Jordanian documentary ‘Tiny Souls’ debuts in Tokyo

AMMAN — The Jordanian embassy in Tokyo, in cooperation with UNHCR and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), on Sunday launched the screening of the premiere of the documentary “Tiny Souls” by Jordanian director Dina Naser.

The film features the life of a Syrian family seeking refuge in the Zaatari refugee camp, the world’s fifth largest refugee camp.

The event came as part of a photo exhibition titled “Lest We Forget” that includes a selected collection of the Pulitzer-winning Jordanian photographer Muhammed Muheisen, featuring refugee camps in Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan Ambassador to Japan Lina Annab, during the event, said that the area of Jordan is similar to the Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture, noting that the Kingdom’s population is estimated at 10.5 million, out of which 3.5 million are refugees.

Thirty-four per cent of Jordan’s inhabitants are refugees, out of which 28 per cent are either registered with UNHCR or UNRWA, the UN agency in charge of the Palestinian refugees, Annab added.

Despite the scarcity of sources, Jordan hosts the highest per capita portion of refugees in the world, with the number of displaced Syrians in Jordan totalled nearly 1.3 million, which constitutes 13 per cent of the Kingdom’s population, she said.

Highlighting the Kingdom’s efforts in this arena, the diplomat said that no COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the Kingdom’s refugees camps, lauding the UNHCR’s role and donors support, mainly Japan’s assistance, which helped in taking major measures since the onset of the pandemic, notably building quarantine sites inside the refugees camps and enhancing the testing measures, as well as providing preventive personal equipment for front-line workers and refugees.