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We All Human


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I am sharing the story of my young friends from Liberia who I met a year ago. They fled their country because of the violent civil war, and now their new home is Oakland, California. During this year as we have grown close, they have told me so many disturbing truths about how they are treated in their new community, which is a predominantly African American neighborhood. I always assumed that they would at least be welcomed and maybe even embraced by their black neighbors because of some shared connection. I was very wrong. But the reason I ask my friends to tell their own story is that they are angels of light and hope in the form of kids. They have somehow found their own way to rise above the abuses and make friends by being true to themselves and to their culture. My hope is that their story might spread the wisdom these young kids carry about how all people should treat each other.
evergreen

18 responses // We All Human

  • I love this film. The message is unique and focused, the editing is clean, and the subjects of the film are powerful in telling their stories. The voice in the voiceover is pure, simple, and effective.
    joojoo
  • Such a quiet and beautiful piece. You can really see the trust that the kids share with the storyteller/filmmaker. The film presents the strength and truth that these kids brought over from Liberia and how they will keep returning to those values to understand humans half way around the world. Bernard has a grand presence. Poetic.
    looseid
  • Smiles worth a million bucks... This beautifully edited film evokes a subconscious laughter, profound sadness and, ultimately, utter joy as one has the pleasure of witnessing these radiant souls relay their songs of survival. There is a real hope, character and strength in these children’s stories of struggle, but also a reflection of the best and worst parts of humanity. To experience the pain of intolerance, ignorance and inhumanity through these beautiful children's eyes reminds us how much we can hurt, how much we can love and how powerful laughter and family can be. The narration truly evokes a sense of peace, tranquility and an underlying empathy, understanding and tolerance. The narrator truly sets up the context for the film and her relationship with these kids well early on when she says, “But mostly we play.” I love Princess Zulu and Seydou (she needs her own show!), and the scene during the introduction where they all almost fall over laughing together is priceless. Two of my favorite lines from the film are: “And they never even went Africa before.” And “Some black kids they feel like they’re from here.” I’m really glad they got that “card” and “passed to come to America,” and are grand enough to forgive in order to have new best friends. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story and giving us the strength to treat one another with respect and dignity through the example of these beautiful children.
    anonymityplease
  • Thank you for brining this issue to our attention. It is amazing how we are blinded to such issues in our own backyard.
    nader
  • Thank You to all of you for your beautiful comments and kind words!
    evergreen
  • Thank you for bringing this story to light. It takes a special talented person to make others feel comfortable to tell their story on camera. It is also a gift to weave individual stories into one great story with a powerful message. The filmmaker here did both with style, taste and objectivity. As for these great kids... I have met them personally and I am confident that if we continue to document their growth over the next few years, we will see them blossom into amazing adults.
    abdishay
  • This little amateur film, is very strong in content. Most americans are not aware of existance of friction between american/ latino blacks and african blacks. this has a huge social implications that this young lady has brought out into the light. This alone puts this short film in a different cathegory than most other documentaries that I have seen in this program. regardless of any other aspect of cinematography. Bravo
    manu_shea
  • Very eye-opening film. Thank you. Despite the challenges faced, the happiness and smiles which each wonderful, special child exuded throughout is absolutely beautiful. Kudos to each of them. This film very much depicts how important the little gestures are, and how the actions we can take can have such a huge impact.
    farshad
  • entI am so proud to see that some one has captured such innocence and integrity. These kids represent all of us... humans. I just wished there where more if this kind.
    Bravo--- Bravo--- Bravo
    You have done a magnificent job and Thank God for having people like you to be able to show us Love and Dream, Hate and reality, Hope and despair in such Poetic way.
    Keep up your dreams and show us the reality.
    er your post here
    1335
  • Keep smiling!!!!!
    jegurr
  • It's amazing to contemplate myself and my cousins on camera because being in a country where the violences and discreminations of the civil war destoryed most of the opportunities and made us not to be able to do things that we really wanted to do. Living in the untited states has motivated us to work harder to achieve the best of all educations by challenging us every day with its problems and others importants things which seem impossible to accomplish but with God nothing is impossible. America had made a big difference in my life cause i have learned so many new things and also have much opportunities that i never had when as a farmer in Liberia. The reasons of making this film was to share our true life story within few informations to attract the view attention quilky and not for the excitement of being on camera for the first time. i hope your liked the story and thanks to Mishan, the woman who helped put all this together for the whole world to be able to view, she has been the best thing that has ever happened to us and we don't really know what to do without her care and her heart, that is as sweet as an orange. here is my email address to keep in touch with me= brotherkonton@yahoo.com
    sweet love to all the viewers.
    bernardstory
  • It's amazing to contemplate myself and my cousins on camera because being in a country where the violences and discreminations of the civil war destoryed most of the opportunities and made us not to be able to do things that we really wanted to do. Living in the untited states has motivated us to work harder to achieve the best of all educations by challenging us every day with its problems and others importants things which seem impossible to accomplish but with God nothing is impossible. America had made a big difference in my life cause i have learned so many new things and also have much opportunities that i never had when as a farmer in Liberia. The reasons of making this film was to share our true life story within few informations to attract the view attention quilky and not for the excitement of being on camera for the first time. i hope your liked the story and thanks to Mishan, the woman who helped put all this together for the whole world to be able to view, she has been the best thing that has ever happened to us and we don't really know what to do without her care and her heart, that is as sweet as an orange. here is my email address to keep in touch with me= brotherkonton@yahoo.com
    sweet love to all the viewers.
    bernardstory
  • wow! what an example! you're so right. All we have is ourselves... and yup as long as we're here "We All Human" =D

