http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=151&Itemid=1
Journalistic detachment tested by disaster
News & Features - Asia-Pacific
By Nalaka Gunawardene
Sunday, 11 March 2007
The odds were stacked too strongly against Sri Lankan teenager
Thillainayagam Theeban.
First, he and his family happened to be at 'ground zero' of the
biggest disaster in living memory, the Indian Ocean Tsunami in
December 2004.
Then, within months of that blow came the resurgence of political
violence in Sri Lanka, making it a 'double whammy' for tens of
thousands caught in the cross-fire. If Nature's fury had somehow
spared him, there was no such consideration on the part of his
murderers.
News reports last week simply said that Theeban was shot dead on March
3 by four unidentified persons. The killers had forced their way into
the temporary camp for tsunami survivors at Kesar Road, Karaitivu in
eastern Sri Lanka. One assailant was apprehended by camp residents and
handed over to police; the others escaped.
No one yet knows who is responsible for this senseless killing, one of
many in a wave of terror and lawlessness currently sweeping Sri Lanka.
It is uncertain whether Theeban's killers will ever face justice.
Life and dreams shattered
Theeban, 16 at the time of his death, was one of eight survivor
children in four Asian countries that TVE Asia Pacific tracked for one
year under the Children of Tsunami regional media project
Until the tsunami shattered his life and dreams at the age of 14,
Theeban was an eager, talented schoolboy -– fond of mathematics,
cricket (hero: Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan) and Tamil
movies (idol: Indian actor Rajinikanth).
That world fell apart within a few hours: the waves took away his
mother and youngest brother (four years), and also destroyed their
house and ruined the father's thriving fishing business. A middle
class family suddenly found themselves destitute, taking refuge in a
temporary shelter.
That was where we found them in January 2005 when searching for a
statistically average family affected by the tsunami, whose story we
wished to film for a year.
Two weeks of watching mostly sensationalist and superficial tsunami
news on television had convinced us of the need for sustained,
empathetic coverage of survivors as they slowly raised their heads.
Two weeks of watching mostly sensationalist and superficial tsunami
news on television had convinced us of the need for sustained,
empathetic coverage of survivors as they slowly raised their heads.
We didn't set out to do some more of the on-the-run, one-off type
reportage that saturated the airwaves. We wanted to stay with the
prolonged recovery stories, as they evolved completely unscripted.
Our challenge was to mount the editorial, logistical and financial
requirements within an ethical framework that respected communications
rights of all affected families. And do so at eight locations in the
four worst-hit countries: India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Once we explained what it was all about, Theeban's father and
grandmother -- who had stepped in to take care of the three surviving
grandchildren -- agreed to have our video crew visit them every month
to film their recovery progress (or the lack of it).
Hard labour at 14
Life after the tsunami was far from easy for Theeban, who dropped out
of school and took to manual labour. He worked for a few months as an
apprentice at a tractor repair garage.
When some older boys at work started bullying him, he left the place
and joined efforts to clear coastal rubble. From that he moved on to
various odd jobs in masonry and paddy harvesting.
Theeban the apprentice
"I am proud to be working at my age…, when other children are
studying," he said in one interview.
"I can't get a job at some places because I'm too young…I had to lie
about my age being 19, to work at the clearing site."
On some days he didn't find any work and living conditions at the
make-shift camp remained basic as weeks turned into months.
The billions that caring people and governments around the world had
donated in tsunami aid somehow failed to help this particular family's
recovery. And for most Colombo-based charities, the East was on the
'wrong side' of the island to extend he
Unable to restart his life, Theeban's father became depressed and
alcoholic. As time passed, the family was scattered: the father
remarried and moved out, and Theeban's two younger brothers were
boarded at a youth hostel in Ampara, an hour's bus ride away.
Chronicling these slow-moving developments on video was difficult: in
some months, little or nothing was happening in Theeban's life in
spite of an aid-inspired frenzy around him.
At the time of his death, more than 26 months after the mega-disaster,
Theeban and his grandmother were still living in the 'temporary' camp,
dependent on food rations for their daily survival.
Judgement and objectivity
As journalists, we have been trained not to get 'too attached' to the
people or subjects we cover, lest it affects our judgement and dilutes
our 'objectivity'. The four production teams involved in Children of
Tsunami initially agreed to follow this norm when we met in Bangkok in
early 2005 for our first (and only) planning meeting. We also resolved
not to reward our participating families in cash or kind, as they were
all participating voluntarily with informed consent.
But the ground reality was different. As Asia's longest year (2005)
wore on, with survivors slowly patching their lives together again,
our film teams found themselves becoming friends of families or
playing good Samaritan. For example:
* Sometimes our teams would find a survivor family close to
starvation and -– acting purely as human beings, not journalists -–
they would buy dry rations or a cooked meal.
* At other times, finding the children restless or aimless, they
would buy them a football, kite or another inexpensive toy that would
produce hours of joy and cheer.
As commissioners and publishers of Children of Tsunami stories, we
didn't object to these acts of kindness.
Journalism with empathy was far preferable to the cold detachment that
textbooks recommended.
Throughout 2005, the camera crew from Video Image (the Sri Lankan
production partner) became friends of Theeban's extended 'family'.
There was a language barrier (Theeban spoke no Sinhala, and some crew
no Tamil) but that didn't hinder communications too much.
