Another Kind of Girl

What a well done and artistic piece of film. I'm impressed by Khaldiya and her talent. The message she gives is deep and tells us two stories. One of the tragedies affecting her old world and the other of the new world she lives in which offers a variety of possibilities as well as some sorrows. But all of life is like that. Though the things facing her family and friends is beyond some of our comprehension skills. While some of the citizens of the United States have responded thinking they are the only people who can help Khaldiya and her world, the US is but a tiny piece of a greater whole. We in Canada are taking in a large quantity of refugees here and most of us are welcoming them with open and loving arms. Canada is a kind country, full of many kind people who really care about you, Khaldiya, and your people. So know we love you and maybe you should try to apply to come here, to our country. Many of us would love you and offer you that chance to fulfil your dream of university and studying in a room with your friend, focussed on a new world and new possibilities. Love to you.

I agree with Khaldiya that doing something you love will create a positive outcome. I also agree with Khaldiya that doing something you love can help you overcome obstacles and in her case it is filming her everyday life in a Syrian refugee camp. I think that what she is doing really gives people a sense of perspective as to what it is like to be in a refugee camp. I also think that Khaldiya’s way of showing her experiences can encourage others to follow their dreams and do what they love just as she is. I think it is a good thing that Khaldiya is trying to pass on what she has learned about filmmaking to the younger girls in her camp because it is a way of letting others know that they can follow their dreams and that they can be creative too. I think Khaldiya helps to show us that people should not limit themselves but should set their sights above their limitations and try to make their dreams become a reality. I think from what Khaldiya has said that people strive to be the person they want to be through their willingness and their ambition to move towards what they dream to be.

Poetry! An artist, making something beautiful out of what is at hand.

The crisis in Syria must be worked out by the Syrians. They have our sympathy but the U.S. cannot be everywhere for everyone. Americans have many problems in this country.

This is what the arabs and muslims have done to their own brothers and sisters. Imagine what they would do to Christians and Jews....

Sad and beautiful reminder of the terrible waste and resilience of talented, caring young people like Khaldiya. It's too bad that the few can have power over the many. While I hope someone in the West or elsewhere offers Khaldiya a scholarship to college and a visa to stay and build a life somewhere safe, I am ashamed that after so many brutal wars where millions of innocents have been murdered, robbed, raped, and displaced, that there is still no real justice and way of stopping mercenaries, dictators, or marauders, no power of people to an international visa with right of return and reparations from the offending country(s) or cause of dislocation. There's no accountability except imprisonment, which is somehow not enough for the damage and rippling of damage through generations. Kudos to Jordan for its humanity in accepting refugees. Shame on Syria for bombing civilians and forcing its own people to flee for their lives. Shame on Isis/Daesh for murdering, raping, stealing and destroying a country supposedly in the name of religion. I hope all the Syrians will get their country back, with a secular government whose leaders are elected for a term, not a lifetime.

Displacing human beings from their homeland is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.
All those are responsible for this crime should be brought to justice. It is utterly disgusting that the world leaders can´t reach an agreement on how to end the war in Syria!
Khaldiyas are not in the refugee shelter as victims of natural disaster; they are victims of a war and fled for their lives. This video is a graphic reminder that war is evil and war steals all that is human in existence. It is shocking to see that a child is struggling to carry a water bucket heavier than his/her own body weight. Shame on us, really I personally feel ashamed, as my country Sweden, my leaders can´t do anything. My personal donation to UNHCR is no more than a tiny band aid to treat a 100 degree burn injury!

Khaldiya, you are a talented girl and your filming is inspiring. As I was watching your movie, I was pondering what you would do in the west as you grow up. Would you start a new tech company and become an entrepreneur? Would you become an artist?
The true tragedy of what happens in your and other countries in the Middle East is the incredible waste of talents such as yours. I wonder if you will be allowed to use your talent to make Syria a better place or if you will have to use it to make America or Europe or .... a better place. Some in America now say we do not want you. But the majority of us in America will not refuse your talent should you be allowed to come to our country.

I am sorry for this young woman and her family. It is a tragedy. I hope she gets her dream to go to college with he young friend. While I am hopeful for her I am not hopeful for the Middle East. There is no introspection; no one considers how their belifs and culture have contributed to the desolation. Without that introspection and the willingness to change, no matter what Khaldiya does whe will always be at risk in the ME just because she is a woman.

Americans need to use their judgment and refuse to support any pro theocratic governments. Our support for Isamic fantatics in Syria because we don't like ASSAD is also a tragedy.

I wish this young woman the best.