    I hope you never forget the real beauty of your faith, Bernard; even when others through as little as self-conceited "privilege" treat you as though you were much less supposedly, even because they're just too ignorant to know any better. You and your family are worth so much more than a few idiots could pretend to know. (and don't feel so bad either!!! *You're* privileged!!! they'd have real problems just recognizing their own butt from a hole in the ground, and hardly know the difference of value between the two if one wasn't already attached to 'em by God's good grace and yes His obvious design) so you just keep rising above in truth and love....truth and love.

    and try to remember not all Americans are as plainly and ignorantly stupid, although and quite unfortunately, so many more (more and more) are. Thank Mishan for us especially, would you?

    work *hard* in school... And much thanks for sharing your story!
    echoz
  • My dear you are telling my story... I came to this country from Nigeria when I was 18, and most of my experiences were the same. I don't want to sound prejudiced or racist, but I have to say the things that some African Americans said to me were the kind of things that one would expect (based on history) a white person to say.

    They made fun of me, they made fun of my hair, my clothes. One person actually said, "wow, you don't smell like an African." A black girl I came across refused to believe I was African because my skin color is on the light side.

    The mother of all surprises, it was the white kids who were my first friends. They didn't discriminate against me, and their questions were more out of curiosity than condescension. I don't know why, but that was my experience... I don't know where that estrangement between Africans and African Americans come from, but it is there.

    I pray your family continues to thrive though... thanks for sharing your story!
    addicted2tv
  • were these occasional discriminations or just something you found to be a rather generally encounterable thing? how so? would you mind elaborating a lil more about it?

    thanks (ahem, in advance?) addicted2tv. I'm a little curious myself. ;)
    echoz
  • Hi echoz, here's your elaboration:
    I don't know which of your options I should pick. See, when I came here racism was not an issue for me. If someone made a comment, that I can now identify as racist, I just saw it as a rude remark and nothing more.

    In order to try to fit in, I joined the Black Student Association at the Community College I attended. When the entire group went out, I was thinking "great, I get a chance to get to know new people" as I had only been in the country for a few months at the time.

    On our outing, they started asking a lot of questions like "do you guys ride on elephants" or "do you play with monkeys" or "why don't Africans like to shower" (that one surprised me the most cause back home it was so hot that I often showered like 3 times a day... too much info, I know).

    And you know, I wouldn't have minded those questions if I didn't feel like I was being made fun of the entire time. I felt like they were laughing at me, like I was the entertainment, and that one incident hurt soooooo much. I was homesick for a whole year!

    I started going to a Church that was pre-dominantly white and that was where I felt the most comfortable. They were nice and when they asked questions, I felt like they were trying to get to know me and not laugh at me.

    When I was taking a Harlem Renaissance class, that was when I really got into some heated conversations with some African Americans in the class. We were able to talk out some of our differences, but some of them felt that Africans were hostile towards them.

    This isn't a generalization, I realize that not all people are the same. I still feel uncomfortable around African Americans, I don't feel like I fit in... I've been accused of being not "black" enough or whatever.

    Dude, it's too much crap for me to deal with; I just try to hang out with folks who are cool with me and that's it.
    addicted2tv
  • You are right Keithponder... we really must get over all our differences and find that common ground.
    addicted2tv
  • I can appreciate that attitude addicted2tv; I'm sorry it's such a mixed brew coming to America. i strongly suspect despite the rude behavior at times that there are probably some very real differences. the whole psyche thing; perhaps it's just too ego-centric. I'm no shrink though, but the American experience has sure enough been rather particularly unique for blacks as perhaps could be said for anyone else in a real way. I don't think anyone outside of an idiot denies their invaluable contributions to this nation throughout even its early and sordid history, not too mention other sung/unsung significant accomplishments in so many various fields since. I'm sure some national pride would certainly become them. But it's kinda interesting to see the dynamic of American black voters reacting with respect to how even they regard presidential candidate Obama. I guess it's always a mixed brew. But that's America =)

    and...We All People...we can certainly be better Americans remembering that, and knowing too that we *always* have the complete dignity to rise above those who would be unjustly rude or snide with us; and some too could learn to spare kindness and civility to those different from whom we claim to be. And the great attitude you guys display is an obvious example and a great reminder to see that humanity is also very much more than skin color. Thanks for indulging my questions.
    echoz

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