The People of SIEVXMary Dagmar Davies29 October 2004
AMAL BASRY, a survivor of SIEVX and a Patron of Jannah, is the inspiration for a new page on JANNAH THE SIEVX MEMORIAL. Jannah has always belonged to the people of SIEVX and this new page will be called "The People of SIEVX" for it will contain the stories of those who survived and those who lost cherished family members. It will be for their stories as they wish to tell them. It will be a place for all those whose lives have been altered so tragically, by their experiences of the sinking and the loss of their loved ones, to place their thoughts experiences and memories. At the opening of the National SIEV X Memorial Exhibition , on Tuesday 26th October, at the Pitt St Uniting Church AMAL BASRY said she wanted to speak. Author and psychologist Steve Biddulph who heads the Siev X Memorial Project which was launched in October 2003, hearing this request, graciously stepped aside from the lectern and AMAL BASRY was able to speak directly to the audience. Amal had been sitting with survivors sisters, Najah and Zeina, and a mother who cries silently all the time and carries with her the photograph of her son who she believes may still be alive. Amal wanted to speak because she was speaking for them as well. When she reached the lectern she started with the words "I am still in the water with the dying" and then she looked across the room and suddenly saw Sondos Ismail the mother who lost her three little girls whose photograph no one who cares about SIEVX can ever forget. Amal had been so close to Sondos in Indonesia while the survivors had to wait while Australia decided their fate and had not seen her since. Seeing Sondos with her little daughter Allaa who was born in Australia and looks so much like her three little sisters that she will never meet overwhelmed Amal and she broke down in tears. For a moment it looked as though she could not go on. But Amal, who is fighting cancer, is an exceptionally strong woman and she knew she must speak for Sondos as well. And Amal continued with tears rolling from her eyes. She was so articulate her voice rang out loud and clear. Without need of notes or a translator. She spoke for less than four minutes. She spoke of her cancer and her experience on SIEVX and in the water. She told us more about SIEVX than any of us knew because she was there. She was poetic. She was compelling She was the truth. People listened intently, some cried, and in the packed church a pin dropping would have sounded like a thunder clap She told the story of SIEVX as no one however good their intentions could. Amal means hope in Arabic and she was hope. And she gave hope to Mohammad Alghazzi who lost 14 family members and Ali Al Husseini who lost 8 members of his family that one day they would be able to tell Australia how SIEVX had changed their lives forever. They were there, they were listening. And later when the people of SIEVX all got together these two men learnt for the first time about the last hours and minutes of those they loved and cherished. Steve Biddulph and his committee had done the most remarkable thing. Something that Jannah could never have afforded to do. They had, through their generosity, gathered the largest group of people whose lives had been shattered by SIEVX from both sides of this enormous island continent and they were there in the Pitt Street Uniting Church. And Amal's speech brought them all together. They are a very special family the people of SIEVX. All of them carry the photographs of their loved ones to sustain them and their memories will never fade Each one of the survivors and each of the bereaved were given a printout of the condolence messages from JANNAH THE SIEVX MEMORIAL to take home with them so that they are able to read them in their darkest hours to rekindle the knowledge that they are not entirely alone or their grief is disregarded. There are no boundaries to human compassion. There is more that unites us than ever divides us within the human family. Basic human needs are universal. Hearing the words of the bereaved of Lockerbie, New York, Washington, Bali or a tiny fishing boat without a name that later was called SIEVX one thing is evident - there is a universality in grief. Those who grieve do not attack, they do not condemn, they are beset by a multitude of overpowering emotions and if they wish to speak they must be allowed to speak. The basic human need to be heard and to be understood should not be disregarded or dismissed. To deter the bereaved from speaking and to deny them the truth compounds their tragedy.
NOTE: JANNAH welcomes and supports every memorial to SIEVX. There is no connection between JANNAH THE SIEVX MEMORIAL and The Siev X National Memorial Project each memorial stands alone and has it's own unique character. The Siev X National Memorial Project was begun by Steve Biddulph, author and psychologist, and Rod Horsfield, minister at Pilgrim Uniting Church Launceston. and was launched in October 2003 in Canberra by Senator Bob Brown and Steve Biddulph. http://sievxmemorial.com/ It is supported by several organisations working jointly - including Rural Australians for Refugees, and the Uniting Church in Australia. The student artworks will be on display in Sydney until October 30, 2004, from 10am to 4pm each day at the Pitt Street Uniting Church. Tony Kevin's book "A CERTAIN MARITIME INCIDENT - THE SINKING OF SIEVX" was being sold by the author at the opening and will be available for purchase through the run of the exhibition. http://tonykevin.com/events.html For further information about those who travelled on SIEVX go to the SIEVX PASSENGER DATA BASE at historian Marg Hutton's independent website sievx.com: http://sievx.com/dbs/SIEVX/ and read her carefully researched and cross-referenced series SURVIVORS SPEAK. If you have factual information to add to this database or photographs of the deceased or any of the people of SIEVX they should be sent to sievx.com. First contact should be made on feedback1@sievx.com
There are many people throughout Australia working independently and collectively for the people of SIEVX. And the 353 who perished, the 146 children the 142 women and 65 men, are always in our thoughts as are those who loved them and are valiantly trying to rebuild their lives without them.
MARY DAGMAR DAVIES LET YOUR MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE HONOUR THE LOST OF SIEVX JANNAH THE SIEVX MEMORIAL is dedicated to compassion and remembrance and the triumph of the human spirit. You are welcome to add your tributes, thoughts or prayers for the people of SIEVX founder@sievxmemorial.org THE PATRONS OF JANNAH THANK YOU FOR YOUR HUMANITY AMAL BASRY ~ NOAM CHOMSKY ~ AL GRASSBY ~ MARGARET REYNOLDS ~ MARION LE ~ EVA SALLIS ~ ANDREW BARTLETT ~ FRANK BRENNAN ~ JULIAN BURNSIDE ~ ANDREW WILKIE ~ BILL CREWS ~ PHILLIP ADAMS ~ JANE KEOGH ~ BOB ELLIS ~ HASSAN GHULAM ~ BONI ROBERTSON ~ GREG BARNS ~ PAMELA CURR ~ FREDERIKA STEEN ~ MURRANDOO YANNER ~ MARILYN SHEPHERD ~ STEVE GEORGOPOULOS ~ CLAIRE MOORE ~ JACK SMIT ~ JUDYTH WATSON ~ MOHAMED AL JABIRI ~ TONY KEVIN ~ NGARETA ROSSELL ~ MAQSOOD ALSHAMS ~ RICHARD NEVILLE ~ CYNDY HIGGINS RICH ~ LES BLOUGH ~ ARNOLD ZABLE ~ PHIL GLENDENNING ~ LOUISE NEWMAN ~ BRONWYN BANCROFT ~ ALEX BROUN ~ SHEILA ASTOLFI ~ ROSIE SCOTT ~ ALAN FINNEY ~ PHILIPPA FINNEY ~ CARMEN LAWRENCE
JANNAH THE SIEVX MEMORIAL
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