My Experience of the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami; 20 years ago today.
Today, Boxing Day, 2024, marks 20 years since the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami which claimed the lives of more than 227,000. I travelled to India and the Andaman Islands shortly after to film a report on behalf of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland who in a very short space of time had raised £1.6 million to help victims, many of whom had lost their homes and belongings.
The main partners in the operation to aid victims were Tear Fund and the Church of North India. Rev Ken Newell was the moderator at the time and we first of all travelled to Tamil Nadu where he officially handed over new fishing boats to replace some of those that had been destroyed, thus saving the livelihoods of a number of fishermen.
I then flew to a group of islands in the Indian Ocean known as the Andaman Islands, where whole villages had been wiped out. There are around 200 islands in the group of Andaman Islands. There wasn’t any commercial transport between the islands at the time so we hitched a ten hour ride in a cargo boat. It was this same boat and this same captain that had been ferrying supplies to the smaller islands since the tsunami wreaked its damage.
On the island where I filmed, a whole village had been destroyed, with every building that had been standing, wiped out. But by the grace of God, all of the villagers escaped death. That was thanks to the animals in the village and some very wise village elders who noticed that the animals had mysteriously moved to high ground. They realised that the animals’ instincts had warned them of the ensuing danger. The elders in turn issued the warning, “A tsunami’s coming,” and they ordered that the village be evacuated and the whole population moved to high ground. Together, the animals and the elders saved hundreds of lives.
When we arrived, the residents of the destroyed village were rebuilding.
These villagers were mostly Christian and members of the Church of North India. The first building to be rebuilt even before their homes, was a new place of worship. Although they had suffered much loss, they were grateful to God for guiding them to high ground and thereby sparing their lives. They were grateful to their friends from the Church of North India who arranged supplies for new buildings so they had materials t build with. And they were very grateful for members of the Presbyterians Church in Ireland who came alongside them and made the rebuilding possible.
Below are links to two pieces I filmed twenty years ago. Bear in mind we didn’t have access to the digital film cameras that we take for granted today, and because of the nature of the filming it meant operating as a one man band. Nevertheless, it was an amazing story and an experience I’ll never forget.
https://lnkd.in/eUhhEv4f
https://lnkd.in/eU669Kc7
Remembering the Life of Raymond R. Barnett
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Remembering Ray Davey, who passed away on this day twelve years ago.
The Interview that literally changed the direction of my life.
In the 1980s, I applied for a transfer within the BBC from Northern Ireland to London. That’s because I was tired of living with the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland. I felt that London would enhance not only my career, but my quality of life. As I was single at the time and without commitments, it seemed like a sensible move.
I had already had my first BBC interview for a transfer when I visited The Corrymeela Community at Ballycastle for the first time to interview its founder Ray Davey. This was very much a research interview since I had read about Ray and his wartime experiences, etc., and thought there might be documentary material. I had picked up the idea after meeting some young people in Belfast who had been radically transformed through a Corrymeela schools programme.
Meeting and interviewing Ray that day had a profound influence on me. His perspective on life’s meaning and purpose, spoke, almost prophetically, to my selfish motivation for wanting to leave Northern Ireland. I had a very uncomfortable drive home from Ballycastle that day. After a period of reflection, I knew I was being led by God to stay and make whatever contribution I could to a better Northern Ireland, instead of running away for the sake of a potentially more comfortable life.
I got to make that documentary for the BBC. It was called “The Path of a Peacemaker” and was broadcast in 1990 for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Corrymeela Community. It can be viewed below.
The Path of a Peacemaker: A Profile of Ray Davey and the Corrymeela Community BBC Northern Ireland 1990
My 1st image snapped in 2024
Glenarm, County Antrim
The photo above is my very first image of 2024, snapped today, Monday 1st January 2024, at the lovely village of Glenarm, on the Antrim Coast Road. The images below of Glenarm harbour were also taken on New Years Day 2024..
Going to the Moon
Neil Armstrong once said, “There are only two problems to be solved when going to the moon. The first is how to get there and the second is how to get back. The key is, don’t leave until you have solved both problems.”
It was on May 25, 1961, that US president, John F Kennedy, stood before the US Congress and declared. “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. The idea didn’t receive universal enthusiasm, however. A Gallup Poll indicated that 58 percent of Americans opposed the idea
When Kennedy set that goal and vision, complete with the timeframe of making it happen in under ten years, no one knew ‘how’ it was going to be achieved. But they started preparing as if it was going to happen. And did it happen!
Maybe there’s a lesson here that too often we are afraid to go for the goal because we can’t see how it’s going to be achieved. Maybe there are times we need to move forward in faith, Faith requires that we take action steps and start moving forward, believing that the ‘how’ will be revealed as we move.
This script was for a radio ‘filler’ and was written and narrated by John Callister.
The Thanksgiving Turnaround
On Thanksgiving Day in America a number of years ago, a family weren’t planning to celebrate since they could only afford to buy very basic food. But when the eldest son answered a rap at the door that morning, everything changed, when a complete stranger arrived with a hamper containing enough for a feast for the whole family. By the time that eldest son reached his 18th birthday, he had saved enough money to buy food to deliver to other families in need. He reckons that the Thanksgiving Day in his youth, was actually a gift from God, guiding him and directing him towards helping others in the same way that his family had been helped.
That eldest son was Anthony Robbins, who became a famous personal development guru and multimillionaire His food distribution programme continues to this day, and, in fact he has partnered with the charity Feed America to create the 1 Billion Meals Challenge – with the goal of providing 1 billion meals by 2025. And it all started with one, seemingly small, act of kindness. Someone cared enough to feed Tony and his family, at a time when they needed it most.
This script was for a radio ‘filler’ and was written and narrated by John Callister.
Prioritising Your Values
Lou Tice was a once football coach in an American High School. He got an emergency call one day because his colleague was having a breakdown and was threatening to commit suicide. Lou subsequently discovered that the ‘trigger’ was that a pupil had thrown the shot-put into the swimming pool. Probably not a valid reason to get so upset.
But as Lou Tice points out, if you haven’t decided what you value the most, then the tiniest thing can upset you. But if you can prioritise 6 or seven things that are most important to you, then you’ll operate from a sense of values. That can help put things in perspective and make you realise that some things just aren’t worth getting upset over.
Since I believe there’s a life beyond this one on earth, I’ve made my spiritual life number one. Then family, friends, health, etc. So what do you consider to be the most important things in your life?
This script was for a radio ‘filler’ and was written and narrated by John Callister.
The Power of Words
Paul Rusesabagina, is the real-life character who inspired the film, Hotel Rwanda. It was the 9th April, nineteen ninety four, and the genocide which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives had begun. Paul had been abducted by a death squad. An Army Captain thrust a gun towards him and ordered him to execute a group of civilians. Paul was petrified but he noticed that when the captain gave him the order to kill, he didn’t look him straight in the eye.
So he lifted a baby and said, “Is this baby your enemy?” I don’t think this is what you want to do. I think you are tired and stressed. I think there’s another solution..
By his words, Paul talked his captors out of carrying out massacres and saved the lives of 1200 people.
A Bible verse in Proverbs says: “death and life are in the power of the tongue. Yes – your words, good or bad, can be that powerful.
This script was for a radio ‘filler’ and was written and narrated by John Callister.