Inspired by her own experiences as a Palestinian refugee, Adelaide high school student Jana El-Omar Fandi wanted to raise awareness on the plight of Syrian children in refugee camps.
Jana El-Omar Fandi is a was born in Lebanon where she was raised in refugee camps after her family had earlier fled conflict in Palestine. She migrated to Australia with her family in 2009, after experiencing the horrors of war when the fighting first erupted between Israel and Lebanon in 2006.
During one of her recent visits to Lebanon, Jana was saddened by the huge number of Syrian children and their families seeking refuge in Lebanon. She saw the suffering refugees face in a small country like Lebanon, that contains more than 1.5 million refugees since Syria became a war torn country.
“Seeing these Syrian kids seek refuge in Lebanon with their families reminded me of the experience I went through as a refugee myself,” she tells SBS Arabic 24.
Being aware of how terrifying war can be and the lasting impact it can have on young people, Jana kept thinking about the Syrian children refugees after returning to Australia; she wanted to raise awareness about the plight of Syrian children refugees whose rights have been neglected on a big scale.
“I felt that I needed to do something about it and raise awareness about the harsh circumstances of these kids,” says Jana.
After she finished year 11, Jana started thinking about her what her Year 12 Research Project would be for her SACE (the South Australian equivalent to the HSC) and was keen on producing something meaningful to her. As much as she wanted to get high grades for her work, she also wanted to make sure it has a purpose.
“I felt that I needed to do something about it and raise awareness about the harsh circumstances of these kids”
After consulting with her teachers at school, Jana decided to do a documentary about children refugees in Lebanon to highlight the harsh life circumstances they face.
Jana started her research by viewing documentaries about Syrian refugees and requested permission to use some footage from the filmed documentaries.
After receiving the green light from producers, Jana changed her mind and decided to produce her own documentary because she felt it would have a stronger effect on people and will be more realistic.
“I wanted to do something meaningful; I wanted to produce a documentary that many people, including myself, can relate to," Jana explains.
With the support of her family, Jana travelled to Lebanon to work on her documentary. She contacted many international organisations to get accurate statistics about the number of refugees and their financial and social status.
She also called a school and made a booking to conduct interviews with Syrian children.
Although everything seemed to be running smoothly, Jana faced many difficulties as she only had one day to record all the scenes she needed and the school refused to allow her to conduct the planned interviews upon her arrival.
Yet, Jana did not give up and managed to find volunteers for her documentary. She finished filming it all in one day.
When she returned to Australia, Jana finished her project and submitted it as part of the South Australian . When the results came out, Jana was overwhelmed by the outcome as she received an A+ and Jana's teachers praised her work and dedication.
As for her final mark? Jana graduated with an ATAR of 99.8.
“I am so grateful that I was able to achieve good grades and managed to produce a meaningful documentary that sheds the light on an issue that means a lot to me," says Jana.
Jana is now studying a double degree in law and psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide and says that she hopes one day to work for UNICEF.
Watch Jana's full documentary project below:
