'Vem Vindo' is a moving film that highlights the issues of immigration and refugee law, and the serious consequences that these discrepancies can have on individuals. Bilal, a 17-year-old Kurd from Iraq, travels 3 months to Calais, attempting to go to Britain to reunite with his girlfriend. However, he is met with challenges from international law, the French government, and the divided French public that ultimately puts him in a concentration camp-like situation. The French government and police force actively try to get refugees out of Calais, yet there's nowhere else for the refugees to go. Due to flawed international law, the refugees are not sent back to Iraq because it is a warzone, however, they cannot claim any status or residency in France and are not allowed to cross the border and the Channel into England. They are all essentially stuck in this town with no means to even try to create a sustainable life since they are banned from stores and cannot hold jobs. Besides being interned in a physical sense in Calais and 'The Jungle', the camp for refugees, they are also abused in a mental sense, whether or not they're in the camp. They are banned from stores, they have nowhere to bathe, and the police mimic camp guards by enforcing bans on the refugees, attacking them via means of tear gas, and encouraging the French public to dehumanize the already victimized group. The police essentially enact a camp hierarchy in Calais, as the refugees are at the bottom, and any French citizen who aids the refugees is punished as well. With that being said, the citizens in Calais are at odds with each other, as can be seen with Simon's neighbor snitching on him for helping Bilal. People have to constantly live in fear as the police have eyes everywhere and can use their power to manipulate others. The citizens who due choose to degrade and/or ignore the refugees are also a huge part of the problem as is brought to light by Marion. She calls out Simon for ignoring the issue when the refugees were barred from entering a general store to buy soap. Yet, even when Simon goes to create sustainable change for Bilal, Marion acts cowardly and tells him to stop.
While the movie highlighted the harsh realities of a camp system, it also failed to recognize many problems refugees face. Bilal gets lucky and is cared for by Simon, but most people are not so lucky. As viewers, we get to see little of "The Jungle", the camp for refugees. This is where the real damage due to lack of resources like shelter and food come into play. We see one character continue to harass Bilal for money, but besides that there is little emphasis for the urgency of resources. This movie does a great job of introducing the public to camp systems but has just scratched the surface of the true suffering refugees face.
While the movie highlighted the harsh realities of a camp system, it also failed to recognize many problems refugees face. Bilal gets lucky and is cared for by Simon, but most people are not so lucky. As viewers, we get to see little of "The Jungle", the camp for refugees. This is where the real damage due to lack of resources like shelter and food come into play. We see one character continue to harass Bilal for money, but besides that there is little emphasis for the urgency of resources. This movie does a great job of introducing the public to camp systems but has just scratched the surface of the true suffering refugees face.