Sidra and Bashir's Lives Through a Lens

    Both virtual narratives, Clouds Over Sidra and Bashir’s Dream, illustrate the lives of children stuck in a life of fear and chaos as a result of a warring country. I think the virtual reality element really helps to immerse the reader in the lives of the subjects of the stories. Both narrators are children who have experienced great change and turmoil as a result of Syria being war-ridden. In Bashir’s Dream, our narrator Bashir is confined to a wheelchair after he was shot in the back by a sniper while on a candy run. The video, however, still shows his child-like joy despite the devastating circumstances. He has dreams of his own to study abroad and to be a basketball player. Virtual reality helps the reader to picture Bashir’s life through his eyes, showing his resilience and hopeful goals for his future. Although he has suffered this tragedy as a result of the violence in Syria, he still is a child, picturing the long life he has in front of him. In Clouds over Sidra, our 12-year-old subject Sidra, describes her life at a refugee camp in Jordan, after fleeing Syria and the violence within the country. Many Syrian refugees reside here temporarily, although they have no idea when they will be able to go home if they will even have a home left. The Zaatari camp in Jordan is made up of many children, and Sidra describes her daily life with her family there. Through the lens of virtual reality, we see her in school, playing with friends, and eating with her family. Upon first glance it looks like she’s a normal child, experiencing life with childlike innocence. But we are reminded that she resides in a refugee camp in Jordan, and deals with the reality of missing her home back in Syria. She has no idea when she’ll be able to go back. The stories of Sidra and Bashir are similar in the sense that they are both children with big dreams, despite what they have gone through at such a young age. Virtual reality enhances their daily lives by illustrating the daily routines they experience, living with the difficult circumstances as a result of a warring country. The reader has a lens into both of their lives, seeing what the two young children see in their daily lives. With the use of virtual reality, we understand that they live their lives like any other child, with dreams to have an exciting life when they get older. However, the reader is reminded of the devastation that hit both Bashir and Sidra as a result of violence in their country. I think without virtual reality, we would not be able to truly immerse ourselves in the lives of both Sidra and Bashir.