The Tsunami Tragedy through a Child's Eyes

By Lynette Lee Corporal

Ten-year-old tsunami survivor and photography workshop participant Udomporn Klatalay finds hope amid the destruction.

BANGKOK (Asia Media Forum) - If a picture paints a thousand words, then the stark images from the photographs of a tsunami survivor certainly speak volumes.

At the InSIGHT Out! Creative Workshop and Exchange for Youth in Aceh and Thailand photo exhibit that ran for a month at a shopping mall in the Thai capital, 129 children ages eight to 18 tell the world their personal, very painful stories in the aftermath of the Dec. 2004 tsunami that struck many parts of Asia and killed more than 186,000 people, with still 42,883 missing, from Indonesia to Somalia.

It was just a matter of giving these children survivors a camera, and natural curiosity reared its creative head. For Japanese graphic designer Yumi Goto and her husband, award-winning photojournalist Masaru Goto, it was time the world found out how the tsunami tragedy and its impact unfolded from a child's eyes -- or lenses to be exact.

The photo workshops were held in Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province in the western Indonesian island of Sumatra, and in Thailand's southern province of Phang Nga. For several weeks, workshop organisers met with the kids and taught them the basics of photography and journal writing as forms of self-expression. They also went on field trips to areas devastated by the tsunami, as well as relocation sites for survivors.

"I was washing glasses in my mother's coffee shop when the tsunami hit," recalled 18-year-old Rifan Syah in his journal during the workshop in Banda Aceh. Among the photos that the boy from Banda Aceh took were those of a community in ruins and an abandoned house surrounded by a virtual wasteland. Having lost his father to the tragedy, Rifan let out his feelings by writing poetry. "Tsunamis storm changes... laughter to tears... sweet to bitter," went one of the poems he wrote about the tragedy.

For 10-year-old Chokchai Klatalay from Phang Nga, the black and white image of a lone fish out of water seems to reflect the way his young life turned out after the tsunami. In a short biography, Chokchai, the only boy among four siblings, rarely went to and eventually quit school.

"When we first did the workshop, many people were telling us that these children didn't need cameras or films, that what they needed were shelter and food," Yumi Goto told IPS in a telephone interview.

But according to Yumi, material things cannot fully replace the feelings of these children and that they need an outlet to release their trauma. From what she saw and heard from the children themselves during the project, the camera is the young survivors' link to the outside world. "They have something very personal to share and they did this through their cameras," she said.

This is the rationale behind InSIGHT Out!, the creative workshop and exchange the couple did for the youth of Aceh, Indonesia, and Phang Nga, Thailand. Yumi and her husband believe that the only way to understand what the children tsunami survivors are going through is to "let what is inside to come out." Thus, let their insights about what happened to be brought out, through the camera lens.

From an initial group of 20 children in Aceh, the 10-day workshop had 129 participants in all - 64 kids from Aceh and 65 from Phang Nga. With cameras in hand, the kids were encouraged to explore not only the world around them but their own feelings as well. They were taught how to write journals as well to complement their picture-taking activities and field trips.

Yumi and Masaru have a soft spot for Banda Aceh because just before the tsunami happened, they were already involved in a photo campaign that tackled the effects of the long-running insurgency in Aceh that aims for self-rule from Indonesia. "It was difficult reaching out to people at that time. Nobody was paying attention to our campaign and appeal that the violence be stopped," Yumi Goto said. "When the tsunami struck, we felt we had to do something."

They then identified scenic Phang Nga - known as a popular tourist spot until the 2004 tsunami -- and everything went smoothly after that. Since they only had a limited number of cameras, the kids in the workshop had to share equipment.

Glimpses of deep sensitivity, quiet despair, innocence and hope fill the exhibit area. "Stunning pieces of works," was how some critics described the children's pictures.
Indeed, devoid of technical know-how, these children let their natural instincts come out.

In what perhaps is an affirmation of their deep faith, 11-year-old Arthithaya Jongkraijak and 10-year-old Udomporn Klatalay had serene Buddha images amid the ruins as their subjects. Meanwhile, a silent plea to protect the environment could be discerned from 11-year-old Nisakron Saepu's image of a pile of empty Styrofoam lunch boxes carelessly thrown away in a vacant lot.

With a sense of irony, 10-year-old Muhammad and 13-year-old Siska Milda Ulfa let viewers see how tsunami survivors living in relocation sites take a bath and make do with a limited supply of water. A very innocent-looking photograph by 12-year-old Rahmaita of a sleeping cat with cartoon characters Tweety Bird and Bugs Bunny stuffed toys in its arms betrays a child's longing to be protected and be kept safe from harm. A very poignant picture of a tent city in Aceh did not get lost on 15-year-old Muhammad Dawam. A stark, very disturbing reminder of the terrible tragedy could be seen in 14-year-old Adetina Maulina's photo of an abandoned shoe lying among shreds of woods and other debris.

From what the Gotos and other NGOs that helped facilitate the workshop have observed, the Acehnese youngsters seem to be more aware of social issues. This is perhaps due to their exposure to the political conflict they were familiar with in their region even before the tsunami disaster struck. The Thai children, on the other hand, are more creative and artistic.

Plans are afoot for InSIGHT Out! to make a traveling exhibit of the project in the next few months, after this exhibit at the Kinokuniya Bookstore at the Siam Paragon mall in downtown Bangkok. The children's works is also scheduled to be included in the International Festival of Photography in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November.

The Gotos are hopeful that this exhibit will help bring about healing to survivors. This early, there are signs that the children are on their way back ‘home.' In the words of 15-year-old Sri Wahyumi: "I cannot change this destiny; I only can accept it honestly. It is Allah's will. Something good is behind this disaster. I have become stronger and more patient." (END/AMF/IPSAP/LC/JS/310706)