tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11018647303506794312024-02-07T16:10:15.019-08:00Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna (Living Imprint Project)The Surviving History project records the experiences of 10 Holocaust survivors in Lithuania. Apart from interviews, the project involves documenting places, people and things which speak to the existence of Jewish culture and history - past and present - in Lithuania. This e-journal records my personal experience of participating in this project since August 2008 to the present.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-51069793356741970062010-06-01T00:05:00.001-07:002010-06-01T00:05:29.585-07:00Lithuanian Court Ruling - Swastikas a Historic LegacyTo read article click here - <a href="http://jta.org/news/article/2010/05/21/2739264/lithuanian-court-rules-swastikas-historic-legacy">http://jta.org/news/article/2010/05/21/2739264/lithuanian-court-rules-swastikas-historic-legacy</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-63486993814197904892010-05-24T10:41:00.000-07:002010-05-24T10:45:05.840-07:00Exhibition at Central Synagogue, Great Portland Street W1, London - 21-25 June 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAZg0MX2l3rttnhm9POF-6OUYtLnfCjWoZht_ABuChKay87NeD5PsCrh-mP3LhqFIljuQOjH436Fa3ZW9wr6L2MmrwUkh9mK9tGVupmhcxP9o245aulLdvq5QNb7MT0ECO2Yy2AbwOE7D/s1600/14052010081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAZg0MX2l3rttnhm9POF-6OUYtLnfCjWoZht_ABuChKay87NeD5PsCrh-mP3LhqFIljuQOjH436Fa3ZW9wr6L2MmrwUkh9mK9tGVupmhcxP9o245aulLdvq5QNb7MT0ECO2Yy2AbwOE7D/s400/14052010081.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<i>Photo: Shivaun and Steven Leas, 14 May 2010</i><br />
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It's been a pretty crazy time for us over the last few months. I don't think we've stopped since we got back from Cape Town, South Africa :) The Surviving History exhibition is still touring South Africa at this moment and will open shortly in Durban. (To read about our time in South Africa, <a href="http://survivinghistorylithuania.blogspot.com/search/label/South%20Africa">click here</a>.) <br />
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We've been hoping to put on the complete exhibition in London for some time now. At one of our events last year, Steven Leas, the cantor at the Central Synagogue of London, expressed interest in bringing it the exhibition to the synagogue. So, it's been a long time coming, but the dates have finally been locked down for the Surviving History exhibition in London.<br />
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We still have to iron out the finer details but there will be an amazing concert for the opening, courtesy of international and renowned cantors who will be in London for the International Cantors' Convention. (For more info on the convention, have a look at the <a href="http://www.jmi.org.uk/synagoguemusic/events/10_European_cantors_convention.html">Jewish Music Institute's webpage on the event</a>.) The exhibition will run from 21-25 June, 2010. As for opening times and so on, stay tuned for the next update!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-78838514238222825902010-05-08T16:28:00.000-07:002010-05-08T16:35:10.352-07:00Some articles on Surviving History in Cape Town<a href="http://www.sajewishreport.co.za/pdf/latest_issue/NJWED00405.pdf">The Lithuanian Jewish Spirit Lives On</a> - by Claudia B Braude, SA Jewish Report, 7-14 May 2010<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFayfJi9FwEVZy8MNaC2Wkv4ardl0ufPfOxSw9kvfl1CC3i-3jij_sek97wrbh3RlKe-0ilzrf-3P4gjSR9TZFK_bvOFqDZs74Zn1h0ecgeG_u32-LyOKuE5WMhT9j-RzHd3WS1pWaJ5HD/s1600/SAJR7-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFayfJi9FwEVZy8MNaC2Wkv4ardl0ufPfOxSw9kvfl1CC3i-3jij_sek97wrbh3RlKe-0ilzrf-3P4gjSR9TZFK_bvOFqDZs74Zn1h0ecgeG_u32-LyOKuE5WMhT9j-RzHd3WS1pWaJ5HD/s320/SAJR7-14.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://sajewishreport.co.za/pdf/2010/april/23-april-2010.pdf">Vilna Exhibition Looks 'Beyond Historical Narrative'</a> - Moira Schneider, SA Jewish Report, 23 Apr 2010<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK8gpJ4b5k2QeDllLjp4fjS5y6EPvIgXmKNUqVB3CFBXkdhClx2TB28KaYjBdqEhYest62GOM9MM2l6ZWCUhI_QeAL3hM2HQQQJQIti59sDLx5ssuzX-X0nkp9nGDFgfeBqnduGlWAhpv/s1600/SAJR-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK8gpJ4b5k2QeDllLjp4fjS5y6EPvIgXmKNUqVB3CFBXkdhClx2TB28KaYjBdqEhYest62GOM9MM2l6ZWCUhI_QeAL3hM2HQQQJQIti59sDLx5ssuzX-X0nkp9nGDFgfeBqnduGlWAhpv/s320/SAJR-23.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-38663705296427297212010-05-03T03:00:00.000-07:002010-05-03T03:00:00.157-07:00Blurred distinctionsThis year, ultra nationalists in Vilnius staged another march to mark independence day. Supposedly less vitriolic than the march in 2008 (which was featured in our film Surviving History), in that there wasn't calls for "Jews Out!" or "Russians Out!" as in that previous march, but limited to "Lithuania for Lithuanians!" <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KWyI02dGRNxB8fNiz6u1944NLU7WT-ePpDxzwCcvzVQUB1E2JSCMjYrF9Zshh8IV87r2xChtrk5R_BNfHdYPHql6n4nlfQPKMaovVXoDTQzgWJh3v2uHthsln8DO5xs54jBvWF2GMSp7/s1600/2010March11NeoNaziMarchVilnius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KWyI02dGRNxB8fNiz6u1944NLU7WT-ePpDxzwCcvzVQUB1E2JSCMjYrF9Zshh8IV87r2xChtrk5R_BNfHdYPHql6n4nlfQPKMaovVXoDTQzgWJh3v2uHthsln8DO5xs54jBvWF2GMSp7/s400/2010March11NeoNaziMarchVilnius.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>This photo from Holocaust in the Baltics (see <a href="http://www.holocaustinthebaltics.com/38401/index.html">http://www.holocaustinthebaltics.com/38401/index.html</a>)</i><br />
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Sometimes I wonder if we can recognise the distinction between ultra-nationalists and fascists, or if there is any distinction between them at all? And if such displays are not met with any response, does apathy amount to acceptance or collusion?<br />
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Efraim Zuroff has written several scathing articles about this event and condemned the apathy.<br />
See <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/03/baltic-far-right-eu">Guardian, 3 April 2010</a><br />
See <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=174425">The Jerusalem Post, 1 May 2010</a><br />
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I must say I am surprised that the mainstream press has missed out on this repeat incident, unlike the span of coverage in 2008. Perhaps because fascist activities are nothing new, whether in Lithuania or elsewhere. (For example, see article on <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/17/violence-flares-white-supremacist-rally-la/">white supremacist march in LA in April 2010</a>.) However, unlike that reported in Vilnius, counter protesters were involved in the fray.<br />
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Will the time come, I wonder, when we will see some counter protesters in Lithuania?<br />
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If anti-semitism is a yardstick for intolerance around the world, perhaps we should endeavour to be counter protesters. Ultra-nationlists see Jews as the enemy along with any other minority group that inhabit their lands. In this age of globalisation and transient migrant populations, it is impossible for a country to be 'pure' in terms of ethnicity or nationality. And yet, the world sees no shortage of people blindly and actively inciting hatred. For a snapshot, have a look at <a href="http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/anti-semitism_global_incidents_2010.asp">this website</a>. Or for those in the UK, just look at the BNP and its use of the term 'indigenious' British population.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-80172295720707258492010-04-19T15:10:00.000-07:002010-04-19T15:10:27.709-07:00Robben Island Visit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbpR8XDuSOcIy0x245BxQqDSnWFQ-GzHivMb-d1cRU4fS-qK7VGq-8tU8byfk5hZGp3vzSE-OlV15jL4AEDtZsrw_qXfSNI499pq7WmaCaGXFSfpGB2QCM5nMyoVCQyeVuqtvgpGvw3gP/s1600/Robben2-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbpR8XDuSOcIy0x245BxQqDSnWFQ-GzHivMb-d1cRU4fS-qK7VGq-8tU8byfk5hZGp3vzSE-OlV15jL4AEDtZsrw_qXfSNI499pq7WmaCaGXFSfpGB2QCM5nMyoVCQyeVuqtvgpGvw3gP/s400/Robben2-11.jpg" width="265" /><i>M</i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mr Apartheid Puppet</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYm6ZdKF7rwTCB8s6Ogv64HV_jcqFO-5lvK1XrbO3B-qxDroxOumv3Ur6AV_BV6YU8wCi11iFlTEmaWfkA01IN2fcVdg6enXPdg4rlQrsrDIWW5qP9xLB03B_rn92cy0-vp-TERLsZQbb/s1600/Robben2-111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYm6ZdKF7rwTCB8s6Ogv64HV_jcqFO-5lvK1XrbO3B-qxDroxOumv3Ur6AV_BV6YU8wCi11iFlTEmaWfkA01IN2fcVdg6enXPdg4rlQrsrDIWW5qP9xLB03B_rn92cy0-vp-TERLsZQbb/s320/Robben2-111.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">I've been meaning the blog about the places we've visited when we haven't been working but truth be told, the whole flight cancellation thing has left me a little flat. Over the last 4 days we've been working the phones and surfing online with regards to alternate means to get back to London but this Icelandic ash business seems to only be worsening. Anyway, I decided that I should make it a point to record the amazing experiences we have encountered - the township of Guguletu (meaning 'Our Pride'), the gardens at Kirstenboch, the views around Chapman's Peak and Noordhoek, as well as of course the famous landmark Table Mountain. But these experiences really deserve their own blog entry so I shall take my time...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I thought it befitting to start with Robben Island; the first 'touristy' place we visited on one of our days off. This is of course where political prisoners were kept. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years here. To get to the island, you have to buy tickets in advance at the Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront. The centre also doubles as a museum. There is a message on one of the walls, which begins... "While we will not forget the brutality of apartheid..." (see picture below). Very inspiring, no?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8P60pXYpUa92xXcVpIo6Uqvm1qfIdnoP53UPdhpFL_W9UX_U4D1QDqSkhpX-Jqve7yqYCbsvnppbRU-HQwpY_vsPxlshLFMjUcxUfG0iDXRA5XnPjPcfnkR-Gm3I-0XJn6hdwcMOmqRSC/s1600/Robben1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8P60pXYpUa92xXcVpIo6Uqvm1qfIdnoP53UPdhpFL_W9UX_U4D1QDqSkhpX-Jqve7yqYCbsvnppbRU-HQwpY_vsPxlshLFMjUcxUfG0iDXRA5XnPjPcfnkR-Gm3I-0XJn6hdwcMOmqRSC/s320/Robben1-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrPw8j_BYFG83HwhW-Abzz7D_hhSzKxZzTqR9V1O7UjoiO5W86VhHhWgWoEBjjyJ3vzTVBwrjt_CsT8Y6xK5RKtshi7JkJ9SH1038yoWlg1XQTGNMsZFtcE_gLiPGJtOTSvBAk42rstwt/s1600/Robben4-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrPw8j_BYFG83HwhW-Abzz7D_hhSzKxZzTqR9V1O7UjoiO5W86VhHhWgWoEBjjyJ3vzTVBwrjt_CsT8Y6xK5RKtshi7JkJ9SH1038yoWlg1XQTGNMsZFtcE_gLiPGJtOTSvBAk42rstwt/s400/Robben4-1.jpg" width="400" /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Display panels at the museum </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATs4ewBl_qLRiyPPZjgBjzcexO2jPX-4JClAsd0fpwOSvUX0jSaCNTj68KRvSbuvV_oD0q0g679tkHrl-hhGGpth0B09C1SS1EK4sa2UrdYQncn4NmLrRth758syJ33I35a8wQ33fL3lk/s1600/Robben3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATs4ewBl_qLRiyPPZjgBjzcexO2jPX-4JClAsd0fpwOSvUX0jSaCNTj68KRvSbuvV_oD0q0g679tkHrl-hhGGpth0B09C1SS1EK4sa2UrdYQncn4NmLrRth758syJ33I35a8wQ33fL3lk/s400/Robben3-1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The queue for the ferry begins to grow, half hour before departure </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MkNx7tt_Qlrn3B1uVFx-712p-l_ZZGaYH-WccFhaqFJ6ENidoyow3zedjzpCmqC3UoXfeuNv0ENR5R0VjEfoog3UGqBjIEMn_KRa8BRd1aGe-ztuuBKRBnWjqDX4DbDkR0NpkmQEiKmB/s1600/Robben5-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MkNx7tt_Qlrn3B1uVFx-712p-l_ZZGaYH-WccFhaqFJ6ENidoyow3zedjzpCmqC3UoXfeuNv0ENR5R0VjEfoog3UGqBjIEMn_KRa8BRd1aGe-ztuuBKRBnWjqDX4DbDkR0NpkmQEiKmB/s400/Robben5-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Shivaun and Maggie get ready to board</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSoZjR86Ae0nPd3oeHJ3dpIcjQhayeeFfm5ujDp75HA7iyXVI-gNt2dKS1bAWpj3lbe_yZ0q70m9oBPo36tVheAhD5glqd3TrPXNPSROEzoLCesoawSUzw4mp-K2STqa_fGwp41ltbE7h/s1600/Robben8-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSoZjR86Ae0nPd3oeHJ3dpIcjQhayeeFfm5ujDp75HA7iyXVI-gNt2dKS1bAWpj3lbe_yZ0q70m9oBPo36tVheAhD5glqd3TrPXNPSROEzoLCesoawSUzw4mp-K2STqa_fGwp41ltbE7h/s400/Robben8-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A tourist shop on Robben Island, the lettering above the display racks echo the theme of the site</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVvM2XheNMW6cVkbLXIlw7JchJ3o3jGhvuBvwj8QuCSJHHm3q0wXPqMxIL4g-Nbfh0ymBPIlTmYZ6N00L42vG78VAl75C4o864JEal7XEd1sX-9Tr9xoT5Nor2tNHmJAi3uBghgjoxnnW/s1600/Robben9-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVvM2XheNMW6cVkbLXIlw7JchJ3o3jGhvuBvwj8QuCSJHHm3q0wXPqMxIL4g-Nbfh0ymBPIlTmYZ6N00L42vG78VAl75C4o864JEal7XEd1sX-9Tr9xoT5Nor2tNHmJAi3uBghgjoxnnW/s400/Robben9-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The entrance reads: "We serve with pride." </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">...I wonder if this is for the benefit of the guards or the prisoners? I wonder whether the deception is akin to that of the 'Arbeit Macht Freit' (Work will set you free) signs posted above ghetto gates by the Nazis?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's all very rush rush. We are hustled on to buses lined up in rows with optimistic mottos on them, such as this one below. Another reads "We are on this journey together." Lots of double entendre here.