‘Xenophobia, homophobia, big words for me...’

Eight-year-old Lankan boy’s poem on discrimination, a home assignment for his school in Harrow, Britain, is turned into a powerful short film

Kamil de Chickera’s class at Norbury School in Harrow was sober and serious - for once. The third graders were discussing ‘discrimination’, with the Black Lives Matter Movement in full cry outside in Britain. Kamil, especially, was ‘upset’ when he heard about George Floyd getting killed ‘for the colour of his skin’.

Thus when the home assignment was given to pen a poem on discrimination, Kamil just had to sit down by his father, Amal de Chickera, and write till his fingers hurt. There, on paper, materialized a poem Kamil christened ‘Specific Irrelevant Details’.

In just about a year, the poem has metamorphosed into a short film that pulled together so many storytellers and gives the message that we should stop discriminating based on that gamut of ‘specific irrelevant details’ from skin colour to sexuality.

The story begins when Piyumi Samaraweera, Kamil’s mother, shared the poem with her best friend Amelia Hanibelsz in a ‘proud mama moment’. So touched by its candid honesty and human warmth, Amelia immediately knew she should turn it into a film.

Amelia is Executive Producer and Founder of Tell2C Productions, a global collective of award-winning female filmmakers for change, who believe in authentic storytelling by empowering people, especially marginalized communities, to tell their own stories.

Just three minutes and a half, the film which became a global collaboration, saw the poem adapted as basically a ‘cri de coeur’ for refugees. Amina and Abdul from Exile Key Films, based at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, worked with Amelia to decide what images would empower refugees and break stereotypes and preconceived notions. A two-day shoot in Kakuma produced footage that would end up being part of the final film.

Says Amina of the poem: ““The most powerful part of (it) is that it shows the other side of the story of refugees: the story of hope; of resilience; of strength and of determination. Not just vulnerability like the way they always portray us in the media.”

Also collaborating was Riham Ezzaldeen of the production company What Took You So Long? When she first read Kamil’s poem, Riham knew “it was just perfect.” She hopes the film will make people think about whether we are doing enough for the next generation. “When you hear things simplified from a kid’s perspective, you can at least think about how you see the world because it translates in your actions, and your actions matter.”

Director of the film, Basem Nabhan, said “The most important aspect of this poem is the fact it was written by a very young kid. It’s interesting to see how kids today see the world we live in and that we created. It’s very nice to see it coming from kids, but at the same time, it feels kind of unsettling. Kids are supposed to be less concerned about those matters at this stage.”

The film, with the poem read by Nayana Crowe and compelling footage, can be viewed on https://www.rescue-uk.org/article/eight-year-olds-poem-aboutsocial-justice-brought-life-refugee-film-makers-global