Chevening Alumni in Indonesia Watch, Discuss Film on War in Syria

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The alumni of Chevening scholars in Indonesia held a discussion and watched a film directed by Areej Zayat, who is also the Chevening alumnus, titled “How I Escaped From Daesh” on Sunday, August 28.

“I want everyone to respond to a difference with Journalism. I want to bring hope and an inspiring story for everyone,” Areej Zayat said during the discussion session via  Google Hangout app at the Gojek Auditorium.

The war situation in Syria did not hamper Areej in creating a film about the war in the country. “I only have 5 hours to make a story. There was no electricity. And I was always accompanied by the military personnel”, he said.

The film is about Palmyra, a city in Syria that is destroyed after the attacks and terror threats from the Daesh (ISIS). During 10 minutes, the audiences were invited to see another side of the conflict in Syria from the victim’s point of view. The concerns due to the differences in ethnicities and religions are feared to also have an impact in Indonesia.

The event with the theme of ‘Religious and cultural tolerance campaign which highlights diversity through arts and culture’ talked about the diversity issue currently trending among the people, mainly after the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election.

All of the Chevening alumni from Indonesia, coming from different background, attended the event. They include the author of ‘Rantau Satu Muara’ novel, Ahmad Fuadi, and ‘Laskar Pelangi’ movie director Riri Riza.

The British Ambassador for Indonesia Moazzam Malik really appreciated the event. He asked for all the Chevening alumni in Indonesia to contribute to Indonesia. “The Chevening family here is growing and I am confident will continue to make a huge contribution to the future of this great G20 country,” Moazzam said.

MUHAMMAD IRFAN AL AMIN | TWITTER