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YwZMMvWlhDBKo4Rgwg-V1v9cspQNdoMqsNBuTrUngP1QxOUiWRYYuAM52BfOLsQyqoTJ0tsm5xjAyTEsO2l6zCVQ3IzrHxtLeR6ckio5YKPWMpEYFadoEApA6saG0UE8O42MSqKybU96/s1600/Robben10-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YwZMMvWlhDBKo4Rgwg-V1v9cspQNdoMqsNBuTrUngP1QxOUiWRYYuAM52BfOLsQyqoTJ0tsm5xjAyTEsO2l6zCVQ3IzrHxtLeR6ckio5YKPWMpEYFadoEApA6saG0UE8O42MSqKybU96/s400/Robben10-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_gnkAi8unD5D05VFnF2OugEfUbKwaftAqe4xyke4QWFCHytB5PaXm4xXjAhMs1cAMoCwA4lVYZkIMg_BpLhG2hYAYWlqLV3bQ7ar_TF1eSZUccplAGQAdZhQNKKYfEsoQG2IrYjeH98W/s1600/Robben11-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_gnkAi8unD5D05VFnF2OugEfUbKwaftAqe4xyke4QWFCHytB5PaXm4xXjAhMs1cAMoCwA4lVYZkIMg_BpLhG2hYAYWlqLV3bQ7ar_TF1eSZUccplAGQAdZhQNKKYfEsoQG2IrYjeH98W/s400/Robben11-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Above: This is the entrance to the main prison block.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The bus takes us around the island, but we are not allowed off. The guide talks almost non-stop. I wish they would let us off the bus. And I wished the guide would stop talking. It's hard to immerse yourself or attempt to feel or read what this place speaks of when all one can hear is the roar of the bus and the constant narrative - which most of the time is peppered with irreverent humour - it's all strangely incongruous within this setting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, we reach the main prison buildings. They let us off and we are handed over to another guide. He tells us he was imprisoned here. He asks us to follow him and we do, from one cell to another, one corridor leading into the next, one courtyard opening into another, and he gives us a 10 minute talk in a large cell. He rushes and checks the time, another group is due to arrive after us. So he makes his way to a gate, opens it, and we re-emerge where we began. He walks briskly away - probably to get ready for the next busload of curious tourists. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-22033549375975281362010-04-16T11:21:00.000-07:002010-04-19T11:23:39.859-07:00Ashes, Ashes and We All Got Stuck!A different start for a change today. We decided to walk to the Cape Town Holocaust Centre (CTHC) and get some breakfast along the way. One unusual thing we noticed was that when we passed two FNB branches, we saw queues stretching round the corner. Maggie, ever the curious one, asked one of those queuing what she was there for. We found out that they were buying FIFA World Cup tickets. You have to be a real fan I think to endure these queues :)<br />
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It's been another productive and amazing day. Today we returned to the CTHC as Shivaun was conducting a session for students from the University of Stellenboch on oral testimony and how to go beyond that towards adopting a multidimensional approach. The questions we received were engaging and stimulating, and there was a really cool sense of collaboration and mutual exhange.<br />
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After that, we met up with Razia from the Peace Ambassador Project and her young ambassadors aged between 13-14. They had a tour of the exhibition and we discussed the various installations, and a range of things - from the use of symbolic metaphors in art to the activities of the Einsatzgruppen!<br />
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<i>Sharing their art work with us</i><br />
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This is an amazing group of young people who have taken it upon themselves to promote the 8 Millennium Development Goals. They aim to do so through art and performance and a host of other activities. Already they have gone on a road trip entitled 'Dialogue for Mutual Understanding' where they engaged their peers to address issues of education, health care, culture, environment and violence. If you would like to have these young ambassadors at your event, <a href="mailto:peaceambassadors@capetown.gov.za">contact them here</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZri8dMmUgPNFVTN5_a1Le42_MD8b5sSMKHQlaiG8yQlqU1ZqHf09-eYW6aBl08gAv3SzbtV0XbdNXJUdQQbYkQEBe59_ZwoUQFgSw9VsqTbrPTcalGtslpRTe4WgcYLKGi3aCxrW0_61C/s1600/peace1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZri8dMmUgPNFVTN5_a1Le42_MD8b5sSMKHQlaiG8yQlqU1ZqHf09-eYW6aBl08gAv3SzbtV0XbdNXJUdQQbYkQEBe59_ZwoUQFgSw9VsqTbrPTcalGtslpRTe4WgcYLKGi3aCxrW0_61C/s400/peace1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Everyone say "peeeeace!"</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYbvuKvdB6eOsLRFyQNoW2lt50wHEvrXnxb3-Xp680WzrOtfDX7xtOVy2_KQxmzcM4_l03WGYVW-u9bhMNdGrkifGRFdPo_0FvIGYcTxwIOgEp4lTE8yUn0RGvPONThyphenhypheniQQ6FXsfx2sLK/s1600/peace2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYbvuKvdB6eOsLRFyQNoW2lt50wHEvrXnxb3-Xp680WzrOtfDX7xtOVy2_KQxmzcM4_l03WGYVW-u9bhMNdGrkifGRFdPo_0FvIGYcTxwIOgEp4lTE8yUn0RGvPONThyphenhypheniQQ6FXsfx2sLK/s400/peace2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Whoa, I feel sooooo short compared to most of these kids!</i><br />
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But alas.... the high we were on did not last, when Shivaun received a text that our flight tomorrow was cancelled on account of the Icelandic volcanic ash and Heathrow being shut down. So we spent the closing of the day frantically trying to get a seat on a later flight before heading out for a late dinner. But all our efforts were to no avail, so we will have to try again tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed. We are loving Cape Town, but I think it's time to go home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-56496932834548981842010-04-14T14:16:00.000-07:002010-06-08T05:02:43.537-07:00Cape Town Holocaust Centre PhotosAn amazing array of photos captured by Amanda Cooper from the Cape Town Holocaust Centre of the teachers workshop and opening launch of the exhibition. Enjoy!<br />
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Yikes, we turned up 15 minutes late for a briefing at the Cape Town Holocaust Centre (CTHC) 'cos we got our schedules mixed up. We were supposed to be there for 2pm but thought it was 2.30pm. Sorry to the many volunteers and CTHC staff who took the time to be there. And also a big thank you, especially to the volunteers, who will be giving their time to guide visitors through the exhibition for the duration of the exhibition (until 29 April). In a way, I feel as if we have passed the baton on to these volunteers and staff members; it is now their turn to share and spread these stories.<br />
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Above: An overview of the exhibition space and the various elements<br />
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It was a fantastic in-depth session and we were asked great questions - did the artists get to meet the survivors? How many times were they interviewed? and so on. We told them about the artists - Dwora Fried, Katie Dell Kaufman, Lynsey Cleaver, Mike Moran, Birgit Muller - their background, how they approached the stories, their interpretations, and our vision. We also told them about what it was like working with Ruta Puisyte, Fania Brantsovsky, and Dovid Katz at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute, Chasia Spaneflig at the Community Centre, the narrators - Dora Pilianskiene, Berl Glazer, Gita Geseleva, Isroel (Izidor) Galperin, Cholem Sapsai, Rachel Kostanian, Margarita Civuncik, Josef Levinson...<br />
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After the briefing, we went for a drink at Mount Nelson as Shivaun was interviewed by Claudia Braude. It was another lovely Capetonian day.<br />
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Live music at Mount Nelson<br />
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<b>Some highlights:</b> <br />
<ul><li>Selected clip of speech by Richard Freedman, the director of Cape Town Holocaust Centre, which encapsulates succinctly what the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition is about.</li>
<li>Selected clip from Shivaun Woolfson's speech - her touching tribute to the memory of her late father, one of the personal motivations behind this project and exhibition. </li>
<li>A touching moment - a visitor at the Shoah Memorial installation painstakingly searches for the names of particular massacre sites/shtetls on the side of the bottles and finding the ones she is looking for, again painstakingly searches for their location on the map before placing it there</li>
<li>A rousing performance of "Vilna" by several members of the Herzlia youth vocal ensemble (I heard Polina Shepherd sing this, once at Spiro Ark in London and when we opened this <a href="http://survivinghistorylithuania.blogspot.com/2009/09/surviving-history-opens-in-vilnius-10.html">exhibition at Vilnius</a> last year. Every now and then it still chokes me up, eventhough I don't know why.)</li>
<li>And selected scenes of the 150 or so who turned up to experience the art installations and/or pay homage to their Litvak roots. </li>
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<object width="400" height="300" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/380670342774" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/380670342774" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-75278157767973130512010-04-13T04:23:00.000-07:002010-04-14T15:04:57.188-07:00Yom Hashoah V'Hagevurah (Holocaust and Heroism Day) 11 April 2010It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride over the last few days so I thought I had better hunker down and get up to speed with the blog entries. There was a window of opportunity this morning as we are due to drop into the Cape Town Holocaust Centre only this afternoon for a briefing with the volunteers who will show visitors around the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition until the 29 April, before it moves to Johannesburg and finally to Durban.<br />
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But I thought I would jot down a few notes about the events over the weekend. Shivaun attended the Yom Hashoah memorial service at Pinelands Jewish Cemetery on Sunday, 11 April. I did not attend so unfortunately we don't have any images to post. But she came back overawed and enthused and said it was truly amazing, that there was pomp, ceremony and a sombre ritual laying of wreaths, people in military attire, and heartrending testimonies. So she said Maggie and I had to come and join her that evening for an informal dinner at the Sephardic Jewish Shul. One main objective of that dinner was to remember the Rhodes survivors who had made it to South Africa and to honour them.<br />
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What was amazing to me once again, and for anyone who has followed this blog since the early days in 2008 when we embarked on this project will know, is the Jewish propensity for commemoration, intergenerational transmission of memory, and the reverence paid to such memories. As you will see in the images below, there is a display wall sponsored by a member of the congregation that remembers these survivors and provides a bit of a history lesson to its congregation. How wonderful to have such public commemoration, so that "we shall never forget" the lessons of the Holocaust.<br />
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The cantor and rabbi performs for the diners<br />
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Survivors Ella Blumenthal and friend celebrate<br />
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Nestled within a valley and overlooked by Table Mountain range, the food was yummy, yummy, yummy! But no, no springbok, no antelope. (Confused? <a href="http://survivinghistorylithuania.blogspot.com/2010/04/surviving-history-potraits-from-vilna.html">See blog entry</a>) And the sun came out as well eventually, which was great :) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9wN7wKxCpp3GLCk4Tc573xmMxMbQQhUSbDYhHn9Y4kvcNFUFMMbZEoNnQTsh9yim0-PlaCbfeToPQGHvxzBQWnWGEQ_obWnbfFxcetxNy5nuzB_5nrq4_kWtB6fRSEyPZjI3-GfzCPcG/s1600/sidewalk5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9wN7wKxCpp3GLCk4Tc573xmMxMbQQhUSbDYhHn9Y4kvcNFUFMMbZEoNnQTsh9yim0-PlaCbfeToPQGHvxzBQWnWGEQ_obWnbfFxcetxNy5nuzB_5nrq4_kWtB6fRSEyPZjI3-GfzCPcG/s400/sidewalk5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>See the sign? B-e-l-l Air, not Bel Air :) [Click to see larger image]<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRok2PbZ9DzZDR01IEq1TOycHWdBY_e59xkYBpFrzrE47xXV1uVIzb5muSar016w_x3He860wT7SCLiS0wC1M3A_9sGhyMk9HsI7V_A0xtEoT0eFIpmQKHi9pLlgwyi6nGIVGxezrbZTq/s1600/sidewalk3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRok2PbZ9DzZDR01IEq1TOycHWdBY_e59xkYBpFrzrE47xXV1uVIzb5muSar016w_x3He860wT7SCLiS0wC1M3A_9sGhyMk9HsI7V_A0xtEoT0eFIpmQKHi9pLlgwyi6nGIVGxezrbZTq/s400/sidewalk3.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>I like this split door which reminds me of a farm house.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEq0ZmfRiJgsGEpEWZVufDrkFpJoYi8mqEbRgGWBbFAR_kinKQxmX_KV7_jGkj8aRtR3KH0BUh9slFBB3y-udqP4-TOT4lDOZrcsyBDDDykZV-F4_R3MZ5xU1VLeQZjhzO8fQDYqMVCssu/s1600/sidewalk4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEq0ZmfRiJgsGEpEWZVufDrkFpJoYi8mqEbRgGWBbFAR_kinKQxmX_KV7_jGkj8aRtR3KH0BUh9slFBB3y-udqP4-TOT4lDOZrcsyBDDDykZV-F4_R3MZ5xU1VLeQZjhzO8fQDYqMVCssu/s400/sidewalk4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Corrugated sheets, copper pans, decor made from stones painted pink. And a copy of the New Yorker in the magazine rack. Is this boho or what?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG1kvgdSbqpM3FanmhWYMa8PmU_dFnzZ71AB3236chVEH-Is7Us3dfejdiKF16DttcVtATgqxoDVs5d7UoB4ixH2k9OQpGkLubROCqQz70xY4VerWc-jdWmuKNACznEjE7wJjsyVAtRam/s1600/sidewalk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG1kvgdSbqpM3FanmhWYMa8PmU_dFnzZ71AB3236chVEH-Is7Us3dfejdiKF16DttcVtATgqxoDVs5d7UoB4ixH2k9OQpGkLubROCqQz70xY4VerWc-jdWmuKNACznEjE7wJjsyVAtRam/s400/sidewalk1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Maggie scans the menu... no, no, no... no springbok...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-36750581705478955782010-04-09T10:07:00.000-07:002010-05-02T13:52:23.161-07:00Day 2 of Set Up at Cape Town Holocaust CentreSlept like a baby and woke up late - at 9am! Eeek! Quick brekky and out the door. Not great weather today though. It was drizzly and wet, as you can see. Our friend Maggie arrived from the States last night, so she came to help as well. Thanks Maggie!<br />
