Za'atari: A Day in the Life

Series and Shorts / Video

Produced by UNHCR / Yahoo / FauxPop Media / Morpheus Pictureszaatariimage

Directed by Tim Wolochatiuk
Executive Producer: Cindy Witten
Story Producer: Randall Lobb
Online Edit and all Post Production: Mark Hussey

yahoo
Series Link – click here

 

The National l World excerpt

“As the Syrian refugee crisis threatens to become one of the worst humanitarian disasters of this century, a rare behind the scenes documentary has been released online to highlight the everyday struggles and challenges faced by the refugees and those trying to help them.

Filmed over a 30-day period, the 15 episode documentary captures life inside the Zaatari refugee camp on the border of Jordan and Syria borders. Aired on Yahoo, it gives the public a raw and painful look inside a tented city that is home to more than 120,000 Syrian refugees, and whose numbers rise every day as the conflict in Syria rages on.

The reality series Zaatari: A Day in the life captures the efforts of the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and what it takes to build and then manage “a city” built from scratch for residents fleeing with often nothing more than the clothes on their back and pain of loss and danger as their luggage.

Besides the battle to deliver the simple demands for shelter, electricity, water, and health care, humanitarian workers also struggle to provide education for the 60,000 children under 18.

Despite the great challenges and tragic stories across the camp, there are glimpses of optimism as entrepreneurial camp citizens create the ‘Champs Elysees’ — a high street to match that of any bustling Middle Eastern town selling mobile phones, slush puppies and even haircuts.

The camp manager from UNHCR, Kilian Kleinschmidt, a German who calls himself the Mayor of Zaatari — “or simply, the Boss”, says in the documentary that: “We are building a city while people are coming. It takes 20 years to set up a new city somewhere. We did it in months but it is now coming to real life.”

 

Awards:

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Best Campaigning/Investigative Journalism
COMMENDATION
UNHCR/Yahoo
For Zaatari: A Day in the Life, by UNHCR/Yahoo
Best Video Journalism
COMMENDATION
UNHCR/Yahoo
For Zaatari: A Day in the Life