PBS series seek to link on Syrian, Central American refugees

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three new documentaries set to air next week on PBS aim to connect the plight of refugees in the Middle East to those in Central America.

The third season of Doc World, a PBS/WORLD Channel series focusing on international issues, is scheduled to begin Sunday with “Sky and Ground” on most PBS stations. The full-length documentary focuses on a large, extended Syrian-Kurdish family fleeing war-ravaged Aleppo for Germany.

Two short documentaries will air Sept. 16 examining the journeys of Central Americans. “Los Comandos” follows 16-year-old Mimi, a volunteer emergency medic in El Salvador who is forced to leave the country after getting caught in the cross-hairs of violent gangs.

“Towards the North” examines the journeys of a woman and her daughter as they wait in a tiny refugee shelter in Tapachula, Mexico.