On December 5th, we went to see The Jungle at St. Anns Warehouse. This play was the most intense and moving production I’ve ever been part of or got the chance to see. The production was so much more than I expected it to be and it was so eye-opening. Previously to our IDC course I had never heard about The Jungle to this extent, I knew of its existence but not much else beside that. To be flooded with so much information about it in a relatively short time made me somewhat uncomfortable but, that’s how we should feel when we hear of things like this. My flood of thoughts and information on this topic made me think of the place itself and how refugees were flooding in whether or not the current inhabitants of The Jungle were ready or not.
One scene in this play that was the most moving, was the last one with the man doing the monologue of his process of seeking asylum in the UK and how he wishes that he could go back to Aleppo and how if he ever did all of us would be welcome. There was something about these final words that made me think about the whole play, it made me think about how we need to be exposed to this so much more than we are, it made me think about our ignorance as Americans, it made me think about myself and my blindness from the rest of the world due to being born here, it made me think of one of my best friends who came here from Aleppo just a few short years before the existence of The Jungle. It made me think of so many things I was so overcome with emotions that I just started to cry.
The truth is, most of us do not know the experiences of the refugees, nor will we ever even begin to know them but, it is our job to understand them, to listen to them, to support them, and to stand in solidarity with them. The reason that particular monologue stood out to me was because the man, the speaker was on stage alone, so we were forced to listen to him and his story. While he was talking he showed us the video of present day Calais where the refugees are still in the area of The Jungle, they have no shelter, they are being actively removed forcibly by the French government. This got me thinking about how even tough he physical place of The Jungle has been removed, the people and the stories are still there. After I thought about France I thought about us, Americans, the US, and I realized that the refugee crisis is here, it’s in our home, it’s at our border right now where people seeking asylum are being tear gassed and dragged away from our country.
After this whole experience, I went and I spoke with my best friend I told him I understood him and that I will never claim to know his experiences but I will always understand the fact that the inside of him has suffered multiple deaths and that I felt so bad that his home now the US turned his real home in Aleppo, Syria into not a home at all. I empathized with him and it was just a whole emotional experience during and after, everything was emotional.
The refugee crisis is here, people are being gassed, children are being shot, and we have the audacity to call ourselves “the greatest country in the world.” I was thinking of this when I heard the sound of gun shots which made me scared and shaky because of my own traumas and I remembered the gun issues in our country and how so many people are affected by them. I wish there would’ve been a trigger warning or something to warn us that there would be sensitive material in the show.
Refugees are here, and they need our help, it is our job to call out our country on it’s wrong and help the people who don’t have everything that we have. It is our job to be the voices of the people who’s voices are currently being silenced by our government. We are the people, we are the voices of the people who need us. The French government is not blameless, the British government is not blameless, the American government is not blameless, the people of the respective countries are not blameless. If we are letting actions in our country slide that should not slide we are to blame. It is never enough to watch something and then make a post on social media and move on with our lives. We have to speak for the people who need us, we need to make them known for the time that they cannot make themselves known, we are responsible for the people who are dying.
I structured this blog post in short thoughts/ paragraphs because these thoughts, these stories are not mine to tell nor are they mine to portray, I am extremely privileged, as are most of us who live freely in this country, the stories of the refugees, their experiences, their survival is not my story so I will not tell it, I will not claim to know it, and I will not comment on them. Those stories are for us to listen to and process individually. We should always note the last point in the speakers monologue, if he could go home to his city in Aleppo, all of us would be welcomed. Throughout everything that the refugees have been put through, they are still willing to accept people into their home, they are still willing to take responsibility and have empathy for those who need a voice and help. The refugees are doing this and they have died multiple times, we live freely and we still don’t.
The refugee crisis is in France, it is in the UK, it is in almost any country you can think of but, most importantly the refugee crisis is home, we have no excuses, and we are responsible.
I also found the last scene, and specifically the part when the refugee invited us to Aleppo, to be extremely powerful and moving. It is baffling that despite the brutal way they are treated, struggles, and deaths that accompany that accompany them while seeking asylum, they one day hope to welcome us with open arms, while we are far away from saying the same thing to them. Like you said, the crisis is at home, and we cannot run from it. It is our responsibility to listen and understand the people’s stories, not claim them, identify them, or judge them. We have to do all we can to help these people, like you said, and we can never give up, especially because the refugees still haven’t. We must actually turn America into “the greatest country in the world”.
Hey Micole, that part you wrote on Americans blindly believing that this country is ‘the greatest in the world’ really resonated with me. I have always felt that statement was a blatant lie, especially now, what with US authorities tear gassing migrants, including children, on the southern border. It’s sickening to hear about. This country really has been built on the suffering of minorities in many ways, and to see that ugly side of it manifest itself so transparently is really disturbing. We all should be held accountable for the way we treat refugees – our governments for refusing – or, at most, doing the bare minimum – to help, and the average people for either spewing hateful rhetoric against people who just want a home or being complicit in that rhetoric. We’re really lucky to be born in a place where we the decision of leaving isn’t one of life and death. We definitely need to do better for the sake of everyone’s future.
Evening Micole,
First off, I Think you have a great title. At the beginning of class, while we spoke about formatting, some of the things the class decided could make your post more interesting is the title. I think you did a great job here utilizing this space to get creative and draw your reader in. I also liked how acknowledged that the play helped you learn more about the situation in Calais. I think this goes in turn with the point that I, and possibly other post writers made earlier about how we need the entertainment to create a platform for trending social issues. Although we don’t consider attending a theater production the same as a like or a retweet but the emphasis on impact is the same. This raises the many questions for me personally, but I wonder: Is it ethical for us to produce forms of entertainment for the public that portray very real struggles of very real people?
I chose to reply to your post because of the monologue that you use as your shocking and captivating piece. I think Safi (the actor you mention) has many great monologues during the play, but the last one was definitely the most memorable. You draw the personal connection with your friends from Aleppo, but I seem to look at his last monologue from a philosophical point of view. I found Safi solidified his character when he referred to Aleppo both in the beginning and the end of the show as his home. I found this exceptional because often people try to distance themselves from a location or a time in their life that cause them distress. For Safi, regardless of what happened him and Aleppo, he openly welcomes guests to his city and pridefully speaks about a utopian location where the true realities of a refugee lifestyle don’t exist. Lastly, I really think that the final emphasis you make is important. The refugee problem doesn’t belong to just one country and I thought it was interesting you voice this about the situation. Throughout the play, the question was: what are France and England doing? The true answer to that question you answer beautifully, that it is a global duty to make this world a happy place and healthy place in. The effort for the global refugee assistance begins with all countries, not just one, purely because of our coexistence on the same beautiful blue planet.
Regards,
Rushabh M.