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The centre is home to the Jewish Museum and also the first synagogue in Cape Town, as well as the Albow Centre, where our exhibition will be held.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJSzeHCPIfxmDvhW2OFVBPc82gri8h1_1fXZDbunrshX3CFKpwa96upH-t4Ok2f_Awu3GfPJt65870tiXRfSb6_kFsm2qLxbriI_QhcH52q_RcZTUmVaNT6pOrWu9NacbFUUaM4QQWFP_/s1600/CTHC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJSzeHCPIfxmDvhW2OFVBPc82gri8h1_1fXZDbunrshX3CFKpwa96upH-t4Ok2f_Awu3GfPJt65870tiXRfSb6_kFsm2qLxbriI_QhcH52q_RcZTUmVaNT6pOrWu9NacbFUUaM4QQWFP_/s320/CTHC.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaK1Sw-Qstx3jSsKMZxJ9XQ7pk284tP_KLOxYti3YQAP0G36XcpJlrlP2CQoF0fj_YrTjeNPMEgqVWZygEgGHE8EMhKY-XM5YLp5l3Dr9V3UjoREZpwtR7441UJz2Rwn19P8R2tJnmQ6l/s1600/CTHC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaK1Sw-Qstx3jSsKMZxJ9XQ7pk284tP_KLOxYti3YQAP0G36XcpJlrlP2CQoF0fj_YrTjeNPMEgqVWZygEgGHE8EMhKY-XM5YLp5l3Dr9V3UjoREZpwtR7441UJz2Rwn19P8R2tJnmQ6l/s320/CTHC1.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jysvLw6WkLv7774P5JftTSwUUD5bQCI_Py4ob-EW12n2cQJSZWnLHR_aNa31a8JoX-B26vq-G9AeyWF4DIwSPmGCGowa-RqmCEF4betsGgYLn23gUij2SOaXRBO_lXGh4IB6XEI9Crjn/s1600/CTHC2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jysvLw6WkLv7774P5JftTSwUUD5bQCI_Py4ob-EW12n2cQJSZWnLHR_aNa31a8JoX-B26vq-G9AeyWF4DIwSPmGCGowa-RqmCEF4betsGgYLn23gUij2SOaXRBO_lXGh4IB6XEI9Crjn/s320/CTHC2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The posters for the exhibition were up outside the door at the Albow Centre.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYj3nVt2n9KGaCb4SCnH63uVeS5PJYCj3Z_AUjUXP2glOrIrq64KCvstVYxInqhjpgEqD1DpoJ6W3t_ZrqyK7qDcshmAChP7miSYz2B163901UMwuOqhCu_zRkdRZaklrPrjf-FrieYiz/s1600/CTHC2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYj3nVt2n9KGaCb4SCnH63uVeS5PJYCj3Z_AUjUXP2glOrIrq64KCvstVYxInqhjpgEqD1DpoJ6W3t_ZrqyK7qDcshmAChP7miSYz2B163901UMwuOqhCu_zRkdRZaklrPrjf-FrieYiz/s320/CTHC2-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
As the opening launch on Monday will happen in the hall where the exhibition will be, chairs for 120 people were set up too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxokb_8g92a4wQHXeVHIcLoAdcc06GFyoo6a0b3AZiaN9OE-wPKfDM1DcyxL_drEEbLc1cGpro583_iGkYgwwPUQQf9QPufi7hlMt1WX_fZ3rCxyIp6Wfvvm9ONSKV1bJUd8g_fwFYGay/s1600/CHTC2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxokb_8g92a4wQHXeVHIcLoAdcc06GFyoo6a0b3AZiaN9OE-wPKfDM1DcyxL_drEEbLc1cGpro583_iGkYgwwPUQQf9QPufi7hlMt1WX_fZ3rCxyIp6Wfvvm9ONSKV1bJUd8g_fwFYGay/s320/CHTC2-2.jpg" /></a></div> Here's Shivaun arranging chairs for the opening launch... <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJy6lHSZWvYP5OyL2-WleWQfk1yvbR0KxyuTK37ANhEU5NsZERN_MO7YQdRpumCsi22PDNE7hGjtAiggmtzRwUmDeplwHtm7UFq3ylOYi3L4FOPH6zmV3zjmFk82UpNcd1InkLX6Y2ET77/s1600/CTHC3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJy6lHSZWvYP5OyL2-WleWQfk1yvbR0KxyuTK37ANhEU5NsZERN_MO7YQdRpumCsi22PDNE7hGjtAiggmtzRwUmDeplwHtm7UFq3ylOYi3L4FOPH6zmV3zjmFk82UpNcd1InkLX6Y2ET77/s320/CTHC3.jpg" /></a></div>Here's Maggie having a chat with the director of the centre, Richard.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdicIANPGmdS9yy3KufNTqPLMr-5bS8Sk8gjYzNaKJrh1NjOrEH7C6w-WImnyqf1fBuCqJFKcq5cScAmHNwveXSyDzvYxDsQiQJYvrt_MsVEX_WSdnGFO7g1W3KPROYuNmfBTTjfd5mhwW/s1600/CTHC4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdicIANPGmdS9yy3KufNTqPLMr-5bS8Sk8gjYzNaKJrh1NjOrEH7C6w-WImnyqf1fBuCqJFKcq5cScAmHNwveXSyDzvYxDsQiQJYvrt_MsVEX_WSdnGFO7g1W3KPROYuNmfBTTjfd5mhwW/s320/CTHC4.jpg" /></a></div>This pix - Maggie, Zo, Richard and Shivaun<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2OXtmuLYD1A3FM8d1i-s5Md9-S3y05mznG99IDMGIndwK3l1UyewMlb6HIV19ekVx4errz9Ju19l7e0bn6MA105QbRu_H9p3h3XmM7Y-pGDGqYWLT8v8Znz5H7bYTGO8MBfz5Hi8bP2W/s1600/CTHC5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2OXtmuLYD1A3FM8d1i-s5Md9-S3y05mznG99IDMGIndwK3l1UyewMlb6HIV19ekVx4errz9Ju19l7e0bn6MA105QbRu_H9p3h3XmM7Y-pGDGqYWLT8v8Znz5H7bYTGO8MBfz5Hi8bP2W/s320/CTHC5.jpg" /></a></div> Moi taking Maggie's place in this shot<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXs9WoiFBgj3qt1jtHLPvuacPT-BzvTdcvlywKuaDOqm56BeqaY4Tr9E2OWQRqEwRsiWPrEiw2L4qtnAjjHpEG9Ue6TMvIhR7l1_Erq03CPZ9yIq7ykRmK0Ya1AMILmhYdp-0kBPmxQUE_/s1600/CTHC7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXs9WoiFBgj3qt1jtHLPvuacPT-BzvTdcvlywKuaDOqm56BeqaY4Tr9E2OWQRqEwRsiWPrEiw2L4qtnAjjHpEG9Ue6TMvIhR7l1_Erq03CPZ9yIq7ykRmK0Ya1AMILmhYdp-0kBPmxQUE_/s320/CTHC7.jpg" /></a></div>With Vernon the electrician.<br />
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Maggie was set loose with the Flip Video and she went around interviewing people :) The team at the centre was great to us, supplying tea and coffee and biscuits for break time, helping us load and move stuff about, what can I say, just great! Many many thanks for your assistance and hospitality.<br />
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Below is a short clip of the day's happenings...<br />
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Was too knackered by the end of the day to do anything but soak in the bath as soon as we got back to the hotel. Then we went downstairs for some grub. Noticed springbok showed up a few times on the restaurant menu. Hope to try it before I leave. Shiv asked me what a springbok was, I didn't know how to describe it except say it was kinda like a deer and does these leaps as it runs and as I was simulating these movements with my hands, she said, 'isn't that a kangaroo?' Glad the waiter cleared it up and told her it was an antelope. Ah... antelope. Anyways, am too tired to write much. We will go back to the centre tomorrow to administer the finishing touches and get the lights on. Oh and yes, one other observation from Day 1. We asked some people who work at the hotel as well as Richard whether it was true that it's not safe to go out at night and walkabout. The verdict is no. Apparently a few places are okay but not to walk to those places, to cab it there, and stay on the main road and not divert to adjacent lanes. After dinner as I was walking towards the lobby, the management trainee who had served us during dinner intercepted me and cautioned, 'you're not going for a walk are you?' She looked relieved when I assured her I wasn't. Hmm. Looks like we should try and squeeze in some sightseeing during the day. What a pity to not be able to explore or see the city at night. Okay. Am babbling senselessly now. Good night.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-1371747807973372722010-03-08T11:52:00.000-08:002010-03-09T02:13:31.779-08:00Sweden - A Tale of Planes, Trains, Luggage, and A ConferenceShivaun and I are back in London after a stimulating and eye-opening conference in Vaxjo, Sweden. <a href="http://lnu.se/om-lnu/konferenser/esrea-2010">This was the ESREA conference at Linneaus University from 4th to 7th March</a>. It was titled: ESREA 2010 Conference - Representing Lives and Learning -The science and poetics of our work. At this conference, Shivaun was able to present a glimpse into the research work that she had done on Lithuanian Holocaust survivor testimony. (<a href="http://lnu.se/om-lnu/konferenser/esrea-2010/abstracts-for-review/everything-speaks-s-woolfson">See abstract here</a>). It was an amazing trip with a lot of new experiences to absorb, interesting ideas to sift through and information that can only be gleaned when you have 40 knowledgeable people in one room and willing to share.<br />
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However, as you can imagine, not all trips are undertaken without a hitch. Considering that we have traveled quite some in the last 2 years and managed to evade any misfortune, I suppose it was time for us to experience some.<br />
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We flew into Copenhagen in Denmark and caught the train to Vaxjo (pronounced like "vacuum" without the 'm'). The flight was easy enough, one and a half hours. The train we caught from the airport, so that was easy peesy too. The 2.5 hours train ride was uneventful, which is what you really want when you need to arrive somewhere in time for the opening on the same day.<br />
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As you can see the landscape rolling past was an idyllic one, with huge swathes of snow and poking out every now and then from the undisturbed pale, a yellow house, a red barn...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEiV2diM5hfTK27UWBqBMvpvPwgQydi1NgTF2GjEFf8ga_ORoiCpEOCVbPWj3rIqu-h-jRdMSSAZtQRbczIi80mxfVjJAac31t_Urq3iwpaAjtbmoPVF7xwZRFnu_QCDX0O9kNl4a-UA-/s1600-h/04032010028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEiV2diM5hfTK27UWBqBMvpvPwgQydi1NgTF2GjEFf8ga_ORoiCpEOCVbPWj3rIqu-h-jRdMSSAZtQRbczIi80mxfVjJAac31t_Urq3iwpaAjtbmoPVF7xwZRFnu_QCDX0O9kNl4a-UA-/s320/04032010028.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The passing landscape - wide, open and snowy </i></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMNZ3G_Yj_yakH8Y4wFihn7owmkEGRYvjGvHdY-Jdd476kE86mSENspbjQ9COczEp-Fge7DueO_gop2DcrfELZGtLCLqocdm_U_e2XGBXWdlJuUbad-h4LtCwgfg6csF_qTnrtrZj5J-2/s1600-h/04032010029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMNZ3G_Yj_yakH8Y4wFihn7owmkEGRYvjGvHdY-Jdd476kE86mSENspbjQ9COczEp-Fge7DueO_gop2DcrfELZGtLCLqocdm_U_e2XGBXWdlJuUbad-h4LtCwgfg6csF_qTnrtrZj5J-2/s320/04032010029.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Why Shivaun insists on lugging not one but two hardbacks that weigh a ton is a mystery to me :) I generally choose to read magazines or paperbacks that can squeeze into my bag</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyways, the drama began as soon as we arrived at Vaxjo; I think I must have fallen into a stupor staring out the window, 'cos we got off the train, and I was fussing over Shivaun's bag as she had brought a large suitcase, and as we trundled off across the rail crossings, I looked over at her and her large red bag trailing behind her and suddenly had an awful sinking feeling that all I had on me was my backpack - I had left my hand luggage in the overhead cabin - eeeeek! As I watched the train speed off, my heart sank into my boots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To cut a long story short, here's what I learned about rail travel in Sweden:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1) The company that operates the trains are not the same company that handles station affairs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) There is no lost-and-found at the train stations, all missing items get routed to a holding department in Stockholm!!!<i></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3)<i> </i>The trains don't always run on time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I waited 40 minutes on the freezing platform that evening because I was informed that at Kalmar station, someone would put my bag on the next train back, but anxiety got the better of me and I was at the station at Vaxjo 15 minutes early. Alas, the train was 20 minutes late and I had also forgotten to ask which platform the train would arrive at. I spent that 40 minutes fretting if I was waiting for the right train and climbing on board another train waiting at the station, peering into cabins, hoping to catch sight of my bag. Finally the train arrived and I ran from cabin to cabin but no bag. I was afraid of staying too long on board, what if the train took off with me in it all the way back to Copenhagen? My mobile wasn't working so there was no way to tell Shivaun, who was by now at the Emigre Museum where the conference had kicked off. I have to admit I was a little frantic now; I jumped off the train, ran up the platform, thinking I would plead my case to the driver and hold the train while I did another search. A woman in uniform saw me and after listening to me, pointed to the other end of the platform. In the faint light, I could see a man holding my bag, hurrah! I can't imagine I would have seen my bag again if this was London, much less be able to enlist the help of so many to make sure my bag got back to me. Here, I must mention Larrs, owner at <a href="http://www.carismahotel.se/">Carisma Hotel</a>. Without him I would never have gotten my bag back; he was patient and diligent in calling Kalmar Station, having someone confirm my bag was on board, making sure it got on to another train back, and confirming the time it would be on.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAegljtT6bkH9DWFNLq_rILQjsIkT2cwzAElvCRfWLIx2mtKt6LIFhL6VpVF0aSvlr1IjkjOXReLToiGHq4WpoouPa3_SooxL8TsAflhmixsJmbcJloLNLqVtVn6MVhIxoHSNlqoyt8Vc/s1600-h/04032010030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAegljtT6bkH9DWFNLq_rILQjsIkT2cwzAElvCRfWLIx2mtKt6LIFhL6VpVF0aSvlr1IjkjOXReLToiGHq4WpoouPa3_SooxL8TsAflhmixsJmbcJloLNLqVtVn6MVhIxoHSNlqoyt8Vc/s320/04032010030.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Does this jacket make me look fat or...? Outside Carisma Hotel </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This leaving my bag on the train business plus other experiences which followed has impressed me about the Swedes and this part of Sweden I visited, Smaaland. People were really helpful and friendly and the town, being quite small, had a nice warmth and a relaxed atmosphere about it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll try not to bore you with too much detail of what happened at the conference or the rest of our trip but suffice to say, I came home with lots of ideas about the use of biography in adult education and its importance as a historical tool. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDIXegY98M4iD_ou0A0QWzcw1GRszk6XYGUPKnZCbhL4tZQRLFezcjBEHx3RxkWcasc-hTqeYtD2nvO0-3j1RfCf26RtssjeDRMnrDR65ev9z4koc2WUEMoOrtO_FSNlfxlKd7Yxr1ntz/s1600-h/05032010034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDIXegY98M4iD_ou0A0QWzcw1GRszk6XYGUPKnZCbhL4tZQRLFezcjBEHx3RxkWcasc-hTqeYtD2nvO0-3j1RfCf26RtssjeDRMnrDR65ev9z4koc2WUEMoOrtO_FSNlfxlKd7Yxr1ntz/s320/05032010034.