Behind the scenes: Should I stay or should I go?

Guided by a quote from Abyei, “The children of the land scatter like birds escaping a burning sky…”, the journalists developed a 50-question checklist for would-be migrants. Answers span personal stories and recollections, creating an uncompromising snapshot of the mixed motivations for leaving, spanning conflict, lack of freedom, or hopes for a rosier future elsewhere. Tragedy is often the flip side of the coin when “the children of the land scatter”. A sense of loss unites many of the journalists’ stories, revealing how home remains at our core, however far we go.

The film provides an insight into the newsroom workshop, featuring The Niles correspondents and their experiences with migration as well as the newspaper production process itself.