On some visits, grandma Sharada would treat the crew with rice cooked
in curd, a traditional delicacy prepared with her meagre means at the
camp. And the crew members remember well how Theeban was thrilled to
accompany them to the pastry shop down the road during his first-ever
visit to Colombo.
Simple items or incidents elated Theeban's spirits. Somebody once
gifted him a portable audio cassette player, which became his most
cherished possession and which he carried everywhere.
Until, perhaps, the new shoes arrived. A spanking white pair of
sneakers was the only item that Theeban bought for himself when he
visited Phuket, Thailand, for a few days in November 2005. He spent
the rest of his modest per diem to bring thoughtful gifts for all his
loved ones.
He travelled to Phuket to be part of an Asian forum of children and
young people responding to the tsunami. Organised by Unicef, it
brought together over 20 children and youth from five tsunami-affected
countries. Close to a hundred adults representing -- UN agencies and
humanitarian organisations -- also came to the Thai resort town to
listen to these young people.
Uncaring bureaucracy
It was a huge logistical challenge to send Theeban to Thailand. At our
recommendation, Unicef invited both Theeban and Heshani -- the
13-year-old girl from Suduwella, Matara, in southern Sri Lanka, whose
story we were also tracking.
With all their documents washed away by the waves, we first had to
establish the identity of these children and accompanying guardians.
When Theeban produced government-issued documents to the passport
office in Colombo, they were flatly rejected -– simply because
everything was written in Tamil, legally an official language in Sri
Lanka. It was only after everything was translated into Sinhala and
certified that his passport application was accepted.
If the bureaucracy's indifference was predictable, nothing prepared us
for the reaction at Unicef Sri Lanka. The UN agency's Colombo office
had been bypassed by their own regional office in Bangkok that
directly selected the Sri Lankan children.
Colombo's indignation showed in their treatment of our first-time
travellers. And the UN agency's full book of procedures -- involving
travel claim forms and staggered per diems among others -- was thrown
at these teenagers without any consideration of their age or the
recent trauma from which they were recovering.
But the trip, when it happened, was the highlight of Theeban's first
year after the tsunami. A colleague who was on the same flight recalls
how Theeban was fascinated by everything -– Colombo and Bangkok
airports and the Thai Airways flight itself were all new experiences.
In spite of everything he had been through, he retained the sense of
wonder, and the ability to smile.
We never met Theeban in person after he returned from Phuket. Unicef's
official report carries photographs showing Theeban taking part in
various cultural and group activities during the four-day event.
Prasad Pereira, our researcher who accompanied the Sri Lankan children
and guardians, reports how Theeban slowly opened up to the array of
new experiences. He was less expressive than the artistically-inclined
Heshani, but in his own pensive way, Theeban had engaged young people
from across coastal Asia who had all shared the tsunami.
Our monthly visits to the participating families stopped in late 2005
when we ran out of money to sustain filming, after which contact with
the families became less frequent. But our colleagues at Video Image
did stay in touch because, as they put it, 'we spent almost a year
following his life, and we can't just walk away'.
If 2005 was long and arduous for Theeban, 2006 proved to be much
harder. From bits and pieces of news that eventually found their way
to Colombo, we learnt that he was abducted by an armed group in mid
2006.
Given the complex political and security scenario in Sri Lanka's
Eastern Province, we could only hazard a guess on who might be
responsible. Hundreds of young men, and increasingly young women, are
being coerced into combatant roles in an aimless war that has lasted
longer than their entire short lives.
At that time, the father and grandmother sent desperate pleas for help
– to track down Theeban and secure his release. We who 'shoot' with
video cameras felt utterly helpless when confronted by trigger-happy
groups whose business is shooting to kill.
Weeks later, Theeban had suddenly reappeared at the camp. We don't
know what happened during the time he was missing. But his escape is
the most likely reason for his cold-blooded murder on March 3 -- a
deadly lesson for him, and a warning to others.
Journey ends
Thillainayagam Theeban
Thillainayagam Theeban (1990-2007)
'Children of Tsunami: The Journey Continues' was the title we gave to
the one-hour documentary that looked back at the uneven progress of
eight families in four countries that we tracked for a year.
We parted with these words: "Our journey with the eight families ends
here. In the coming months, these families -- and thousands like them
-- will continue their own journeys of recovery."
Theeben's own journey is now over. He survived the natural calamity
and lived through endless hardships of displacement, only to be sucked
into the vortex of political violence.
Theeben's own journey is now over. He survived the natural calamity
and lived through endless hardships of displacement, only to be sucked
into the vortex of political violence.
Whereas the tsunami's devastation helped heal deep-rooted animosities
in Indonesia's Aceh province, it only created a temporary lull in Sri
Lanka's long-drawn war.
The disaster's Sri Lankan death toll (close to 40,000 dead or missing)
shocked the world when it happened within a few hours or days. Yet, at
least twice as many people -– most of them unarmed and uninvolved
civilians -- have been killed in over a quarter century of fighting.
That doesn't always grab headlines.
Thillainayagam Theeban has become another statistic in a
'low-intensity conflict' (as some researchers call it). And while this
war lasts, it will continue to consume thousands of other young lives
-- a grim roll call of Sri Lanka's Lost Generation.
The author, Nalaka Gunawardene, was the originator of the Children of
Tsunami concept and served as its executive producer. The views in
this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of TVE
Asia Pacific. Photographs courtesy: Video Image, Sri Lanka. More on
Children of the Tshunami on Wikipedia.
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