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>On Linnaeus University campus</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i> </i></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V_S5hlmt33eKUBk6bkkQJ89vgHL8nkOIaemV0d1LFxPnINNRW9JWZmWmt9SsKgJ_nJ6RZxBKgnqmOMsMTdluCnz4r7222CPf9QvfYne52mRiM0XLJdZw28N-R5Kkld_WreMm9An5KB9t/s1600-h/05032010032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V_S5hlmt33eKUBk6bkkQJ89vgHL8nkOIaemV0d1LFxPnINNRW9JWZmWmt9SsKgJ_nJ6RZxBKgnqmOMsMTdluCnz4r7222CPf9QvfYne52mRiM0XLJdZw28N-R5Kkld_WreMm9An5KB9t/s320/05032010032.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Fancy some caviar from a tube? An offering for breakfast which I skipped, only because I wasn't sure what to put it on</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i> </i> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJMofy-vuzXyaEJxa_VkDd2oXdkfA-XsqI0x2fCgi3dXOTpdyXwe1wCXB0XV2TFGIs9yI_SDNgjOaaQUmw3INWgcn12EaJhViluTuQur1eiPkncvA5gLke1h09WiE0L6OMaAIruC46_1r/s1600-h/06032010035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJMofy-vuzXyaEJxa_VkDd2oXdkfA-XsqI0x2fCgi3dXOTpdyXwe1wCXB0XV2TFGIs9yI_SDNgjOaaQUmw3INWgcn12EaJhViluTuQur1eiPkncvA5gLke1h09WiE0L6OMaAIruC46_1r/s320/06032010035.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Last night: dinner at the Kosta glass factory floor, with entertainment provided by this family. Some ditties were sung to accompany schnap drinking (did I spell schnap right? I don't drink you see...)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3HPkjJI5BcaK2Z03tF9SCQqmA9w7DKcn2XoTWJrH52SaZoeYt-Z1Rd2xxzDc-O_c7LTiT92Mneyy0L3EelBlgWGJHTMitm7SbIzFi0kb9LLAFHpJT_AiS2Uh63alffm1LN8ukd9Y_IRA/s1600-h/06032010041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3HPkjJI5BcaK2Z03tF9SCQqmA9w7DKcn2XoTWJrH52SaZoeYt-Z1Rd2xxzDc-O_c7LTiT92Mneyy0L3EelBlgWGJHTMitm7SbIzFi0kb9LLAFHpJT_AiS2Uh63alffm1LN8ukd9Y_IRA/s320/06032010041.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Dinner: sausages, bacon (or something that was kinda like thick bacon or ham), pickled herring, cheese, rye crackers and potato. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO5mhST9q0cdmpHV_XUMr45v8-db-AU31Pt4JtM-e0LdZsvAyd5KJndCcS-HwL9vyd1b5zuiS-mNcDZSXn6KpDsSBqSAO8jQtZ4qIfK-1AVoVaWUv1LOFZ3IujApmGdMLMiDg_YRk1xt_/s1600-h/06032010036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO5mhST9q0cdmpHV_XUMr45v8-db-AU31Pt4JtM-e0LdZsvAyd5KJndCcS-HwL9vyd1b5zuiS-mNcDZSXn6KpDsSBqSAO8jQtZ4qIfK-1AVoVaWUv1LOFZ3IujApmGdMLMiDg_YRk1xt_/s320/06032010036.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>I actually thought they had baked the potatoes and grilled the sausages in the furnace they used as part of the glass blowing exercise, but that's probably unlikely right? :)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_HLsmA5_rThM5G-C6y3Qu2QdjCyocbZkeB64rPDYbE9cG-bSLRb8MYy8JANqIEDAF1VoDSLpjKV8mfUnci1MaB-4gTmveAllv3HaC7kUk1Y7xJ0yFALdpoBHArL9D9r0HimNEv-MffW-/s1600-h/06032010043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_HLsmA5_rThM5G-C6y3Qu2QdjCyocbZkeB64rPDYbE9cG-bSLRb8MYy8JANqIEDAF1VoDSLpjKV8mfUnci1MaB-4gTmveAllv3HaC7kUk1Y7xJ0yFALdpoBHArL9D9r0HimNEv-MffW-/s320/06032010043.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Glass blowing demonstration. It takes ages to make, and ages to cool down when made.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideJqRRHOlWlr-7K9MTQ52YSoTy9u1cF2Mfuh3rPnon2KeqJG6iWviC5vm7IlwUFCmv-H1uAMl0gxZ38wvoG0eQDSsCBx2Ray3awSdyY5OTpKttYsqD2ynIrdgGj21x6rX8UsFmRGSpsrx/s1600-h/07032010047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideJqRRHOlWlr-7K9MTQ52YSoTy9u1cF2Mfuh3rPnon2KeqJG6iWviC5vm7IlwUFCmv-H1uAMl0gxZ38wvoG0eQDSsCBx2Ray3awSdyY5OTpKttYsqD2ynIrdgGj21x6rX8UsFmRGSpsrx/s320/07032010047.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6ZdDGTEFfLmWv6m9POCytpioJZpqs_OeHGZgQD5QHH_KUuvRMgMDQDVNjFtGCrjmC-_m6UQ7LDfXhp2NdpkW3UkDpk045PQijABNZZs38XiuIvlJRwGlhZ9TafJo8Vxp5YxR__Ghy7lY/s1600-h/07032010048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6ZdDGTEFfLmWv6m9POCytpioJZpqs_OeHGZgQD5QHH_KUuvRMgMDQDVNjFtGCrjmC-_m6UQ7LDfXhp2NdpkW3UkDpk045PQijABNZZs38XiuIvlJRwGlhZ9TafJo8Vxp5YxR__Ghy7lY/s320/07032010048.jpg" /></a><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Above: Scenes from downtown Vaxjo on Sunday morning. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On our travel home, we had another slight mishap, having read the train schedules wrong; apparently, our return ticket was for the 12:12 train and not the 11:06 - two different companies. We ambled about the streets looking for a cafe but these were scarce, hardly anything was open, so we had to make do with a coffee dispensing machine and hot dogs at a shop at the train station. Plus the train was about 10 minutes late. This started the ball rolling on misadventures and getting back to London was a mini epic with train delays and a mad dash to check in. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Suffice to say we're glad to be home safe and sound. Our luggage however still has not made it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-63925028076310087672010-02-03T02:44:00.000-08:002010-02-03T02:46:16.634-08:00Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna at UCD Humanities Institute, LJCC, Spiro Ark and University of Sussex[NOTE: THIS IS AN OLD BLOG ENTRY WHICH I ONLY JUST DISCOVERED WAS SITTING IN MY DRAFT FOLDER - EEEK! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED IN JULY 09...]<br />
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I haven't updated this blog for so long now, I wouldn't know where to begin. But it is fair to say that we had a pretty busy period from late May to June, so perhaps an events wrap up is in order... <br />
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We were in Dublin for a few days between the 27-30 May at University College Dublin, in partnership with UCD Humanities Institute of Ireland (UCD HII) and Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland HETI). We had two evenings of talks by Holocaust academics Dr Robert Gerwarth, Ruta Puisyte from the Vilnius Yiddish Institute, survivor Tomi Reichental, as well as Shivaun. On the opening evening, we had a few luminaries in the form of ambassadors, including the Lithuanian ambassador. <br />
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Now, I must admit that the run up to the event was quite a hectic one. There was a mad rush with the logistics, organising the exhibition display units... all the usual stuff associated with an event. But I must say it was well worth it.<br />
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In all, about 150 people attended the evening talks. There was a mixed bag of feelings and responses to the Surviving History documentary and the short educational clip we put together titled What Would You Do. Most of the comments we received bordered on shock horror as well as disbelief. There was also a palpable sense of sadness about man's inhumane treatment of others, and about persistent racism. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinci0eS0l4fVEbxcD3EbI6SQ8_I6FuvZjB0pZyecz6xGawi5It2eXrkRWMxwh45bnCmTl03LzuH9ak_bNTOIqXbQ6ITnayVN5u_OHxD1SnOaqIwNpdKAJmWeKJRIhLFs-39y6XaD2ERevB/s1600-h/D4539-0013.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366064073075157986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinci0eS0l4fVEbxcD3EbI6SQ8_I6FuvZjB0pZyecz6xGawi5It2eXrkRWMxwh45bnCmTl03LzuH9ak_bNTOIqXbQ6ITnayVN5u_OHxD1SnOaqIwNpdKAJmWeKJRIhLFs-39y6XaD2ERevB/s400/D4539-0013.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Ruta speaking to the Lithuanian ambassador to Ireland and her husband</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHPF3ECZsP6OLndwwMwE1s79L4zAEi0Fg5RPl9Be3wm_cTs_OE656XHZ6IIvhjmmyqfgYlONPG6cr241TgznA6uID-pjeIiQZvpRKJf0C_WdT016uu9mjbzn0yP9Zipjx3IXci9uQpv0O/s1600-h/D4539-0024.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366064394386662546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHPF3ECZsP6OLndwwMwE1s79L4zAEi0Fg5RPl9Be3wm_cTs_OE656XHZ6IIvhjmmyqfgYlONPG6cr241TgznA6uID-pjeIiQZvpRKJf0C_WdT016uu9mjbzn0yP9Zipjx3IXci9uQpv0O/s400/D4539-0024.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Ruta, Dr Gerwarth and Shivaun</span><br />
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On one of the days we were there, a lady who happened to take her morning walks on the grounds of UCD, chanced upon the photo exhibition. She then watched the film. By the time the credits were rolling, she was in tears. She half-waved at us as she was leaving, she was so moved she couldn't even leave a comment. I felt kinda bad, almost as if we had spoilt her idyllic morning walk. But then again, these stories are very powerful and I have been rendered speechless though I have seen them over and over again. And then there were the few visitors, who couldn't make it to the evening talks, who had made a special trip from outside Dublin to come. It was gratifying to know that for some people, the historical past was worth revisiting. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1265192920848"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ENa0S5-wv4fnxodr84MneSzd3azgPpiJ6eHZhrpz9rMP0dqoAIdhy9oSJxl9Pl6ixGmF0VzoFnQFLhWug8HvKQRYd8Yyn3DDNbvHX9_eJxkgxLqN34yW3ozwX76sewctCQZra_TFAcUq/s1600-h/D4539-0018.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366064831941823746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ENa0S5-wv4fnxodr84MneSzd3azgPpiJ6eHZhrpz9rMP0dqoAIdhy9oSJxl9Pl6ixGmF0VzoFnQFLhWug8HvKQRYd8Yyn3DDNbvHX9_eJxkgxLqN34yW3ozwX76sewctCQZra_TFAcUq/s400/D4539-0018.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Visitors looking at the photos on display</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3sAHI4X-m1mxkmyS1wxsvMR7-oJgAyn3TdqhcBRuOk_WqXcavUNs1TI7G3bKkYzlF-pcAKk7Um2-ikC-xryRefuL4pCFOEWTJWFcngRx-Qo9QMuja7RjPsOPUVghX0-7afZqmQtNeh1p/s1600-h/D4539-0002.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366065158812200866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3sAHI4X-m1mxkmyS1wxsvMR7-oJgAyn3TdqhcBRuOk_WqXcavUNs1TI7G3bKkYzlF-pcAKk7Um2-ikC-xryRefuL4pCFOEWTJWFcngRx-Qo9QMuja7RjPsOPUVghX0-7afZqmQtNeh1p/s400/D4539-0002.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Me, Shivaun, Lynn Jackson from HETI and Valerie Norton from UCD HII</span><br />
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Shortly after Dublin, we were at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. The event had a larger turnout than expected - about 80 people attended the afternoon talks on 4 June and our hosts had to bring in extra chairs and open the partitions between the rooms. We had Rachel Kostanian from the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, herself a survivor, speak, as well as Ruta and Shivaun. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvU511owpslCaA_I8_ivEDdcf51pjxyuzC57C7t-xMhXqBK_l9EBEqDcX4LqioC6262wscLE7OyL_3Ws_o9hkaVdN1pK_S26VaKoToLb-5u1wOR6NrlC8Jy2mtGuVvjgm1-dAf1lA3plK/s1600-h/IMG_2106.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366085110972181442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvU511owpslCaA_I8_ivEDdcf51pjxyuzC57C7t-xMhXqBK_l9EBEqDcX4LqioC6262wscLE7OyL_3Ws_o9hkaVdN1pK_S26VaKoToLb-5u1wOR6NrlC8Jy2mtGuVvjgm1-dAf1lA3plK/s400/IMG_2106.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Rachel speaking at LJCC</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTrVlMjEhminFdBdp7QgcP6t00dSl_SWLQoqY-bOSp64SlnucS2PtKzV0RZQ1_AneqeAN-k_gPAwNLiUl1384o6W790Ymq_p8EVBF7e6yF4nm4U3cb4-BFpmBiWPr1opFO9MM30LHkEcH/s1600-h/IMG_2162.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366084795962050162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTrVlMjEhminFdBdp7QgcP6t00dSl_SWLQoqY-bOSp64SlnucS2PtKzV0RZQ1_AneqeAN-k_gPAwNLiUl1384o6W790Ymq_p8EVBF7e6yF4nm4U3cb4-BFpmBiWPr1opFO9MM30LHkEcH/s400/IMG_2162.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">A close up of one section of the audience</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBllWBaBNhDT0k9zB-osewGmSm28tRvov_aL8h3LldT7X3G4abWDwdb7AwEfLFaxDrroQbWp1C5d3mWFA2cvoVRUf9zKN8DpaFUMzCajkwgotEhwYWYMUTsGZYhIncYsI164xo6TAY1r5x/s1600-h/IMG_2185.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366084788860358578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBllWBaBNhDT0k9zB-osewGmSm28tRvov_aL8h3LldT7X3G4abWDwdb7AwEfLFaxDrroQbWp1C5d3mWFA2cvoVRUf9zKN8DpaFUMzCajkwgotEhwYWYMUTsGZYhIncYsI164xo6TAY1r5x/s400/IMG_2185.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">LJCC's Stephanie Rose, Ruta, Shivaun and Rachel fielding questions</span><br />
