Yesterday was unreal. Caught a cab up to SUNGO (Samoa Umbrella for Non-governmental Groups, if I haven't explained this yet). Sat under the big tree for an hour and a bit for our ride to meet the Japanese people at the harbour. Everyone in our party finally arrives and we catch a cab to...you guessed it - right across the street from my hotel. Can't win 'em all. We pull into the parking lot and there's a boat the size of the Love Boat, with Peace Boat written on the side of it in massive letters. The Japanese people join us and we all drive together to a small village to go to church. The service is beautiful, followed by a traditional ava ceremony in the big fale (traditional Samoan dwelling with no walls - roof is supported by pillars or wooden poles.) behind the church. After that, there's a massive pig out. The best was the coconut marinated octopus. The villagers were extremely welcoming. When it comes time to go, instead of heading out with the folks I arrived with, they put me on the Japanese tourist bus! So, we're winding our way through the hills to get to the south side to see some of the tsunami damage.
At this point, some of you might be wondering why, after five days here, I have not yet been to the disaster area. By this time, I could have simply caught a taxi (it's only an hour or so from Apia) and begun shooting over there. The reason is this: I am respecting protocol and am waiting to receive an invitation and confirmation that I am welcome. It's one thing to go as a tourist...and quite another to show up with a video camera. It's also a matter of building trust with my SUNGO hosts. We've never met before and since they are key to a successful introduction, I am patiently awaiting my moment. It's a pretty traumatic thing to have happened and I think it's a lot to ask for me to have the privilege of working with affected communities. Even at the best of times, with honourable intentions, things can go off the rails. Two days ago I was shooting at the SUNGO offices and the volunteers strongly urged me to interview two women who showed up with a young baby - Timon, I think his name was. The massive outpour of aid, from all around the world, has provided a surplus of some items...clothing in particular. The communities affected by the tsunami have had clothing distributed to them and are no longer in need of clothing. The people at SUNGO have the task of distributing the surplus clothing to needy families in poor villages in areas unaffected by the tsunami. The people in need of clothing have to travel to SUNGO in Apia to present a letter from their chief explaining that village's need for clothing. After, transportation is arranged for the goods to the village. The two women accompanying Timon were there for this reason. One of the volunteers urges me to interview them. As I was putting the wireless mics on them the volunteer began telling me their story. The baby is an orphan. His mother was killed in a terrible bus crash at Solosolo shortly after the tsunami. As he told me this, my heart sank. I knew the story, having read the Samoa Observer regularly at home. Eight or nine people died. The driver was supposedly drunk...and it wasn't his first accident of this nature. The women were the mother and cousin of Timon's mother. They were picking up toys and clothing for Timon. As I held the baby, he turned his head to my breast and started trying to feed. The grandmother explained that the baby still does this regularly. The women sat silently. I felt horrible, sitting in front of them, with the camera. It was clear that they weren't ready to talk, but because of everyone's good intentions, they were not free to simply say, "no, thank-you." I turned the camera off and retrieved the mics. I wished them well and asked them to forgive the misunderstanding. The cousin's English was good and I'm sure she understood - I hope she explains to the grandmother. Good intentions don't always translate. I think it's best to try minimize the misunderstandings and do my utmost to respect the people here. I know that this is a challenge, but it's out of respect that I'm not rushing into the affected area.
The Japanese, who are mostly elderly, are pretty tired it seems, so it takes a while to get the conversation going. They are curious about me and so on the long and windy bus ride we have time to go through many attempts to communicate. Mostly it's smiles and laughter. I'm at a loss for the relevance of these people to the SUNGO cause, but I roll with it - the boat they came on is called Peace Boat, after all. By the time we get back to Apia a few hours later, I've exchanged cards with some of the very nice Japanese elderly folks...still wondering what's really going on.
We get back to the SUNGO office and everyone files into the board room for a meeting. The Japanese leader (a young guy) speaks through a translator and communicates the purpose of the visit. The elderly Japanese people are ALL survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They are traveling on the peace boat for a few months to something like 20 countries to give testamonials and advocate for the end of nuclear armament on Earth. After speaking at length about their experiences we closed out the meeting with traditional Samoan exchanges of gifts and songs. The Japanese sang a song of peace and gave out origami cranes. I got a paper crane lei. Humbling.
I head back to my room and offload the footage. There's a glitch and I have to redo it - for some reason the computer and the camera aren't talking properly. Par for the course -- no big deal. Only thing lost is time...by the time it's done I'm seeing cross-eyed. The gratification of seeing the footage will have to wait until morning.
This is the song the Japanese people sang.
Paper Crane
Wanting to feel glad to be alive
I walked from the city of Hiroshima,
turning sadness into words, turning sadness into anger,
I walked this far with my injured body,
There is a voice I can hear even if I cover my ears,
There is a love which flows out even if I close my heart,
Spread your wings paper crane, from you to the world
Wanting to find a reason to be glad to be alive,
I walked from the city of Nagasaki,
Sharing the pain in my heart through my song,
I walked here from beneath the burnt-out ruins
There is a voice I can hear even if I cover my ears,
There is a love which flows out even if I close my heart,
Spread your wings paper crane, from me to you
Spread your wings paper crane, from you to the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment