"Tsunami! Tsunami!" Leading Performance - 7th International Womens Playwrights Conference

BREAKING NEWS

Island Aid volunteer Julie Janson is in Jakarta for the 7th International Women's Playwright's conference.

Her play "Tsunami! Tsunami!" has been selected as the opening work for reading to a theatre full of the worlds leading contemporary playwrights.

Inspired by her long stay aboard Batavia, Julie's work will be performed for the first time in the city that lent so much support to our efforts to load and provision the ship.

Good luck Julie! Photos as soon as we get them.

SYNOPSIS
So this is death’s liquid gate. What are these insects sucking my withering skin ? Am I wearing a corpse costume? What am I waiting for, just let go and slip into the water. I float and hang on to soaked straw, a roof maybe. How long does it take to saturate and sink in the Andaman Sea? What will the water taste like in my mouth? Full of corpse liquid. Banyak infectisi. But I can’t get sick, I am almost dead. I’m laughing. My feet are blue, like Jesus feet, crossed and aquiline. Bloated fish rise to the surface, their bulging eyes stare at me.

I am standing on the destroyed tarmac at Meuloboh. 10,000 people died here. The town is rubble. Washed away. I look blankly around in the humidity, there is an Indonesian army tent, with soldiers lounging, smoking kreteks. I vaguely suspect I might have to sleep in their tent, using my bag as a pillow.

No hotel here. No hot water, no spa. I stand perspiring, holding my three large bags of cosmetics. Lipstick for Aceh. If you had lost everything and you were a woman living in a blue tent, you might like a gold Revlon lipstick. Shades of pink blush, flame red. I also have mata gelas, reading glasses and imitation swiss army knives. Plastic dinosaurs. Combs, sewing kits, silk scarves. All gifts from the Catholic mothers of Sydney.

The other volunteers on my plane have been met and driven away in flash white Toyotas with UN on the side, important German doctors. No One to meet me. What am I doing here? A young soldier strolls up, he flicks his kretek, “mau kemana Bu?” Where do I want to go? “Saya mau pergi ke Lo Kruet”.

He motioned to Mr Ed a lone American directing helicopters, he is Missionary Aviation Fellowship. Christians offering flights in disaster areas. I explain my destination and in five minutes I am in a four seater next to an Achenese woman in bandages. “Saya Guru dari Australia”...... She smiles.

We fly over a hundred atom bomb sites, the whole east coast of Sumatra has sunk into the sea. A tangle of broken Palm trees and grey mud. Roads disappeared under water. Rows of blue tents instead of villages. We fly very low, heart in mouth. Landing on broken roads as airstrips. The Australian pilot handing out sweets to the children for turning the light plane around for take off. Everyone smiling.

The beautiful polite Sumatran people.

I am beginning to worry, how will I find the boat? The pilot points to the Batavia anchored like a picture post card in an azure bay. Lo Kruet. TNI tents and motorbikes. Heavy military presence, without the Indonesian military there would be no refugee camp here. Still they make me nervous with AK 47s slung over shoulders as they ride around on motorbikes.

Suddenly Rick, the head of the Batavia rescue mission is riding towards me in a sparkling white tee shirt, with the Rolls Royce logo. The absurdity of this donor. I am so hot, all around mud, garbage, and clothing sticking out of concrete. Smelling decay. Then from rubber duckie to the icey air conditioning of this Hong Kong disco boat. Mirror balls, plastic flowers. Hired for this rescue by Rick and Jane using their own money. Young American college student volunteers, Indonesian Doctors and nurses, all grinning in rubber boots. I am sleeping on the upper deck di atas on a plastic mattress, I hang up some sarongs for privacy.

JULIE JANSON
Julie Janson began writing plays while living in Arnhemland in Indigenous communities. Her first major play Gunjies was produced at Belvoir St Theatre in 1993 and received an AWGIE nomination. Her play Lotus War was performed as part of the Belvoir St Asian Theatre Festival, at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and on ABC National radio in 1996.

Her trilogy of plays Season to Taste began at the Belvoir St Asian Theatre Festival and had seasons at the Darling Mills Restaurant and on ABC Radio. Her play Black Mary was produced by Company B Belvoir St Theatre for the festival of the Dreaming at the Olympic Arts Festival 1997. Black Mary was also performed at the Phoenix Theatre in Phoenix Arizona in 2000. Kera Putih, a children’s play has toured extensively in ACT and Victoria with Jigsaw Theatre Company.

Julie has been the Writer in Residence for Asialink in Indonesia and also Writer in Residence in Tasmania and Canberra. Julie also writes film scripts and has made two successful short films and has written feature film scripts funded by NSW Film and TV Office.

In 2005 Julie was a volunteer on a tsunami rescue boat in Aceh and Sumatra, she set up ten tent schools in devastated villages.

South Africa's SwellGuys on-line Feature Story

As the 2nd aniversary of the Great Tsunami approaches, one of South Africas most inovative Surf E-Zines has run a full length feature story on Island Aid's work. The artistic effort that went into the feature story is extraordinary.... thanks guys!

....."Just mention the word tsunami and most people’s thoughts turn to Boxing Day 2004. On that day at 07:58:53 local time, an earthquake occurred with it’s epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia - the reading? 9.2 on the Richter scale....

The rest of the facts could easily be mistaken for a modern day Hollywood blockbuster. This was the second largest earthquake recorded on a seismograph ever. I’m sure I don’t have to paint any sort of picture but turn your thoughts to the people of Indonesia, particularly those in Sumatra who were in the direct path of the tsunami. The media made sure the news was received worldwide.

Tragedy is big news and this event received it’s fair share of coverage. Don’t get me wrong, the media has a role to play and in between all the negativity they sensationalise, there is still a lot of positive to be found. Without the intense coverage and as much graphic detail that seems to be the big selling point these days, there may very well have been much less assistance offered. So what exactly am I trying to say?

I’m trying to say that it’s two years later and the story is all but forgotten. As easy as it’s been for the rest of us to move on with our lives, there are those individuals who have found it as easy to dedicate their lives to helping the people of Indonesia put the pieces of their lives back together"...... more at http://www.swellguys.co.za/vol01/issue06/articles/island-aid.html