Eight children, eight stories. Some spell a tale of hope, others of despair. All are linked by a gigantic tidal wave now globally known as a tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean on Dec 26, 2004. Two years after the deadly day, the Colombo-based TVE Asia Pacific is distributing a film that tells the insightful story of the tragedy by marking the changes reflected in these young lives, across four countries, including India.
Eight children, eight stories. Some spell a tale of hope, others of despair. All are linked by a gigantic tidal wave now globally known as a tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean on Dec 26, 2004.
Two years after the deadly day, the Colombo-based TVE Asia Pacific is distributing a film that tells the insightful story of the tragedy by marking the changes reflected in these young lives, across four countries, including India.
Television for Education-Asia Pacific was set up some 11 years back, and is a regionally operating, non-profit media foundation. Its goal is to use TV, video and new media to communicate development and social justic issues, and it operates in the Asia-Pacific, where "half of humanity lives".
TVE-AP regional programme manager Manori Wijesekera said: "The Children of the Tsunami (documentary) features families that were willing to let us into their lives. To have a TV crew joining them every single month for 10-11 months is very intrusive."
These stories were distilled into a one-hour documentary. Filmed by local TV crews, it produced eight five-minute storie each month, and was put together by the Lanka-based TVE Asia Pacific whose staff members "suffered family losses in the tsunami too".
"We did what you could call longtitudinal filming, where you follow a story continuously," Ms Wijesekara said
Emerging stories tell a wide range of realities.
In Sri Lanka, Heshani’s (13) family lost their home to the tsunami. Her father lost their boat, but they moved to a fairly nice house, built by local NGO.
But all weren’t so lucky. In nearby South India 13-year-old Selvam Muzhukkuthrai’s family lost their mother. She had held their family together. Their father went into alcholic problem. They also felt very guilty about being unable to save their mother, who got tragically caught by her hair trapped in a bush, while fleeing the tsunami, and drowned.
"At the end of the year, Selvam’s life was not very different from start of the year. He was left at home with a frather who has a huge alcoholic problem, and a grandmother," says Ms Wijesekara.
Beam Takuapa (8), of Thailand, lost her father. She was attending new tsunami school set up by King of Thailand. Her mother is working there. But the house was registered in the name of her dead father, causing a lot of problems for the family in varied ways.
Yenni (15) of Indonesia lost siblings to the tsunami, lost a home, and the family’s mechanical garage. They went through a terrible time, and trauma. But their family got twins, and the family fatalistically said they had "lost two children and got two more".
Theeban Karaitivu (14) of Sri Lanka also had a very tragic story. He came from a well-to-do middle class fishin family, from eastern Sri Lanka. But they lost all their six boats, their house, their mothre, and baby brother.
Theeban had to move into a camp for internally displaced persons. At the end of the year the family was being split up, with Theeban being sent to learn work in a garage, something he couldn’t manage, even more since he had expected to go to university.
His father remarried, and two brothers were sent to live with an aunt. A couple of months ago, he disappeared, possibly abducted by the Tamil rebel guerillas for conscription into their fighting force.
Putri (8) in Indonesia, had a positive story emerging. Her family followed NGOs with determination, and went till they got some assistance.
Bao Kuraburi (16), of Thailand. belongs to a famlily of ‘sea gypsies’, and their normadic family lost both parents. Bao and his brother manage with their elderly grand-parents. His traumatised brother has withdrawn completely.
"Bao’s (disadvantaged) community was not getting the same kind of aid a couple of kilometres away. Lots of other groups coming with different motives, trying to convert people by offering aid. Informally adopted by an uncle, his grandparents couldn’t cope with the loss. Both grandparents went into a decline," added Ms Wijesekara.
Mala Kottaikkadu (11) from India comes from a Dalit background (considered at the very bottom of the caste hierarchy), and also faced disparities in aid reaching her. Mala and her family continued to face starvation. "They had literally nothing to eat. Our crew had to take food items. Or take her father to the hospital when he faced dehydration," said Ms Wijesekara.
This film got distributed to Asian broadcasters, and 17 carried it in English. It has a site called childrenoftsunami.info and is also being deployed in school projects.
Says TVE AP’s CEO Nalaka Gunawardene: "We had screenings in Washington DC by the Asia Society, and in Delhi by CSE. Another outlet is the film-festival circuit. Our responses have been very encouraging."
"It still costs a lot of money to do television. But our decision was made within days of tsunami that we’re going to do something like this," he adds. [FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490]