Khaldiya, thank you for sharing these moments of your life. I love your courage, creativity and talent. Many blessings.

Thank you for a beautiful video. The children are beautiful and full of hope. I am glad you feel stronger from making the video. There are many beautiful children in your family and in your neighbors families.
I hope you will be able to get an education and learn the root causes of your poverty and desolation. When you grow up, I hope you will build upon your skills to help your family and your neighbors.
In America, most of us have have very small families because it costs a lot of money to feed, shelter and educate children. Both parents work outside the home. Most American families have no more than 2 children per mother and father because we know that we cannot educate more children than that to become successful. This means we are often lonely. But that's the price of helping our children.
In America, we learned that separate but equal is an illusion in education. When girls are separated from boys, the girls' education and access to success is limited no matter the intentions. I hope that someday the girls in your culture have equal access to education as the boys when they grow up.

Thank you, Khaldiya! Your film is beautiful. I learned so much about life in the camp and also about your personal vision. I have faith that you will achieve your goal of going to college. You have a bright future. I believe you will continue to contribute good things to this world.....

Hi, I am the filmmaker and teacher of the workshops in the camp who worked with Khaldiya. Thank you for the comments, I will send them to her in Arabic! To support Khaldiya and the girls from the workshop, you can go to: http://anotherkindofgirl.com/support-the-girls. And if you have any questions, you can reach me at [email protected].

Thank you for sharing your moving film, Khaldiya. I can't imagine the difficulties you and your siblings have endured, but I have so much admiration for your incredible courage, strength and resilience. I hope one day soon you will be able to return safely to your country and continue with your education, as you're obviously a very bright and talented young woman. My heart goes out to you and to all the Syrian people who have been displaced as a result of the vicious civil war that's nearing year five now. Hopefully the peace talks that are beginning tomorrow in Geneva will finally bring an end to this terrible conflict.

As beautiful as this column is, it just gives us just a glimpse of the enormous humanitarian task we are facing. There a thousands of young women and men like Khaldiya, and they all deserve a better future.
There is a refugee crisis, but this is just a part of a bigger narrative. People in the middle east and africa are hoping for a better and safer world, and we (the western nations) have become an symbol for that.
For years we have endorsed this allegory, we felt like the prophets of an superior systems, and i think, even with all this flaws, we have reason to believe in this. GW Bush even started a costly war to spread this faith and called it a crusade.
But now we are failing, and we are failing on an approach to live up our ideals. And to me it seems the only approach of helping people in the middle east to participate our system always has to do something with bombing. So it is not so surprising that now millions are heading for europe.
I simple want a thousand Khaldiyas. And only a holistic society can do this.
We need a political approach, with a faceless bureaucracy, relentless enforcement, and generous funding by public money. We have to make sacrifices, and we need politicians, who have the spine to tell this their electorate. But looking at the actual politicians, i think, one Khaldiya is the best we can achieve.

Thank you, Khaldiya. Your film is beautiful and it taught me a lot about what it is like in the camp. I admire your courage, your passion for learning, and your dedication to helping the younger children there get an education. I hope you can make more films and share them with the world!

It is truly an embarrassment to our civilization that we have allowed this to happen. If I we were an ambassador hosting visitors from another planet I would be deeply ashamed to show them this, what the "civilized world" provides for refugees of war from other countries. All humans have hopes and dreams as Khaldiya expresses. Her life may be better than worn torn Syria, but that bar is set way too low. While we can't control the politics of other countries, what we provide to their refugees is completely within our control. People need real homes and jobs and aspirations. While the refugee camp may be a better life than where she came from it is not a long term solution. The human race is net wealthy and that wealth is increasing, we can do better than this for our people.

Unreal. I was moved on a lot of levels. Your'e an incredibly talented human.

Khaldiya, thank you. This is so inspiring. Keep on filming. Your stories need to be told, they need to be heard. I just want you to know that you can make a difference and you have touched our hearts.

Thank you Khaldiya. Your thoughts on courage are beautiful, and you have given the readers here a glimpse into something we would not otherwise have seen.

Some of the people who lived in camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have come to Canada. For the last few weeks I have volunteered to look after the small children while their mothers attend class to learn how to do things in Canada.

The children are beautiful, and look very much like your siblings. The thing I have particularly noticed about them is how well they are able to make games from simple things, and how well they behave with each other. Much better than some Canadian children!

Older and younger siblings look after each other and show so much love and affection. Children who probably did not know each other before they met here only a few days ago treat each other with great respect, and get right down to the business of having fun.

I have met some girls just a little younger than you. I will suggest that they watch your video. I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

Best wishes! You are a strong young woman, and I am sure you will do well wherever you find yourself. Your family is lucky to have you.

