Salam Neighbor is a documentary that lacks in some aspects, however, overall thrives in depicting its message of caring for and noticing refugee populations. One feature the film depicted quite well was the refugee economy. These microeconomies are a very common feature within refugee camps around the world, and it was prominently featured within this film. The grasp of this economy, however, is what really stuck to me. This economy, filled only with refugees, was worth multiple millions of dollars and took up whole streets like a true market. What was truly surprising was that even smart phones and other luxury items were being sold to this crowd of people, often without a steady income or any income at all. By having refugees owning shops, buying real world goods, and trading with each other, these Syrians begin to rebuild an identity that was lost in the war. This film created an emphasis on the importance of holding a personal identity as a way of maintaining one's life. It can be easy to become depressed and lose hope within these camps, especially if you begin to identify yourself as a simple refugee receiving handouts. But this film depicted an active group of refugees, creating meaning within their existences within the camps. The example they emphasized was the women who created her own jewelry from the plastic bags within the camp. By seeing the garbage laying around the camp, it can be easy to think that the camp is a wasteland. However, she made the most of her situation and turned the land into art, and even profit. The film did a great job in this aspect, but it did lack in others. There was very little emphasis on some of the negative aspects within the camp and within the refugees themselves. They discussed some of the challenges within the camp, and the struggle for wealth and identity, but they only depicted refugees who were able to overcome these. For instance, they mentioned that they were not able to stay the night due to crime within the camp. This seems like a huge issue, but it was not discussed. Additionally, the amount of unemployment in the refugee camp is staggering, but again, we only saw refugees who were active, had jobs, and supporting their families. By ignoring these aspects of life, it made the camp appear to be a place where all refugees are ideal, but this is certainly not the case. The reason for ignoring this is likely to maintain their message of depicting a positive image of refugees for their audience, however, it does not represent a whole truth of the picture.