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Not long after the event at LJCC, we held a photo exhibition and cultural event at Spiro Ark, where Nitza Spiro spoke, Rachel spoke, and Ruta and Rachel answered questions. It was very heartwarming as cantor Steven Leas sang El Malei Rachamim so beautifully there was scant a dry eye in the house. And then Polina Shepherd whipped up the crowd with Yiddish favourites. After the events, most of the visitors stayed back to chat with us and speak to Rachel and Ruta. It was a nice note to end on, as Rachel and Ruta would be returning to Vilnius the day after.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtJdENH9DEni9D51bjF9-a7oRXB_N1yLqeA6XkWFYLDo4frnLSGlVWlEJsboFt5ZY5srEHxSApTKMWeiE2pYe_drRrqQ1UHdXNgBTmWN5ZUErYUEcf57oDnuvnsufLvknJXtunxbA9ZJW/s1600-h/Nitza-Spiro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtJdENH9DEni9D51bjF9-a7oRXB_N1yLqeA6XkWFYLDo4frnLSGlVWlEJsboFt5ZY5srEHxSApTKMWeiE2pYe_drRrqQ1UHdXNgBTmWN5ZUErYUEcf57oDnuvnsufLvknJXtunxbA9ZJW/s400/Nitza-Spiro.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Nitza Spiro welcomes guests to Spiro Ark</i> </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05m4Gz9TazjV4_aedAJI-VsEyEH2FyQSPhm6rgaM7JTm10tViFW3IXKTyjR5K7XXI4XYfqpPxXG7Fk-n3NizN2FdeYSMCXXYSxsFuRIQpu6pYWymAUDyAOAm3Set0JasWkTgt8bIcwvcj/s1600-h/Rachel+Kostanian.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05m4Gz9TazjV4_aedAJI-VsEyEH2FyQSPhm6rgaM7JTm10tViFW3IXKTyjR5K7XXI4XYfqpPxXG7Fk-n3NizN2FdeYSMCXXYSxsFuRIQpu6pYWymAUDyAOAm3Set0JasWkTgt8bIcwvcj/s400/Rachel+Kostanian.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Rachel speaks to the crowd</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTNup77nqxr1PHUQp7ixtIRfDZaRrGyIRv5D5FkqI-YyJLqaWLDRVdAbKicRAAeilRevO_IdJ2dTsBV0HRcZs1wbOz1BhGxPImhO9A7kEWZFDcqI9QcmF9vsOoiJYYj1YDyq9EVA_yuFk/s1600-h/Steven+Leas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTNup77nqxr1PHUQp7ixtIRfDZaRrGyIRv5D5FkqI-YyJLqaWLDRVdAbKicRAAeilRevO_IdJ2dTsBV0HRcZs1wbOz1BhGxPImhO9A7kEWZFDcqI9QcmF9vsOoiJYYj1YDyq9EVA_yuFk/s400/Steven+Leas.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Steven Leas tells us about his Litvak connections </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPSgFDtGOA3Sw6LFLsg6lDuZr5bfG1rBTfLTuXbdpyWEtyRP1u1u_8IBAYCtGJR4-T-MKFoTO5y_uVuieFzsXEAOkra_qIo6Y21bQNP4iV7F0Dx0SK09H0mdtSw2mEOieVcaGoE1gfjYP/s1600-h/Polina+Shepherd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPSgFDtGOA3Sw6LFLsg6lDuZr5bfG1rBTfLTuXbdpyWEtyRP1u1u_8IBAYCtGJR4-T-MKFoTO5y_uVuieFzsXEAOkra_qIo6Y21bQNP4iV7F0Dx0SK09H0mdtSw2mEOieVcaGoE1gfjYP/s400/Polina+Shepherd.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Polina Shepherd launches into a medley of Yiddish favourites</i> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-54633635454960745122010-02-03T02:26:00.000-08:002010-02-03T03:00:55.137-08:00IWM Film Festival Awards Ceremony, Tuesday 2 February 2010Shivaun and I went off to the Imperial War Museum in London yesterday for the film festival awards as our film, Surviving History, had won the audience poll. The directors, Jesse and Daniel, were unable to make it, so we were representing the team. It was really cool to be in the museum after hours, though we had got there early. I went off to explore the Children's War exhibition and it was really really good. I actually felt teary looking at some of the mementoes a few children on the kindertransport had carried with them from Germany to the UK. Imagine if all you had to remind you of your family and of your previous life was a pen? One of the exhibits was a beautiful pen overlaid with mother of pearl and it had an inscription. It was beautiful, but still... ;(<br />
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Anyway, as the event was after hours (the museum closes at 6pm), we had time to wander about before we had to head back to the main entrance and wait there. At about 6.30pm we headed to the cinema where we watched other films that had been submitted to the festival.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6eDSs9SVY8_f8zytxyFCjPRnYDvlcJhq_V0G0GZanAgoymvGxVi__SIE3f57dLuLvT8xmi6FDTwCJd9z6Xm9d98zioBJRfcmoQarvUvS-Ide0COteBdi2VMMncjyZMq5WoTuvaQLreM5/s1600-h/IWM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6eDSs9SVY8_f8zytxyFCjPRnYDvlcJhq_V0G0GZanAgoymvGxVi__SIE3f57dLuLvT8xmi6FDTwCJd9z6Xm9d98zioBJRfcmoQarvUvS-Ide0COteBdi2VMMncjyZMq5WoTuvaQLreM5/s400/IWM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Above: The evening's program. We were really surprised to see that 'Surviving History' had been scheduled as the first film to be screened, and in its entirety too - all 28 mins of it! We had expected to see short clips of all the films instead.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitze4m3qhQ80zdVhoTKrgSiK9n61qSit83JQL2ob4_1rG593zzNPyruBcCfePXZoDSSKQW6FLd1Qnc5Qr0B6HPchnLVlAb1yCXvWNQtxHgWVI61N8Jb6-4W0-b2FPHGlwNn62E_V9atOhS/s1600-h/IWM-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitze4m3qhQ80zdVhoTKrgSiK9n61qSit83JQL2ob4_1rG593zzNPyruBcCfePXZoDSSKQW6FLd1Qnc5Qr0B6HPchnLVlAb1yCXvWNQtxHgWVI61N8Jb6-4W0-b2FPHGlwNn62E_V9atOhS/s400/IWM-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The cinema at IWM.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aXGZxUpKn18wOOqIxNsYpy00lYFXKJmOX5hitgMlereEr7NgMkJMihqhwVoFEviDNe752HXAIqwCWzXbLezXzJj-ZfWB4CU16ay97waXkoKUBI7oznMTjr9eMsY2NgvkXIbFpCpEawUx/s1600-h/IWM-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aXGZxUpKn18wOOqIxNsYpy00lYFXKJmOX5hitgMlereEr7NgMkJMihqhwVoFEviDNe752HXAIqwCWzXbLezXzJj-ZfWB4CU16ay97waXkoKUBI7oznMTjr9eMsY2NgvkXIbFpCpEawUx/s400/IWM-2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><i>The Director General of the War Museum, Diane Lees, kicked off the night with a welcome speech...</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vx9rD8G2RD5ZqY6jXZ4W2IDVVQzntgqhXHmbM7ViNtDcfuV3IKbVklqlTEVbEFWyiEhyphenhyphengeHMqkzTviz48M326r0Wi0bY9RFQcUQperCBcsyC7p4AsdsREOUtIQMgW-hX_k41gJlvsKa1/s1600-h/IWM-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vx9rD8G2RD5ZqY6jXZ4W2IDVVQzntgqhXHmbM7ViNtDcfuV3IKbVklqlTEVbEFWyiEhyphenhyphengeHMqkzTviz48M326r0Wi0bY9RFQcUQperCBcsyC7p4AsdsREOUtIQMgW-hX_k41gJlvsKa1/s400/IWM-3.jpg" width="266" /></a><i> </i><i>Followed by Richard Melman, Channel Director for History and Bio channels, introducing 'Surviving History'...</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_WL78Ulgz2SaYZSIeqkv_1DE_I-HhGbRMcmqGEb9pgHd_a5_nmMo7bCb6aKtwY_59BL6I3akPinwxpcT0RqZN8rHH7Tey-Yawb1HZ0Ji7znlcJ42d8FVx2kcOWg7mpvEey2J2ISiWFTW/s1600-h/IWM-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_WL78Ulgz2SaYZSIeqkv_1DE_I-HhGbRMcmqGEb9pgHd_a5_nmMo7bCb6aKtwY_59BL6I3akPinwxpcT0RqZN8rHH7Tey-Yawb1HZ0Ji7znlcJ42d8FVx2kcOWg7mpvEey2J2ISiWFTW/s400/IWM-4.jpg" width="400" /></a><i> </i> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>After which he presented Shivaun with the award.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHYkqfMkSdmZo6vt3WH6IFP-g82xw-NRvc1wb9nd7c4yjkI-MSKLbMh_lQm14t1QmJKfa_GffPzsaje9EKSJvuxxkXtJKh70pltzmGUbMIaFIvQQFjWcfM3Fg_4iSTT2KFzWawO3woDJi/s1600-h/IWM-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHYkqfMkSdmZo6vt3WH6IFP-g82xw-NRvc1wb9nd7c4yjkI-MSKLbMh_lQm14t1QmJKfa_GffPzsaje9EKSJvuxxkXtJKh70pltzmGUbMIaFIvQQFjWcfM3Fg_4iSTT2KFzWawO3woDJi/s400/IWM-5.jpg" width="266" /></a><i> </i> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The award was a really nice (and heavy) crystal bowl with an inscription on it.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAmLDB_IUZ805oq2GKN0BLruGC-vuf99qCxwzroBG-h7R36Sb79MsluDtrIkgBXv_3VE8sYfgRmMOW6kXhx8JqoI9fHAeDkclmQKLe2yBRpDPh0vK2k5IaIrvs-GLK8q4ae1T436m8Pjp/s1600-h/IWM-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAmLDB_IUZ805oq2GKN0BLruGC-vuf99qCxwzroBG-h7R36Sb79MsluDtrIkgBXv_3VE8sYfgRmMOW6kXhx8JqoI9fHAeDkclmQKLe2yBRpDPh0vK2k5IaIrvs-GLK8q4ae1T436m8Pjp/s400/IWM-6.jpg" width="400" /></a><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>How cool is it to have a reception in a room like this?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsokpY59Aq6B3wDHvt2hJTGnvIiQriQFPh28C0TX66I4WX0YvAMh4PuhOtBjyNP5853OGHz6Cgk6z_7wkakpCyrOOqUdtJInzZh7mV4nECoIfUvLXVSuowO8OiPRJ88qEV_COp3PqeTQB/s1600-h/IWM-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsokpY59Aq6B3wDHvt2hJTGnvIiQriQFPh28C0TX66I4WX0YvAMh4PuhOtBjyNP5853OGHz6Cgk6z_7wkakpCyrOOqUdtJInzZh7mV4nECoIfUvLXVSuowO8OiPRJ88qEV_COp3PqeTQB/s400/IWM-7.jpg" width="400" /></a><i> Group photo for the three winning entries (from left): Annie Dodds Award for Best Documentary - 'The Things They Carried' , Audience Poll - 'Surviving History' , Best Imaginative Response to the Subject of War - 'Red Letter'; with Toby Haggith, of IWM's Film and Video Archive, and Martin Rogers, of Prime Focus.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-84156567692020343292010-02-01T11:02:00.000-08:002010-02-03T02:27:49.887-08:00Holocaust Memorial Day 2010Every year, Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) falls on the 27th of January. <br />
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I remember this same time last year very clearly.<br />
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I was at the public commemoration events held at the University of Sussex, listening to discussions on the definition of genocide. We had caught up with Stephen Smith from Beth Shalom as he was one of the speakers that evening. It wasn't the first time we had met though; we had been in meetings with him from the earliest conception phase of the Surviving History project. I remember we had just prepared the first edited clips from our interviews with Gita and Isroel. We met a colleague's of his and I remember promising her that I would send on further film when ready.<br />
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How time flies.<br />
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Since then, the project has concluded. We've got the exhibition up and running. It was launched in Vilnius in August 2009 and been on show in several places. The short film we made in collaboration with <a href="http://www.woolfcub.com/">Woolfcub Productions</a> to accompany the project, Surviving History, has been picked up for distribution by Journeyman Pictures and Parallel Lines. We haven't been broadcast yet though. Until now. It was really great that the Community Channel was going to air our documentary as part of its programming for HMD. (<a href="http://www.communitychannel.org/content/view/3400/75/">See link</a>)<br />
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And what's just as cool is that, as you can see above, they took a section of our film and also Shivaun's narrative and used it as a voiceover to their program filler throughout the day!<br />
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As part of the HMD's nationwide events, the traveling multimedia exhibition we created was hosted by Shropshire Council at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury between the 25th - 29th January. The council had found us through the <a href="http://www.hmd.org.uk/">Holocaust Memorial Day Trust</a>. <br />
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Shivaun and I went off to Shropshire the Friday before, on the 22nd January, to set up. We had to start off on our drive at 6 am. Why? Well, did you know it takes between 3 and a half hours to get there, or 4 hours if you stop for a coffee or fill up your tank? I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't take Google Maps at its word, you have to exercise some precaution :) I checked weeks earlier prior to our recce trip to suss out the location and space. It was supposed to take about 3 hours - which obviously you can't take at face value; you have to always add 30 to 45 minutes extra to give yourself a comfortable margin.<br />
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Anyways, we set up at the Foyer on the 1st floor of the Shirehall. Because it is open to the public and the legislative chambers are there, meeting rooms, council offices etc, we soon had people milling about and casting curious glances at the displays. Some became engrossed in the exhibits and a few people came to speak to us to ask about the project. Below are some of the photos from that day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaJF9B1EiOnv4UPZzDYWByJ7pEPrN6NURBObcLnvxJI3Bx4a92N9lsCRfWuil52WBmNnMEn3SNsUTTkIRbALzpO4mH-0MzT8OfC3qomIFu25j8fVv1I5NVMTGOyNg88_InCqJoFuK_NX_/s1600-h/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaJF9B1EiOnv4UPZzDYWByJ7pEPrN6NURBObcLnvxJI3Bx4a92N9lsCRfWuil52WBmNnMEn3SNsUTTkIRbALzpO4mH-0MzT8OfC3qomIFu25j8fVv1I5NVMTGOyNg88_InCqJoFuK_NX_/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We had an unusual configuration as it was a foyer as opposed to a hall or a large room, as you will soon see...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzRpA-Xw5OmLriYDaJFZVcTasrCNCQw0vFg4-vMkc-S58EskHn3Au6X2NdSOp-2yIkRZnXzAOguJZLxsudN1Q0ay4hJ3fP6OOhGhvURrU05dTQZA07A57rGQDNOKYlhLqCqx8EqGlGFG0/s1600-h/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzRpA-Xw5OmLriYDaJFZVcTasrCNCQw0vFg4-vMkc-S58EskHn3Au6X2NdSOp-2yIkRZnXzAOguJZLxsudN1Q0ay4hJ3fP6OOhGhvURrU05dTQZA07A57rGQDNOKYlhLqCqx8EqGlGFG0/s400/3.jpg" width="266" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spacing the visual bio installations out so we wouldn't block the meeting room doors...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3bz6mziERHnuyaJnn0_0C-cjA9rE5tbC26NLMOAx4OhUqwXueBfh7okZ64yDUjgAAvY9XVLnt9IqyBVzIPsatAL_CYngKnWq_l0uTOSCrsQ49FVWtnBYZ7l1Wh3TWINA4_qm5kwWkbzB/s1600-h/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3bz6mziERHnuyaJnn0_0C-cjA9rE5tbC26NLMOAx4OhUqwXueBfh7okZ64yDUjgAAvY9XVLnt9IqyBVzIPsatAL_CYngKnWq_l0uTOSCrsQ49FVWtnBYZ7l1Wh3TWINA4_qm5kwWkbzB/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vht5aLykMjs3GPbg2M5M5s0Qgr5cQEm9gVB4hbezqqGuDbyPK1zlSN-sUdrl_ZVAMDLA0VXwjTQZuvTNH8e1kNZpYPABAmUBAy56U2h-D8ZnEOCrocN-c5DVAwimgQngUYNUOv9ivKD6/s1600-h/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vht5aLykMjs3GPbg2M5M5s0Qgr5cQEm9gVB4hbezqqGuDbyPK1zlSN-sUdrl_ZVAMDLA0VXwjTQZuvTNH8e1kNZpYPABAmUBAy56U2h-D8ZnEOCrocN-c5DVAwimgQngUYNUOv9ivKD6/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This visitor said she really enjoyed Josef's 'memory cupboard'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrLMQLPO9PyfapJUhBSTy6unRRR90dYkdOTJQBYo54bzgeoCVnIsVRVW5QWmCr12p-fmVpEe2_GSRZI5k9IiW-1L6UW70RGJ0udHx0iu36aMYXQg1dWnKJclUxI_iWylNImIJppJUbzay/s1600-h/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrLMQLPO9PyfapJUhBSTy6unRRR90dYkdOTJQBYo54bzgeoCVnIsVRVW5QWmCr12p-fmVpEe2_GSRZI5k9IiW-1L6UW70RGJ0udHx0iu36aMYXQg1dWnKJclUxI_iWylNImIJppJUbzay/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JtTlVojw9_sNCRBx-lZ9TJH0wU-SRNKWMk4o79hPsIkM6uhWR2U8zxoOWBxGRyNP0ZFqLUYnPTgROwdp5c_fQeSkvwY9WPbxHkaunMuH9hjTX9M6Cag9Mm3LBFZw1JJ0GvlkLt6FAR5_/s1600-h/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JtTlVojw9_sNCRBx-lZ9TJH0wU-SRNKWMk4o79hPsIkM6uhWR2U8zxoOWBxGRyNP0ZFqLUYnPTgROwdp5c_fQeSkvwY9WPbxHkaunMuH9hjTX9M6Cag9Mm3LBFZw1JJ0GvlkLt6FAR5_/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB60qXDQMlmWjzsOot6sYDySiZhYgob9Wco5LCVJL5qrp-u0w_FB2YNHmq2oJ1j5749DM_Vhjub1rPh9c-egTLSqXniYetoqwDQeFFOYNC5qXAXjacZe7WlnjFxtr4SPGlRCOLS0MOAAJW/s1600-h/1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB60qXDQMlmWjzsOot6sYDySiZhYgob9Wco5LCVJL5qrp-u0w_FB2YNHmq2oJ1j5749DM_Vhjub1rPh9c-egTLSqXniYetoqwDQeFFOYNC5qXAXjacZe7WlnjFxtr4SPGlRCOLS0MOAAJW/s400/1-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The film and 'video diaries' were played on a continuous loop.