It would be amazing if someone in touch with Khaldiya could start a GoFundMe account to send her (and her friend) to college. I would be happy to contribute. Someone at the Sundance Institute, perhaps?

A fascinating impression. What a great project for a teenager to engage with under such circumstances.

The interesting thing is that she sees living in the camp (financed by Europe and the US) as being better in some ways than living at home in Syria. Is it possible that some, at least, of the people from Syria who have found refuge in the Jordanian camps will end up being better people for the experience? I hope so, and I encourage Europe and the US to continue funding these camps, indeed to use more resources to improve them, with more schools for instance, instead of spending money on bringing Syrians to the US, where their assimilation is doubtful and the cost is monumentally greater.

Beautiful and moving. How cana we can get some toys to these camps for the kids to play with?

Wow, I was having a tough day before I saw this. Now I have been gently reminded of how easy we have it in comparison to some.

Khaldiya's humanity and youthful charm and exuberance is inspiring and humbling. Her question about what she would ask herself in 20 years is at once haunting and optimistic.

Thanks, Sundance, for helping to remind us in the US that Khaldiya and her family and friends are people too. She and the other children in the film have had no choice where they are, but Khaldiya's humanity surfaces, nonetheless. Why can't our country accept these kids?

Beautiful film. I hope all of Khaldiyah's hopes and dreams come true.

This is wonderful! Thank you Sundance and NYT for bringing this to us. We have seen the terrible aspects of the Syrian refugee situation but this is the first time I've seen something positive come out of it. The media has fallen into the practice, albeit with good intentions, of playing up victimization. Now, here we get to see that something wonderful has happened to these people in what looks to be a terrible situation. The kids who were spoiled at home now contribute by working and have learned to play with their hands. The girl who was deprived of an education now has one and is teaching the younger kids. In her words, she is a different kind of girl. This is so encouraging. We really need more of this kind of good news before we all collapse into terminal hopelessness. The media is so important in forming how we see the world. Let's have more in-depth coverage such as this is, instead of superficial coverage of wars, catastrophes, murders, etc. There is a lot of goodness going on at the grass roots level. Let's see more of this! Again, thanks to Sundance!.

Thank you Khaldiya for sharing a small piece of your reality. May hope, comfort and love find you all the days of your life & I pray that one day soon the world will come together so that we can find you & the entire refugee community a permanent home you so deserve.

How reassuring it is to see that there are well-raised, resilient children and young adults even in these refugee camps. Syria will indeed survive its war-loving crazies.

I am very impressed with your documentary. I think you have a very artistic eye, and you express yourself beautifully. Many people would want to understand your situation from your point of view. Keep filming.

Your dreams are possible, Khaldiya--never stop dreaming. You have a wonderful eye, a unique voice, and a story that the world needs to know. You are clearly very talented. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your world, and for inspiring not only the people around you, but someone like me, who is older (I could be your grandmother!), has had many opportunities, and lives in an entirely different part of the world. You've reminded me today that poetry can be found even in places that may seem barren and hopeless on the surface, and wisdom exists even in the very young.

SEWING SEEDS Teachers have long known that they plant ideas in their students' minds, hope that they'll flourish. For Muslim women, it's been difficult if not impossible to obtain an education. So a teen living in a refugee camp is in an environment where the rules have been changed. Khaldiya shows initiative, intellectual curiosity and networking skills, so she's planting seeds in the minds of the other girls of the camp. Sad but true is the fact that when you educate a woman you educate a family. Somewhere along the line men got factored out of the equation. But these adolescents are in a community that is dislocated, so they have opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them in the neighborhood where they lived. It's easy for this budding videographer to form a network with other kids her age and to teach them what she's learned both about the technical part of videography and about getting their story out to the world. So they may be leapfrogging lots of steps and on a fast track to getting ahead. Khaldiya seems to have a generous spirit; so I imagine that she'd be open to including some of the guys who are interested, either to build a coeducational group or to work independently with regular meetings to see what everyone's been learning and the projects they're working on. Combine that with tuition free courses for students ages 5 through senior years and the families could move ahead, preparing for the time when they will be relocated.

I am glad that you found an outlet to express your life situation and show others what it is like to live in a refugee camp. I hope you and your family can find your way to a permanent home.

Poetic, and important for people to see and to understand what life there is like. Thank you Sundance Institute for making this happen

I hope that Khaldiya will continue filming and will have opportunities beyond the refugee camp. Thank you for sharing your world. Your family and friends are fortunate to have you as part of their lives. Peace.