Escaping Saddam: A story of overcoming intergenerational trauma | Witness Documentary

When filmmaker Wiam Al-Zabari was a young boy, he fled with his mother and siblings in the middle of the night to escape Iraq in the mid-1990s. His ex-diplomat father had left Baghdad months earlier and was waiting for them to join him in the Netherlands where he sought asylum. Ever since, no one in the family has talked about their escape and why they had to leave Iraq. Now that Wiam is a father with young children, he reflects on his own traumatic childhood and resentment towards his dad, wondering why he abandoned his family when they most needed him. He hopes that by encouraging his family to finally talk about what happened, he can break the cycle of intergenerational trauma. My Father, Nour and I is a documentary film by Wiam Al-Zabari.
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[@historyalwayslie]

if schools taught their students about every heinous atrocity the US has committed abroad the history books would be too heavy for anyone to carry.

[@demoncloud6147]

They are 'heroes' and 'the good guys' and on the 'right side of history' bruh ! What u talking about ?

[@ckbeep1313]

Yea the USA is so bad... don't be so naive the world is that easy to just come on here and say that kind of non sense

[@EdwardPhilips9700]

During 2014, when Gaza was being bombed by Isr@el...global media outlets diverted attention to documentaries about Gaddafi & about how "horrible" he was. During 2020, when Gaza was being bombed...media outlets would divert attention to Omar Al Bashir in Sudan and talk about Darfur...see a pattern here?

[@demoncloud6147]

DW, CNN, BBC, FOXX does it more actually.

[@harrow2355]

A big Heart for Palestine❤❤❤ From Australia

[@jeremyhodge6216]

Very touching documentary. About a family needing closure definitely to be watched 👌💯

[@jhcsharif85]

Watching from Bangladesh🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@afghans0ldier]

As an Afghan I can totally relate to this story. My family was also forced to flee in the 90's.

[@karen1air]

Forgiving other people is a gift we give ourselves. It isn’t easy. I’m so sorry your family suffered and so grateful you are safe now. May all that you lost be abundantly restored. Your family is a masterpiece.

[@mar6553]

I wish you and your family to heal from the past and its effects on your whole family. You know I wish his heart heals from his childhood trauma. Sometimes hearing your farther pointing out things he did to show his love from his perspective. You have to open your mind and heart to listen to the little things to show his love. Trust me it heals when you take the time to learn all you can from your father’s experiences and accept he is human and was too dealing with trauma too. You have to accept that he did his best under the circumstances. Then move on live what time you have left to live your son and enjoy your father for when he’s gone and you did not gave him the release from his guilt in not being able to protect you. That was a crazy time. Try not to blame, they keeps you stuck and lived in the past instead of the now…. I think what you are doing is part of that healing process for you and your Dad and the rest of your family too. You have a beautiful blessed son. Think of it this way, past hurtful memories and hurtful experiences they are real, but they weight is like carrying or dragging around is heavy and painful f you don’t get rid of some of it then it becomes to heavy to carry and it weighs you down and takes so much of your energy you don’t have any left to see Gods presence and love and his protection. God has blessed you with life and many blessing to easy your pain.. Don’t forget that many others died and you are alive. That is God blessings. Don’t waste it on dragging these toxic baggage around your neck weighing you down to fully appreciate Gods blessings. I recalled once having a conversation with my father about things like you did with your Father. You know what I was holding on to the negative feelings or baggage and I could not see those little things my father did for me. So when I had that same talk with my father it was my choice to hear him and see him as a human with feelings and hardship and by him telling me what he did to show me love it was the most beautiful positive feeling I’ve had and it set me free of that pain…. But I had to make the choice to accept that he loved me and did his best. I was free to love my father in a total different manner.. That is what I wish for you too… you have a beautiful soul and I know what it is like to be the “sensitive” one in the family, who are more easily hurt… but you are stronger than you think. Your love for your own son will heal you too.

[@shahnazkabir1]

Beautifully said

[@bobbyotieno6455]

Watching from Kenya, East Africa

[@Nairah912]

What a sweet, empathetic little boy Noor is.

[@mandycane655]

..watching from Canada♡

[@JobaerAhmed-rd7cv]

Eid Mobarak from❤❤ Bangladesh 🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@subhaschandradey6747]

Watching from India.

[@banerjeesiddharth05]

Uday hussain was more brutal than saddam hussain 😳😳😳😳

[@gessisouza1295]

DO BRASIL PALESTINA LIVRE!

[@tanyajas9824]

Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah La ilaha illallahu Muhammadur rasulullah.. Sollallahu alaihi wa sallam. Astagfirullah, Nastagfirullah

[@anibrown5374]

My generation watched the Gulf War (s) on television. Hearing with gratitude and grace the stories told by and of the people who survived these nightmares and then went on to rebuild their lives is one thing we can all agree on. All of us alive today can relate to intergenerational trauma.

[@Angrycomments]

You don't have to worry about Saddam, your country is in the stone age and millions of your country fold k are killed because of your "liberators",, don't worry about Saddam

[@user-ti2kb8ho4z]

Freedom for Palestine

[@ghayasmuhammad2836]

Permanent ceasefire in

[@user-vz1wk1oi4s]

seeing the kid cry brought tears to my eyes so much trauma i dont know excatly why he cried but i felt something also did his friend anmar die?

[@Nairah912]

Yes, he makes mention that there was no blood, he also says about it not being fair that he is “here” (alive) and Anmar is not.

[@muhammadaftab15033]

Please, make a documentary about the APS Peshawar massacre in Pakistan in 2014.

[@adriennebraxton-oq9iu]

anmar.......salam alaikum

[@hajerakhandoker1270]

Support Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[@manazon6945]

may god save our seculr values. may we never see religion take over our laws. may we always live under secularism and democracy, and may shariah never see the light of day, or we wont habe places to escape to! also., why do so many people still promote saddam?>

[@jessy1982]

Do you know how much bloodshed has spread under "demoncracy"?

[@zaharzaharchuk1597]

leads to paradise RUS ENGL HINDUISM BIBLE TANAH - they say clearly about Muhammad see on KZbin the name Muhammad is written in Hebrew in the Tanakh - songs of Solomon 5 - daughters of Jerusalem I love Muhamedim ( respect Muhamed)etc . In HINDUISM, THERE are 40 PLACES ABOUT MUHAMMAD===== Ibn 'Abbas- ...." He will enter Paradise and see a thousand servants ruling millions of cities.

[@Yo-blud]

First

[@EdwardPhilips9700]

Not your best work, Al Jazeera. You guys could have released this when the genocide in Gaza is stopped.

[@MarleyFuaad]

It's 50 minutes long and was uploaded 20 minutes ago, you commented 10 minutes ago which means you barely watched it if at all.

[@EdwardPhilips9700]

​@@MarleyFuaad Not sure if you are aware of the role that Qatar played during the 2003 invasion of Iraq

[@jessy1982]

Al Jazeera covers multiple stories around the world, not just Palestine. It's been the most dedicated about covering Gaza's genocide too, so I wouldn't fault them as covering it too little or paying too much attention to other things.

[@jessy1982]

Unless this story is bringing up a story that could encourage Islamophobia? I guess in that sense having "Saddam" in the title might bring out the worst people's prejudice and make them less sympathetic to Gaza.

[@adiamaetsch3431]

It is not ok, what, you wrote. It is just not.