A book launch on a Friday night? What a great idea (especially when
they mentioned they would have some nice NZ wine!) Off to the
Birkbeck University in central London to hear Lisa Blaker talk about
her new book, Heart of Darfur.
Fay Weldon did the introduction to
Lisa. Fay spent her childhood in New Zealand but now lives here in
the UK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
Fay called the Heart of Darfur a "remarkable book." She emphasised
that it is a great deal to have got into the British market -
obviously this was an achievement in itself. She went on to say "it
was a really good book, simple, written with great clarity, energy
and wisdom beyond Lisa's years. It is moving. It will make you cry."
Fay also talked about New Zealanders,
and how there was a very high number of New Zealanders in NGO's (non
government organisations) and charities, which is probably
relatively unknown as New Zealanders "don't make a fuss." Fay
summarised "New Zealanders are competent in difficult circumstances
- more so than any other nationalities."
Then it was Lisa's turn. She
explained that she wanted this to be an interactive session, and as
well as Lisa telling us a bit about herself (the nurse from Howick),
the book, reading from it, she would also show small sections of the
"Sand and Sorrow" film which was recently released and is narrated
by George Clooney
http://www.sandandsorrow.org/about.html
Do have a look at this link, its a great website and you can see
small clips from the film there as well.
After questioning us as to how much
we knew about Darfur or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), she told us
a little more and also played the DVD which explained the complex
situation well. Frankly, the whole situation seemed so bad, so
overwhelming, so desperate. Lisa soon picked up on that. "4.5
million of the 6 million people are dependent on foreign aid. What
do these numbers mean? In my book, I wanted to get past the numbers
and get to the feelings."
The first story Lisa read from her
book continued to make me feel that it was beyond hopeless, and
while I admired her for what she had done, it just seemed to much.
How did she continue in the face of such a huge, overpowering
disaster - a man-made disaster. Such cruelty and violence. Other
people obviously had the same response, and (being the interactive
session it was) soon chimed in with questions, asking how she kept
going in such conditions.
"I focus on what is possible; one by
one, just treat them, one by one."
Apparently this is the philosophy at
MSF. Lisa acknowledged that self doubt and despair would often creep
in, especially when she was so desperately tired. It did all seem to
be futile and almost impossible. There was no escape for these
people, no choices. They have nowhere else they can go.
"MSF desperately needs more people in
the field. The situation was frustrating, it's hellishly
frustrating; in fact, frustrating doesn't even cover it. That
feeling of powerlessness can be overwhelming."
"I was shocked and frightened at the very little control I had over
my own safety and my patients' safety. People there are being
crushed every day. There are no human rights in Darfur. That's the
reality. No human rights at all. There is no UN, no Red Cross, only
MSF,” Lisa continued.
Lisa also mentioned that people in
Darfur were generally well informed. Most of them had radios and
would listen to BBC, Al Jazeera or other international broadcasters.
How must they feel listening to stories making the news, far less
desperate than theirs yet getting more attention?
Lisa then shared some stories from
her book about hope. She recalled how she was sitting down with some
elders trying to explain to them where she came from. Through
demonstration of planes, working out how long it takes a plane to
get to Khartoum (a place where they understood the distance from
where they were currently situated) and then expanding that to the
23+ hours to get to New Zealand. The men could then comprehend just
how far she had travelled. They were amazed. "they asked me to give
their thanks to my parents for allowing me to travel all the way
here!"
Lisa also talked about the children,
and how they gave her hope. She said for every bad memory, there was
as many about hope, through children playing and laughing and
carrying on in the camps, in their hardship, playing, laughing and
showing that there was always hope.
I'm glad I went (and the wine was
nice). Lisa is an engaging and passionate speaker and someone who is
making a difference, both through her work in the field and through
the book. Lisa is not able to go back to Darfur (after having
written this book, she cannot get a visa back into the country). We
spent about another hour at the venue socialising, and I had the
chance to talk further with Lisa, as well as get her to sign my copy
of my new book. I then bumped into her again at Paddington station
as I changed trains! I haven't read the book yet, but the first
chapter (read on the train) has certainly captured my interest.
If you want to hear a bit more about
Lisa's experiences yourself, I found this video from an Australian
interview Lisa did.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/9am-lisa-french-blaker/2257313770
The website for MSF is
http://www.msf.org/ - apparently they have a very good
e-newsletter according to one of the attendees.
To finish, Lisa's message rings in my
ears. "You can all help, by spreading the word. Tell others about
the situation in Darfur. That way we can make a difference."
Jane Thompson
http://www.jtinuk.com/