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3jPTDAQP58lnxKD0DQcjVhIwFa5FCKQ5L9i7QD6DOiB5j7GtrmhSuq3zuw-_uv2rVpsiSAggHvG-Q0rZkwauQuNShisrTzhLz1uRR0OItnaIn4G6uEC_pRwzM_B2cC-UaPMNHLgOSyHo/s1600-h/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3jPTDAQP58lnxKD0DQcjVhIwFa5FCKQ5L9i7QD6DOiB5j7GtrmhSuq3zuw-_uv2rVpsiSAggHvG-Q0rZkwauQuNShisrTzhLz1uRR0OItnaIn4G6uEC_pRwzM_B2cC-UaPMNHLgOSyHo/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At one point, I looked over towards Margarita's display and saw that her images was simultaneously on the projector screen. It made me think of her daughter and of the emotional opening in Vilnius, and of how we wished she could have been there. I feel an almost reverential pride for these displays each time I set them up; they don't feel like mere displays to me, more like memorials in a way. Mobile memorials.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWC7fHj6sk8qQGNcWyOXJH3yZa-Q9jvU37Q19Qxy8hKfdXyen65DjX039BeK1AvSau8uvTOFnIS7P4XZByagsZMj2WKNUw7DXH7x9Lt2HWv0Ih0lqY_XUVmsUsgOl9PBex2nyih3Ciuih/s1600-h/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWC7fHj6sk8qQGNcWyOXJH3yZa-Q9jvU37Q19Qxy8hKfdXyen65DjX039BeK1AvSau8uvTOFnIS7P4XZByagsZMj2WKNUw7DXH7x9Lt2HWv0Ih0lqY_XUVmsUsgOl9PBex2nyih3Ciuih/s400/9.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_mrudJ-7SY8YsUpuusloixIajZ6KYDggPXzb2TDFTxnRyHZrTNMCsG0Rel8STrqPFUf_M8-Xtkk8DyMeX7_Rj3V1OPv9mc2Ct9ArZnzCunX4JrqcvSiH5yv8lyOsZISmipkcyPDs5-cD/s1600-h/91.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_mrudJ-7SY8YsUpuusloixIajZ6KYDggPXzb2TDFTxnRyHZrTNMCsG0Rel8STrqPFUf_M8-Xtkk8DyMeX7_Rj3V1OPv9mc2Ct9ArZnzCunX4JrqcvSiH5yv8lyOsZISmipkcyPDs5-cD/s400/91.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblWgoxOKutqDLilPSSPp1jEoCGbkySf7dRsL95ccxAsxSrTHJ1bnRUTnazrJOEJ4g10z1juRNd3kk6nBcyIkx0elZV835VE_R-2tZEb7cIcWyEjqf1zwk0PEGaWfPAz0n8QTj2pz0nu6Q/s1600-h/93.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblWgoxOKutqDLilPSSPp1jEoCGbkySf7dRsL95ccxAsxSrTHJ1bnRUTnazrJOEJ4g10z1juRNd3kk6nBcyIkx0elZV835VE_R-2tZEb7cIcWyEjqf1zwk0PEGaWfPAz0n8QTj2pz0nu6Q/s400/93.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFHr_9g9vnJ1S-vXPCH43nHperFwHkBBTUhL8XalIhqAiN7Q4mcqFHaOtwkLLt1C5Gz07cq-TYnRjvwNrmBbVgjWYCyDVEtdy4-xkN-WDtg0CwAngz1JtjpQoAQs2cgLHOYT7W2GXBBgZ/s1600-h/92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFHr_9g9vnJ1S-vXPCH43nHperFwHkBBTUhL8XalIhqAiN7Q4mcqFHaOtwkLLt1C5Gz07cq-TYnRjvwNrmBbVgjWYCyDVEtdy4-xkN-WDtg0CwAngz1JtjpQoAQs2cgLHOYT7W2GXBBgZ/s400/92.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>When we went to dismantle on the 29th, Jane - our contact at Shropshire Council - was kind enough to compile a list of some of the comments and feedback they had received towards the exhibition.<br />
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Below, I have selected a few of those comments:<br />
<blockquote>"I'm very impressed with the exhibition and wish that more people could see it. Maybe it could be in the town centre next time? Well done for getting it in Shropshire."</blockquote><blockquote>"A very moving exhibition which really brings home man's own inhumanity to man. Such exhibitions bring the holocaust into sharper focus and we should never forget the horror Margarita Civuncik is quoted as saying 'God save us so it doesn't happen again.' Unfortunately, such genocide has happened in my own life time in places like Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur, where the western world stood by and watched. What lessons have we learned?" </blockquote><blockquote>"Moving, thought provoking. How can one human being do this to another and yet it still goes on. This should be shown in schools and to those who perpetrate hate crimes. Thank you." </blockquote><blockquote>"A very poignant and moving exhibition. Real people, real horror, real terror. Do not forget!"</blockquote>From such comments, I am even more convinced that HMD serves it purpose and is worth its weight in taxpayers' money. It makes us think about the crimes against humanity that we as a race of people are capable of, not just those that occurred in the past but those that are happening even now. <br />
<blockquote> </blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-46785322696804527912009-09-15T05:36:00.000-07:002009-09-15T06:55:13.885-07:00The Inner Life of History - Teachers Seminar, Vilnius, 11-12 September 2009In conjunction with the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition, we worked with the International Commission and the Vilnius Yiddish Institute to host a 1.5-day teachers seminar called "Everything Speaks: The Inner Life of History."<br />
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In total, there were 30 teachers who participated, 3 from Vilnius, and the rest from towns, cities and villages outside of the capital. They were a fantastic bunch and as you will see from the photos, had great fun sharing their ideas and creativity with us! On day 1, we held the seminar at the Tolerance Centre. It wasn't a classroom setting, so the setting was fairly informal and conducive to lots of sharing. Everyone was a real sport, and got stuck in, on the floors, on stage, and every nook and corner they could find to work on their group activities.<br />
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<small>Created with <a href="http://www.admarket.se" title="Admarket.se">Admarket's</a> <a href="http://flickrslidr.com" title="flickrSLiDR">flickrSLiDR</a>.</small><br />
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The day began with a more serious activity which I led called "The Self in History." This explored the use of working with images and selected transcripts to promote deeper understanding and empathy while reconstructing life history biography. After this session, Shivaun led the rest of the more creative (and fun!) sessions; e.g. the teachers created their own visual biography with their own biographical objects and drawings. Since the sharing was quite personal, I won't elaborate here. Suffice to say that some comments received included - "it is amazing how much we can learn about a person just from a few images to the things they use to represent themselves." Some of the artwork was really innovative stuff - drawings that turned into 3D craftwork, narratives which revealed itself along with the artwork that was folded like an accordian... <br />
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<iframe align="center" src="http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=&user_id=42393115@N05&set_id=72157622251619171&tags=SurvivingHistory:PortraitsfromVilna,LivingImprintproject,Vilnius,Lithuania,ToleranceCentre,VilnaGaonJewishStateMuseum,HolocaustEducation,LitvakJewishcommunity,EVERYTHINGSPEAKS:THEINNERLIFEOFHISTORYSEMINAR" frameBorder="0" width="400" height="400" scrolling="no"></iframe><br />
<small>Created with <a href="http://www.admarket.se" title="Admarket.se">Admarket's</a> <a href="http://flickrslidr.com" title="flickrSLiDR">flickrSLiDR</a>.</small><br />
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The next day, we moved to the Vilnius Yiddish Institute, and despite the small space, everyone again let their hair down and shared. Some of the ideas for classroom activities were truly innovative. We had great fun and thank all the teachers for participating and for sharing, and of course to Ingrida Vilkiene, from the International Commission, who also actively participated, and Ruta Puisyte of the Vilnius Yiddish Institute. How she does simultaneous translations remains a mystery to me! A true gift and talent :)<br />
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To view these photos on Flickr, click on the links below<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingimprint/sets/72157622251539799/show/">Day 1 - Teachers Seminar</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/livingimprint/sets/72157622251619171/show/">Day 2 - Teachers Seminar<br />
</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-74625375666573231642009-09-15T05:15:00.000-07:002009-09-15T05:15:19.285-07:00H.E. Simon Butt's speeachStill on the subject of the opening launch of the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition in Vilnius...<br />
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As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the speech given by H.E. Simon Butt was really good. So I have reproduced it here:<br />
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“I am very pleased that the British Embassy is, with Ireland, one of the embassy co-hosts of this important exhibition opening.<br />
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Why important? Because the context of the exhibition is a uniquely horrible event in 20th century history, and indeed the whole of human history- the Holocaust (Shoah), and specifically, the Holocaust in Lithuania. It is an event which must never be forgotten and which must be remembered afresh for each generation. <br />
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Second, important because of the perspective, the exhibition and accompanying documentary bring to the narrative of that event, to the process of remembering. It is possible to read all the facts, the terrible lists of locations, numbers killed and on what dates.<br />
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But every human life is a collection of experience, of emotions and of individual characteristics. These are all snuffed out when that life is lost. And every community, however small, is a collective experience with its own features which are also lost when the community is destroyed or dispersed. And here, the story is told through an awareness of the importance of that individual and community experience.<br />
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This gives the story a greater sense of immediacy, and a more tragic and personal dimension. And so the images may remain with us for longer and add an element of emotion to the experience of learning, understanding and remembering.<br />
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Our sense of solidarity with those who survived is also enhanced, along with our respect for the dead.<br />
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So I congratulate the organisers of the exhibition and documentary film on their achievement. I hope we can dedicate this event to the contemplation and remembering of what has been lost, as well as to the courage and fortitude of those who survived.”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-84930225088286365372009-09-11T14:22:00.000-07:002009-10-10T00:11:18.567-07:00We Remember Them - PoemAt the opening of the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition in Vilnius, we included the reading of a poem called "We Remember Them" by Sylvan Kamens & Rabbi Jack Riemer. Shivaun had the idea to have it translated, and Fania Brantsovsky was kind enough to translate it into Yiddish and to read it. Ruta Puisyte felt that it was imperative that it was read in all languages, and by the young, the generation after, and said movingly that this poem reflected how she felt, of the importance of remembering those who were lost and those who are still with us, and that it echoed how she felt within herself and of how those who were lost have become a part of us and of her. Her colleague Indra from the Vilnius Yiddish Institute read it in English. It was so moving to hear those words repeated in Lithuanian, English and Yiddish - we remember them.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fania read the poem in Yiddish...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ruta read it in Lithuanian... <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Indra read it in English<br />
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<b>"We Remember Them"</b><br />
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At the rising of the sun and at its going down<br />
We remember them.<br />
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter<br />
We remember them.<br />
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring<br />
We remember them.<br />
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer<br />
We remember them.<br />
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn<br />
We remember them.<br />
At the beginning of the year and when it ends<br />
We remember them.<br />
As long as we live, they too will live;<br />
for they are now a part of us<br />
as we remember them.<br />
When we are weary and in need of strength<br />
We remember them.<br />
When we are lost and sick at heart<br />
We remember them.<br />
When we have joy we crave to share<br />
We remember them.<br />
When we have decisions that are difficult to make<br />
We remember them.<br />
When we have achievements that are based on theirs<br />
We remember them.<br />
As long as we live, they too will live;<br />
for they are now a part of us<br />
as we remember them.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-84230348745548702042009-09-11T13:25:00.000-07:002009-09-11T15:03:21.622-07:00Surviving History Opens in Vilnius, 10 Sept 2009Wow, if I had to pick a word to describe the opening launch last night of the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition in Vilnius, I would choose the word "overwhelming"....<br />
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Guests began to arrive 40 minutes ahead of the opening, sending us into a mini state of flux. Ieva, the head of the Tolerance Centre, was - like me - totally surprised - "20 minutes maybe, but 40 minutes?" she said to me, and we scrambled to bring out exhibition booklets and give the exhibition a last minute look over. But I digress...<br />
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Why was I overwhelmed? It was like a meeting of old friends. The narrators who had shared their stories with us, who were featured in the documentary as well as the exhibition, and here I have to name them - Berl Glazer, Cholem Sapsai, Fania Brantsovsky, Gita Geseleva, Isroel Galperin, Josef Levinson and Rachel Kostanian - greeted us and all who came with warmth, with open arms, and open hearts.<br />
