Drop yourself in the middle of Afghanistan‘s war torn streets, bearing nothing but the question ‘What do you think of America?’
Then you will know what Baltimore County native Han Shan underwent for the 76-minute documentary “The Listening Project,” showing 7 p.m. Friday at the Charles Theatre and 2 p.m. Saturday at the University of Baltimore‘s Student Center.
Shan and three other “listeners” – a poet, probation officer and seventh-grade history teacher – left the comforts of their U.S. homes to listen to strangers in 14 countries reveal what they think of our country and its citizens.
Why? To understand what it means to be a citizen of the world and learn how the U.S., a massive economic, social and military superpower, affects all but a handful of people on theEarth.
“So how bad do they hate us?” was the common question “Listening Project” co-director Dominic Howes fielded from friends and family when he called home during filming.
“What’s interesting is it’s not really black and white like that,” Howes said. “There’s plenty of criticism about the U.S. government but people [we spoke to] see a distinction between the U.S. government and people.”
“The real lesson for me was people didn’t see you on the street and assume you were the same as George Bush or the policy in Iraq,” Shan said. “It made me reflect on whether I, and Americans, do that. We demonize a whole country or people rather than see a clear division between a frightening leader and the people who may or may not support the policy.”
The most haunting moment for Howes came on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, when Shan listened to Arifa, a local woman, sob “They could have helped. But they never even came to see.”
Her cries began in 2001 when errant U.S. bombs struck her home, killing her husband and seven other family members.
“The tremendous loss she occurred really stuck with me,” Howes said. “We’re trying to gather funds to buy her a home and help.”
