LONDON — As we travel home to be with our loved ones this holiday season, many of us will be thinking of those in less fortunate positions.
Given the recent events in Aleppo, many of us will also be casting our minds to the millions of people who’ve been displaced due to the crisis in Syria.
Creative agency Shape History has conducted a social experiment as Londoners were going about their holiday shopping. The filmmakers went up to shoppers and asked them if they had any Christmas messages for refugees fleeing conflict.
The shoppers delivered their moving messages to camera, but unbeknownst to them, Syrian refugee Bayan — who fled the Syrian conflict to come to the UK — was listening to the messages nearby.
As they delivered their messages, Bayan came over to them to let them know he was listening. The presenter of the film explained to one woman that Bayan spent 48 hours in a cardboard box on the back of a truck driving across Jordan.
Bayan’s story
“Welcome. I’m really pleased you made it,” said the woman, who was moved to tears by hearing Bayan’s story.
A spokesperson for Shape History told Mashable that Bayan has been in the UK for six months, and is currently living in Coventry, a city in the West Midlands.
“He has had a long tiring journey — fleeing Syria in 2011 to escape the escalating conflict, he initially spent 6 months to a year in Jordan before proceeding to make his way through to Europe with some close friends,” the spokesperson told Mashable.
“When he finally reached Germany he was split off from a group of his friends and travelled onwards to France where the same also happened there. In his last few months in France he was caught up in the Calais ‘jungle’ before making contact with the Care4Calais team,” the spokesperson continued.
Care4Calais — a charity providing aid to refugees living in northern France — put Bayan in contact with Shape History, the company behind the video.
Heartwarming messages
Some delivered their messages in Arabic, others urged refugees not to give up hope.
“This makes us feel better. And, it makes the situation better,” Bayan said. “We overwhelmingly received positive comments from the public which was incredibly heartwarming for Bayan and the team,” the spokesperson said.
The video comes as Syrian pro-government forces have been entering homes in eastern Aleppo and killing civilians inside, including women and children.
Currently, the number of Syrian refugees displaced around the world stands at 4.8 million, with an additional 6.6 million people displaced within the country itself.