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Those who were not there were sorely missed. Margarita Civuncik, who had passed away on the 23 June. Her daughter Luda came and the moment she saw the visual biography exhibit, filled with her mother's handwriting and poems, and images, and old photos... she just broke down. As I hugged her, I could feel her sadness and her pride, all mingled in her loss and longing.<br />
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Dora Pilianskiene, who is too frail to attend the event but her daughter Frida and son came and avidly checked out her photos and her visual biography exhibits. They were beaming.<br />
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Chasia Spanerflig, who is away on her annual holiday trip with her daughter... <br />
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Gita, who looked like a vision from heaven, she was shining - I can't describe it otherwise. When I greeted her, she hugged me tight and squeezed my hand and I could feel the love, the longing, the... I don't know what else. But I know it was a tremendous surge of energy. She looked at me, her eyes began to glisten and I started tearing... I had no words for her, as I speak neither Russian nor Lithuanian, so all I could do was repeat what I knew, "aciu" (thank you) and she said, "danke" in return.<br />
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Cholem, when he came through the door, gave us juicy kisses on the cheek and bear hugs. Who told me later, translated through Ruta of course, that he was pleased, that we had promised and had delivered. And who, of course, extracted from us the promise to drop by and visit when we next came.<br />
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Fania, with her ever-present smile, was as always, warm and enthusiastic and even played guide to the guests by showing them around the exhibits! <br />
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Rachel, who was effusive, and thanked us for the event, who has played such a big part in the project and who spoke at some events for us in the UK.<br />
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What can I say? But a very big and warm and grateful and sincere and loving 'thank you.' Thank you for your courage, thank you for your strength.<br />
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Because it certainly cannot be easy. To see your photos on the wall, to see your face adorning a piece of art, to see your life story interpreted subjectively by others, to see your face on screen, as we showed the Surviving History documentary. I think Isroel was a little overwhelmed by seeing himself on the screen of the auditorium. Perhaps he relived his pain; I watched out of the corner of my eye and felt really bad - he seemed a little distressed.<br />
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Josef was like a shining knight; he is a man of presence, nevermind his 90+ years. And you will see in the photos how he lit up the room.<br />
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Embassy officials were there to lend their support - from Poland, Russia, Japan, UK, Ireland, Germany, Hungary... Members of the Jewish community, some out of town visitors, and students who had trekked over from Vilnius University... H.E. Simon Butt, British ambassador to Lithuania, gave a lovely speech.<br />
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Polina Shepherd, who had flown in that day (she woke at 3am to get from Brighton to London Heathrow to catch her flight!) - God bless her! - put on a stirring and moving performance. I really loved the smile on Fania's face as she sang along and Isroel too.<br />
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Even Zara, the designer who has worked with us on this project, came too. And she was moved to tears and told me she was touched to be in the same place as the narrators whom she has come to know through the work - but until last night, from a distance.<br />
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Jesse covered the floor like a papparazzo, and caught the action from every angle - literally! Shivaun was beaming. What a night! What a night! A BIG thank you to all who came, about 150 in all, the students who filed in and filled the seats on the balcony, the ones who came early, the ones who came late, all who came and were a part of a special night. And especially to the wonderful people who made this project possible and the resulting exhibition and teachers seminar - the narrators, Ruta, Ieva, Ingrida, Jesse and Dan, and if I have missed out anyone, you know who you are :)<br />
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Below are slide shows of the photos from the event. Most of the photos are captioned but don't show up in the slideshow. So, if you wish to read the captions to these photos, you will have to go to our Flickr site to view these photo albums individually. (Links below)<br />
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Slide show 1<br />
<iframe align="center" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" src="http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=&user_id=42393115@N05&set_id=72157622340274440&tags=SurvivingHistory:PortraitsfromVilna,LivingImprintproject,Vilnius,Lithuania,ToleranceCentre,VilnaGaonJewishStateMuseum,HolocaustEducation,LitvakJewishcommunity" width="400"></iframe><br />
<small>Created with <a href="http://www.admarket.se/" title="Admarket.se">Admarket's</a> <a href="http://flickrslidr.com/" title="flickrSLiDR">flickrSLiDR</a>.</small><br />
<br />
Slide show 2<br />
<iframe align="center" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" src="http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=&user_id=42393115@N05&set_id=72157622215487561&tags=SurvivingHistory:PortraitsfromVilna,LivingImprintproject,Vilnius,Lithuania,ToleranceCentre,VilnaGaonJewishStateMuseum,HolocaustEducation,LitvakJewishcommunity" width="400"></iframe><br />
<small>Created with <a href="http://www.admarket.se/" title="Admarket.se">Admarket's</a> <a href="http://flickrslidr.com/" title="flickrSLiDR">flickrSLiDR</a>.</small><br />
<br />
To view the photos individually (and with captions)<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42393115@N05/sets/72157622340274440/detail/">Photo album 1 </a><br />
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42393115@N05/sets/72157622215487561/detail/">Photo album 2</a><br />
</li>
</ul>---------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Today was the first day of the Teachers Seminar. Shivaun is totally knocked out. For an insomniac, she has been asleep since 8.30pm! More on that in a future blog! (About the workshop, not Shivaun's insomnia :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-5337228239201444612009-09-09T12:19:00.000-07:002009-09-09T14:26:22.438-07:00Surviving History Exhibition in Vilnius: Installation Completed :)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, we've completed the set up work for the Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna exhibition, and we're all ready for tomorrow's opening launch. I must say I am feeling very satisfied after two days of effort.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">If you'd followed my Facebook entries, you will know that I was hyperventilating three days ago when I was having trouble with the resolution of the video diaries file (Vilna Video Portraits segment of the exhibition). Today, we tested the video diaries and thankfully, it's looking a lot better than I had expected. I had had a mishap with converting the video file a few days ago and was a little worried about the results but it's holding up - phew! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rachel dropped by too and Shivaun gave her a mini tour of the work in progress. Some tourists dropped in as well and didn't seem to mind that we were in the midst of setting up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Here's me adjusting the lighting after setting up the first panel of the photo exhibit.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday, we had help from staff at the Tolerance Centre to set up most of the structures. So today was spent tidying up, checking over the finer details. I must say I spent most of today down on the floor, taping down wires, tucking them under carpet tiles, connecting cables and lights, and generally, just making the exhibits look as presentable as possible and of course making sure the wires would not be potential hazards. I must have used up to 45m of cloth tape securing wires to the floor!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">But a picture tells a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking rather than describe the installation any further....</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Photo exhibition section</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ya_vZfP765eDKCm9-wZsOvGVgY0mew440IPf_73msi5D0so3A0Beopc_N9_N5m6zedCys0mbtbndxhxpta1n8iWYYvu6YMTAxkhQAqJw3hyphenhyphenCwQwW8QMvYkESwVyh3-GtSrQ36CKOfaZN/s1600-h/photo-exhibition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ya_vZfP765eDKCm9-wZsOvGVgY0mew440IPf_73msi5D0so3A0Beopc_N9_N5m6zedCys0mbtbndxhxpta1n8iWYYvu6YMTAxkhQAqJw3hyphenhyphenCwQwW8QMvYkESwVyh3-GtSrQ36CKOfaZN/s400/photo-exhibition.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> <br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Visual biography section</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJe_ljTkO7CMLN4kpo885CIn5QRO1PZXJ-1KkS_rJQp62m4_Da29b3YCe9aVJu-hd8UqRzDGZt1KLqJ46Pz_WrAd3noX0Fpie7uTbyD45d1fgzRpBRyvgn1c7b59zwTUXhu3CbBNsqnGr7/s1600-h/visual-bio-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJe_ljTkO7CMLN4kpo885CIn5QRO1PZXJ-1KkS_rJQp62m4_Da29b3YCe9aVJu-hd8UqRzDGZt1KLqJ46Pz_WrAd3noX0Fpie7uTbyD45d1fgzRpBRyvgn1c7b59zwTUXhu3CbBNsqnGr7/s400/visual-bio-1.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNViCohLM3UdYEXxEUXjeBs5iDGquDdz2aKth9umRKRbx5US_oGSbkyLIO7u_lfFZV8Xub11B_-3h62ryn_lLLcz853kw_qaiVd46dPoprVVfA9fZW_zeuZXN61lh8RDqxOXaBGjHNzks5/s1600-h/visual-bio-top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNViCohLM3UdYEXxEUXjeBs5iDGquDdz2aKth9umRKRbx5US_oGSbkyLIO7u_lfFZV8Xub11B_-3h62ryn_lLLcz853kw_qaiVd46dPoprVVfA9fZW_zeuZXN61lh8RDqxOXaBGjHNzks5/s400/visual-bio-top.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrjgfunS-LC1zmTb3IHrEBafg1Zuyjsr6hDvnbIgqrqyo0vFdBPPaxYSONzISNrXVGXxSlbXKs4sy-12NIn96-XukANGrDlnTNJ0-KYTBbpH97OC6yVjG4rwxPN3HwYwifSOhanPw2yCC/s1600-h/visual-bio-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrjgfunS-LC1zmTb3IHrEBafg1Zuyjsr6hDvnbIgqrqyo0vFdBPPaxYSONzISNrXVGXxSlbXKs4sy-12NIn96-XukANGrDlnTNJ0-KYTBbpH97OC6yVjG4rwxPN3HwYwifSOhanPw2yCC/s400/visual-bio-2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlfz68_-QTy_JBkZpSuV97Ydd2IzuPRJZJcJczXA6WrS7W5ncAZKggxTToHTV1u6sMpeIDnSKtfr4wp75FpR2Yf4Foi1kg6rlwvxAXSnTShGHVKG8haUL8Z1RH3A7dsDsIYyH553Q5gQw/s1600-h/visual-bio-detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlfz68_-QTy_JBkZpSuV97Ydd2IzuPRJZJcJczXA6WrS7W5ncAZKggxTToHTV1u6sMpeIDnSKtfr4wp75FpR2Yf4Foi1kg6rlwvxAXSnTShGHVKG8haUL8Z1RH3A7dsDsIYyH553Q5gQw/s400/visual-bio-detail.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Shoah memorial section - entrance</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqpSr6_JNOi0rk0QcA6XjhfyOAqD3j9lSIczMvzf6SM_mC6uglUExrSxFuw_cdc5Q8lU0BNVOR_HgRxr0z6Ep-RH3UcbTIgV34-5EL1VEPZTdb0dyMHTfJhqHumlPFJN2f-kZoHVUheC7/s1600-h/entrance-shoah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqpSr6_JNOi0rk0QcA6XjhfyOAqD3j9lSIczMvzf6SM_mC6uglUExrSxFuw_cdc5Q8lU0BNVOR_HgRxr0z6Ep-RH3UcbTIgV34-5EL1VEPZTdb0dyMHTfJhqHumlPFJN2f-kZoHVUheC7/s400/entrance-shoah.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Elevated view of Lithuanian map - centrepiece of the Shoah memorial installation</i></span><br />
