In Calais, a small industrial city on the Northern border of France, lies a small patch of grass near the port. This was home to around 300 displaced refugees from around conflict zones across the globe including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Migrants stay in misshapen tents, on perpetually damp ground, battling the cold with nothing but a few meager layers of donated clothing. Some stayed there for months on end, trying to cross the English Channel by any means necessary.
There was an air of utter desperation at this camp; many Syrian refugees have escaped torture, imprisonment and war traveling by boat, car and even foot. One man at the camp told me they are nothing but pawns in a game of war no one but a few understand. Since the start of the conflict, numbers of displaced Syrians have risen to almost 4 million. Many of whom have relocated to neighboring countries such Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Very few have decided to leave the region and travel to Europe, embarking on what are usually harrowing journeys across the Levant.
“Displaced” follows three Syrians that lived in this makeshift camp on the Northern border of France. Each felt the need to leave home after the uprising in their home escalated. They survived on the bare minimum, living in tents in the winter, and trying to cross to Britain every night. This documentary discusses the human collateral of an ongoing war through the stories of a graduate, a former student and an ex-Syrian Army soldier.