‘Children were wearing fake life jackets’: one Syrian family’s terrifying, 10-year journey — SkimNews
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- One in a Million follows Israa for 10 years, from age 11 in 2015 to her early 20s, when she is married, raising two children and training to become a civil servant in local government.
- Israa fled Aleppo after a missile destroyed her family home and crossed from Turkey to Greece in a dinghy, carrying her baby brother while her parents pushed her disabled sister in a wheelchair.
- Itab Azzam recalled seeing refugee families put life jackets on their children in İzmir, while Jack MacInnes said vendors sold fake jackets that would not work; Tarek described the crossing as “gambling with the lives of my children.”
- Israa learned fluent German in five months after settling in Cologne, attended school and made friends, while Tarek struggled with his identity and Nisreen moved from the background to a central role in the film.
- Jack MacInnes switched off the camera and entered safeguarding mode when Israa disclosed at 14 that Tarek had been hitting her; the filmmakers then chronicled the family’s response with sensitivity.
- One in a Million took Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes three years to secure any financial backing; they juggled full-time jobs and reached what MacInnes called “at least 40 grand” in debt before completing the project.
- Israa returned to Aleppo after the Assad regime fell in late 2024, footage that bookends the film; filmmaker Itab Azzam likewise saw footage of her family home burned after clashes destroyed her Druze village.
Why it matters: Reaching Germany gave Israa safety, schooling and fluent German after five months, but not secure belonging: Tarek lost his sense of identity, family conflict surfaced and MacInnes initiated safeguarding. Her 2024 return to Aleppo after ten years reopened the question of home.
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