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</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj80qXsV-xPNEYZ2U6A_E7GTV6bkX7-3PcajLi4vIg-PBbkH1vbZKUPHIh7DB1fBAa6M6K9jO5eHQ35Ja88OOx98nYUKoRF8h3h8BKX5gdlB141zUKyatsaN5g8tgcpLJe060lqbxYEc2/s1600-h/shivaun-bottles-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj80qXsV-xPNEYZ2U6A_E7GTV6bkX7-3PcajLi4vIg-PBbkH1vbZKUPHIh7DB1fBAa6M6K9jO5eHQ35Ja88OOx98nYUKoRF8h3h8BKX5gdlB141zUKyatsaN5g8tgcpLJe060lqbxYEc2/s400/shivaun-bottles-2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3t_TYpeXOQOaN3Yw2CXmrwqTxxNE0kPTBLDwlUPhyphenhyphenm8eFNky61fKCxRmGlFSVV1W5VKKcLQsZfh_uZz7lki6ei4OriN3CdAeHRrRUZ9XdD_DTD99Dy8GIsDnWMB_5p55w0vSZRXTTjTyn/s1600-h/shivaun-bottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3t_TYpeXOQOaN3Yw2CXmrwqTxxNE0kPTBLDwlUPhyphenhyphenm8eFNky61fKCxRmGlFSVV1W5VKKcLQsZfh_uZz7lki6ei4OriN3CdAeHRrRUZ9XdD_DTD99Dy8GIsDnWMB_5p55w0vSZRXTTjTyn/s400/shivaun-bottles.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Ieva Sadzeviciene and Shivaun</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Close up of bottles and map detailing massacre sites<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">We caught up with Ruta later this evening to run through the details for the teachers workshop. However, both Shivaun and I were starving as we'd only had breakfast. So we ended up having a really nice Lithuanian meal, complete with pickled garlic and stewed cabbage for me - yummy! (and I don't want to hear any comments about gas :) Jesse had a dose of 'Zeppelins' - potato dumpling and minced meat - looked good.<br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tomorrow, we start off early to do some final checks and prepare for the opening launch in the evening as well as the teachers workshop which follows the day after and ends on Saturday. It feels like a dream. It is almost exactly one year ago that we'd begun on this project. It feels like a dream. Can't wait to see the narrators tomorrow; Cholem, Fania, Isroel, Gita.... everyone :)</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-20439654980372293552009-09-07T14:54:00.000-07:002009-09-07T15:45:53.895-07:00Just arrived in VilniusIt’s been a while since we were last in Vilnius. I hadn’t realized that nine months had passed by just like that. If you follow <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Living-Imprint/156550695315">Living Imprint’s Facebook page</a>, you may have come across the status update where I was lamenting that FlyLAL, Lithuania’s main carrier, has gone bust. As a result, no direct flights into Vilnius. And this, when Vilnius is the European Capital of Culture for 2009. What a pity!<br /><br />All flights to Vilnius have to route via another city, e.g. Prague or Riga. This trip, we're going via Riga.<br /><br />The opening of the <a href="http://www.livingimprint.org/events/vilnius-2009.html">Surviving History full exhibition at the Tolerance Centre </a>is this Thursday, 10th Sept. So we have decided to come in today so we can sort out installation over the next two days.<br /><br />The day did not begin well at all. At the check-in counter at London Gatwick, I realized I’d brought the wrong passport. Shivaun was trying to console me, that I was obviously tired and frazzled. Plus, and I only realized this when I was at the airport, I hadn’t eaten for over 23 hours. Sleeping only at 3 and 4 am the last two nights didn't help. Obviously, I’d packed everything but my brains.<br /><br />So instead of carrying my Irish passport, I had brought my Malaysian one. Yikes! Okay, so the check-in lady didn’t make any comments. All seemed okay, but yup, I was still feeling frazzled and annoyed with myself ‘cos re-entry to UK would be a grief. The complications of dual nationality! Thank God that Jesse is coming only tomorrow, so I can ask him to retrieve my other passport and bring it along. So far so good, I thought. Fingers crossed.<br /><br />So, there I was, tucking into a Magnum dark chocolate at the boarding gate. If you know me, you'd know I normally don't have sweets. But for some reason, I'd gotten myself this ice cream at the vending machine. Maybe I needed a sugar rush.<br /><br />The flight was leaving on time. But I was still feeling a little nervous. When it came time to board, Shivaun got past the check-in gates while I dawdled at the back of the queue, chomping on my Magnum and suffering severe brain freeze trying to wolf it down. Shivaun walked ahead and I could see her disappearing round the corner. The flight attendant looked at my boarding pass. No probs there. Then he looked at my passport. ‘I think you need a visa,’ he said. Damnit. My brain starts racing a mile a minute - what other EU ID do I have on me that I can use? What flight can I get on later? “Shiv! Shiv!” I yell but Shivaun has disappeared from view altogether. He makes a couple of calls, asks if I have a return ticket, then tells me it’s okay. Little did I know then that this was an omen - a hint of the possible unpleasantness ahead.<br /><br />We arrived into Riga. Now, I know nothing much about Latvia or Riga but Katya had told me that it was quite beautiful. Not that we would have a chance to encounter its attractions as we were only transiting for an hour and a bit.<br /><br />It was about 6.15pm local time. I was surprised that even though we were just transiting, we had to go through the rigmarole of passport checks and luggage scans again. The immigration officer takes away my bottle of water. Without a single Latvian lat to rub between us, I start feeling a bit annoyed about this - having some liquids at hand gives me a sense of security.<br /><br />Another officer asks me if I have a laptop; I pull it out of my bag and put it into the plastic tray. I walk through the detector and it beeps though I have absolutely nothing on me that should set it off. Another immigration officer gives me a disapproving look and says to me, ‘Check, check’ and starts feeling me up and down grudgingly; she gives me a look that says I have created trouble/work for her.<br /><br />On the other side of the scanner, another officer says to me that I need to take the electronic equipment I have in my laptop bag out so they can scan them – an external drive and a mpeg player. He says this with an accusatory look on his face; as if I tried to sneak one past him by putting them through the scanner inside my bag. I want to protest that no one asked me to take these out of my bag too, only the laptop, but decide against it. I take them out of my case and start putting my laptop back into my bag; I figure he wants to scan the drive and player, but no, he wants me to put it back into my bag and send my bag through to scan again, minus the laptop; he’s annoyed with me and raises his voice. I feel like saying to him, ‘Chill, bud, so I misunderstood…”<br /><br />The unpleasantness continues. I am tired, grumpy and thirsty. I want to have a cigarette. I go up to a boarding gate counter. There are three officers there; they see me. They ignore me. I wait. They avert their eyes, hoping I'll go away. Instead I say, “Excuse me?” The lady sitting behind the counter goes, “Yah?” with the what-do-you-want look in her eyes. I ask, “Is there a smoking room in this airport?” She tells me about non-Schnengen or something like that. I have no clue what she’s saying but her face lets me know that I should not ask again.<br /><br />I walk to the transfer desk instead and despite feeling a little upset at the rudeness I have just encountered, I smile and say, “Good afternoon, can you please tell me if there is somewhere I can smoke in this airport?”<br />She says, “Outside.”<br />I ask, “How do I go outside?”<br />She doesn’t answer me, instead she asks, “Where are you going?”<br />I say, “Vilnius.”<br />She says, “You smoke in Vilnius.”<br />I am a bit confused. I stare at her.<br />I ask again, “So there is no smoking room in the airport?”<br />She smirks. “You smoke in Vilnius,” she repeats.<br />I am, at this stage, staring at her incredulously. My brain isn’t computing this unwarranted sarcasm. I start to say, “That really wasn’t necessary, I was just asking if there was a…” and then I give up. This is such a bizarre encounter. I can’t make out why she’s gone out of the way to be mean to me.<br /><br />I tell Shivaun this. She’s sitting and waiting by the boarding gate. “Maybe they’re racist,” she says. Somehow, I think not. I think this is just business as usual here. Customer service and courtesy are not part of the program. I am, at this stage, feeling antsy and upset. There's a bad taste in my mouth I can't get rid off.<br /><br />Finally, we get into Vilnius. It almost feels like home; at least I am more familiar with it. We cab it to the hotel, check in, and are out on the streets in 10 minutes to look for somewhere to eat. It is now 9pm. We arbitrarily pick a place called Café Libre.<br /><br />The food is quite good. The waitress is very nice. She says ‘thank you,’ and ‘please’ and she smiles! At the end of the meal, she even asks if we like the food. I feel like hugging her. I feel like telling her ‘thank you’ for ending this day of horridness with some kindness.<br /><br />Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow, we begin installing the exhibition. I can’t wait for the sun to rise and melt away the yuckiness that has clung to me since we set off this morning. They say bad stuff happens in threes. Okay, that's the quota up now. Tomorrow should be a great day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-28135392350302580352009-08-15T01:20:00.000-07:002009-08-15T01:30:15.172-07:00All Roads Lead to Vilnius – 26 days and counting...Okay, things are really hotting up now. We are manically preparing last minute work for the opening of the exhibition in Vilnius on the 10 September 2009. I’m still tearing my hair out trying to get the packing list in order. We have different suppliers involved, from flight cases to actual exhibit items, and trying to amass the necessary information on weights, dimensions and packaging is driving me a little crazy. I am wary that we will need to put together a comprehensive list for custom purposes as it may be necessary to get an ATA Carnet (kinda like a passport) for the exhibits, so I am – I admit – being a little anal with the details. Virgo that I am, I relish and abhor the activity at the same time :)<br /><br />So anyways, a few days ago, we realized we had run out of time on one activity. For one of the exhibition sections – there are five sections in all (<a href="http://www.livingimprint.org/survivinghistory/exhibition.html">you can read about what the exhibition consists of here</a>) – the Shoah Memorial, we have 200+ bottles that need to be labeled. Quite early on, the intention was to have everyone who had participated – the artists, the designers, the team members spread across several countries (<a href="http://www.livingimprint.org/survivinghistory/team.html">you can read about the team members here</a>) – to write these labels by hand. But alas, it has taken a while to get the list of names and finalize this installation. So unfortunately, we’ve had to only involve the immediate team. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2n9W52Fhq62N4uSSjIqBQ57M3RYInzFjtt0mhDu7d-9HmNrPH32RK5ARB2iM5aPUZ8OP5hHeKnJmzRfW4fDoIqzimn_cUGx2fcuQqkMCuP0OUPzOHOelMOHfCrMwyxEZ8B7IZruVxOEI/s1600-h/shoah-name-labels.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2n9W52Fhq62N4uSSjIqBQ57M3RYInzFjtt0mhDu7d-9HmNrPH32RK5ARB2iM5aPUZ8OP5hHeKnJmzRfW4fDoIqzimn_cUGx2fcuQqkMCuP0OUPzOHOelMOHfCrMwyxEZ8B7IZruVxOEI/s400/shoah-name-labels.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370103375624555042" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Trying to be as neat as I can</span><br /><br />As I was writing my share of the labels – the name of the massacre sites and the numbers killed at each location – that while I was rushing this task, I couldn’t help but be mindful of the poignant and sad significance of what I was doing. Each location isn’t just a location – it is a burial site. And the numbers I was trying to print in as neat a hand as possible were people, lives… And then there are those places where no one even knows how many were lost. I cannot help but imagine what it is like be erased as if one had not lived at all. <br /><br />Throughout this project, at various stages, I have often felt overwhelmed by the material. No matter how many times I have seen, read or heard it. It happens without me realizing it – I could be reading an interview transcript again, or watching a video clip, or looking at the narrators’ photos. The feeling passes over me like a shadow, often fleeting. It dissipates eventually but I feel something akin to a residual, lingering emptiness; it settles gently into the pit of my stomach and stays there. If someone asks me the impact of this project on me, I think I will tell them – it is like a gentle sadness that lodges somewhere in my gut. I don’t know if that makes sense, but that’s how it feels.<br /><br />Only 26 days to go now to the full exhibition opening in Vilnius. And about a week and half to have the items shipped. Again, as in the past, whenever we prepare to go to Vilnius, I am struck by mixed feelings of setting foot in that city once more.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1101864730350679431.post-48784240770293731802009-08-06T00:06:00.000-07:002009-08-06T00:08:40.724-07:00Surviving History documentary – 13,478 views to dateThe other day, I decided to check out how many people had viewed the preview of our documentary on our distributor, Journeyman Pictures’ YouTube channel. I was really surprised to see that more than 13,000 views were registered. This does not of course include the trailer clips that have been viewed on our organisation Living Imprint’s YouTube channel, about 700+ views to date. <br /><br />It’s great to see that quite a few people are interested in knowing about the Holocaust. But I must also say that it is really depressing too. It seems that most of the people who seek out documentaries like ours are fairly narrow-minded and have missed the point of Holocaust awareness altogether. They seem determined to find films like ours so they can deride the Jews and go on anti-Semitic rants for the world to see. <br /><br />One comment even mentioned Madoff. But what has an American white collar criminal got to do with Holocaust survivors who survived World War II? Just because they are of the same race? By that irrational deduction, should we hate all Japanese for the crimes of their forefathers during the same war as well? Should we hate present-day Americans for the napalm bombing of the Vietnamese? Should we hate all Muslims for the murder of Daniel Pearl? The list could go on and on. It is mind boggling that such irrationality should exist and darn right frustrating! <br /><br />A few comments were enlightened ones – thank God there are people who understand the point of Holocaust awareness tools like our documentary. What a great disappointment that those who missed the point altogether do not seem to understand that what happened during the Holocaust is a symptom, the tip of the ice berg if you will, of intolerance and misplaced hatred gone horribly wrong and warped. These are not just stories about the Jews. This is a reminder of what blind hatred can lead to. There is great injustice in the world, why are there so many people willing to join the mindless masses that perpetrate such conditions? Every time I bump up against such comments I am flabbergasted. Why are we so willfully blind?<br /><br />If you’d like to see the short trailers, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/livingimprint">click here</a><br /><br />If you’d like to see the Journeyman trailer, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxwPVX9wyAI&feature=channel_page">click here</a><br /><br />If you’d like to watch the film for £1 on Journeyman’s website, <a href="http://www.booserver.com/projects.php?ProjectID=3471">click here</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0