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On the Mediterranean waters off the coast of Libya, boats overcrowded mostly with adult men from conflict zones dot the waters. The vast majority of these vessels are full of asylum seekers escaping Libya, where, during perilous attempts to reach Europe, they were swept up by the European Union-funded Libyan coastguard. On land, they were often robbed, beaten and at risk of being trafficked. This short documentary captures the inherent tensions, bureaucratic frustrations and fleeting moments of joy aboard a Doctors Without Borders ship operated by a crew dedicated to rescuing these refugees from Libyan boats and death at sea. In particular, the film focuses on the tireless and sometimes thankless work of Salah Dasuki, a Syrian cultural mediator who was forced to make a similarly treacherous trip himself. Although there are flickers of hope amid the chaos on and off the ship, the Canadian director Ed Ou also makes it clear that, even upon docking in Europe, the asylum seekers face long odds of staying. Most will be sent back home, where many, still finding themselves in a desperate situation, will begin the journey all over again.
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Values and beliefs
How a God-fearing Jewish woman found atheism – and bacon – in her later years
9 minutes
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War and peace
Before he leaves to go to war, Artem, 18, says goodbye to the man who raised him
12 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
How machine learning can help historians decode ancient inscriptions
7 minutes
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Animals and humans
What the ancient city of Kars looks like from the perspective of its stray dogs
9 minutes
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Family life
A son of China’s former one-child policy remembers the sibling he never had
8 minutes
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Making
Ceramic designs spin to life in a tactile meditation on the art of pottery
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Information and communication
From mental image to sketch – how memories and emotions conjure up a face
23 minutes
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Childhood and adolescence
When Paradise, California burned, its teens became instant climate refugees
23 minutes
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Gender and identity
How the spy-cam epidemic in South Korea affects the women who are its victims
35 minutes