day
in Guatemala where there's extreme poverty. They battled "intense
hunger, parasites and the realization that there are no easy answers,"
according to their website, featuring a trailer at livingonone.org.
After seeing the film and being affected by the stories that were
told, she began following the Twitter account belonging to stars
and "social impact" filmmakers Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci. They
recently mentioned the release of their new 1 hour and 20 minute
film, "Salam Neighbor," with which they were touring the country,
arranging screenings in schools and theaters. She contacted them
and secured the screening here.
The movie, featuring Chris and Zach's living in a tent in the Za'atari
refugee camp in Jordan and interacting with camp dwellers, had the
intended impact on local audience members.
"People were hysterically crying afterward," says Eisenberg. "They
said it was eye opening and changed their perspective. And that was
the whole purpose, to make people empathetic." Afterward, many of
them made contributions to a collection bucket for local refugees.
Eisenberg further spread the message of the refugee crisis by
writing a column focusing on local migrants that ran in the Septem-
ber issue of the high school newspaper The Beachcomber. http://
bcomber.org/editorials/2015/09/24/local-communities-should-wel-
come-refugees/.
"It is up to us to educate ourselves and do whatever we can to
welcome the refugees into our community. We have the resources, so
now it is time to act," she wrote in her opinion piece.
Eisenberg also serves as president of SAY (social advocates for
youth) and vice president of the library club. She is the daughter of
Nancy and Steve Eisenberg.
"It is up to us to educate ourselves and do whatever
we can to welcome the refugees into our community.
We have the resources, so now it is time to act," . . .
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Debby Zelman Rapoport, Editor