Turtles can fly, an Iranian film by Bahman Ghobadi, provides a realistic portrayal of how conflict disrupts lives and can have far-reaching effects. The setting of the movie is during the Iraq War and centers around the lives of Kurdish refugee children residing in a camp on the Turkish-Iraqi border. Children suffer immensely when war ensues, especially in terms of access to education and the opportunity to escape the cycle of violence and poverty. It is a raw depiction of the impact of absence of formal schooling on children, the trauma they face as a result of the war and the search for finding normalcy and stability.
In the camp setting, schools and classrooms have been replaced, representing a more desolate environment and the area is ridden with land mines. The destruction of physical infrastructure reflects a deeper issue which is the fall of institutions and structures that facilitate education and learning. Amidst war, education usually emerges as an afterthought, which means that generations of children are stuck in the aftermath of the conflict. Displacement is another element, in the film, the children are forced to leave their homes and with no access to education, they are stuck in the in-between, where they continue to reside in camps as their living condition does not improve and education continues to be neglected. The refugee camps that are meant to be temporary spaces for residence while the displaced individuals are reintegrated into society, have to act beyond their capacity as people remain in those camps for years with no place else to go.Â
The theme of psychological trauma and negative experiences are particularly explored here. The characters in the film all carry emotional scars that act as obstacles in their learning. Agrin, who is just a young child, has experienced the worst of war and how war treats women. She is a victim of sexual violence and is unable to engage in any form of education or even strive for a better environment, she has resigned to her fate. This brings into discussion the mental cost or psychological impact of conflict that is often not accounted for when it comes to rehabilitation or conflict resolution measures. She also has a young child, whom she grows to dislike as he reminds her of her traumatic past. This intensifies the cycle of educational inaccessibility and its widespread consequences.
You see children such as Soran, who is also known as ‘Satellite’ who becomes an unofficial source of education as he comes up with innovative ways to install satellite dishes that provide access to outside news and calm the uncertainty of war. This also highlights the ways displaced people and those impacted by war rely on informal ways to learn and stay connected in the absence of formal schooling. In such instances, education has to go beyond just the textbook curriculum and teach practical skills as survival is also something children have to actively look out for. Hengov, another character, who is Agrin’s brother, loses his arms when Ba’ath soldiers try to drown him and his sister. There is a scene in the film where Hengov defuses a mine using his mouth. This again is reflective of the dangerous environment children have to navigate and learn to fight for survival.
Social networks also play an essential role in education in the camp. The children turn to
each other for help, and informal systems of learning and collaboration begin. This sense of community provides a substitute for more conventional educational structures, in that it becomes a place where knowledge and skills are exchanged.
Overall, it is a harrowing and gut-wrenching portrayal of children in conflict zones and the effects that last beyond the marked end of the conflict. The focus is not simply on limited access to education but also the disintegration of learning channels and the mental and emotional barriers that children have to overcome with no available mental health and psychosocial support systems in place. By prioritising education in such conflict ridden areas, with inclusion of trauma-informed and inclusive teaching, you are giving these children a chance to rebuild their lives and hope and cope in an environment that otherwise neglects their rights and needs.