Friday, March 11, 2011

Hoping for the Nowhere People


Tonight I'm worrying about people I've never met, hoping that they have survived the tsunami: the people of the tiny island nation of Kiribati in the heart of the south Pacific, whose plight against rising oceans inspired me to write a whole trilogy. Yesterday, I was talking to young people in Scotland about the young people of Kiribati. So tonight, while I have fun with friends, and Japan reels from its nightmare, I'm taking this moment to send my hopes to the all those people so far away.

"To be part of a nation that might be under the sea, gives me a feeling that I am from nowhere." - young i-Kiribati native.

Low-lying islands that were the first in the tsunami's path - Kiribati, tonga, Guam - ordered people to move 30 metres inland and look for refuge well above sea level, the Guardian reports tonight.

But on Kiribati there is nowhere above sea level to run to.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I still can't believe how much damage that tsunami caused. It makes me want to cry.

A little off topic, but this has been bugging me since I read Exodus. How did you come up with the Treenester's names??!!

JULIE BERTAGNA said...

Candleriggs, Broomielaw and all the Treenesters' names are places in my city, Glasgow - the characters took their names from old street signs they found in the floods. That's why they're such odd names.

Yes, thoughts go out to everyone who has suffered so terribly in this disaster.

Anna Peppel said...

Hi Julie,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts in words that we all can read, both on your blog and in your amazing books. I'm hooked in your Exodus-story and I'm longing for Aurora which I know is going to be just as amazing. You have an amazing sense of describing things and making characters like Mara and Fox (and so many more) become so alive and real. I hope more people will read the Exodus-trilogy just to get a sense of what might be ahead of us.

Again; thank you for being the writer of my favorite books!
//Anna

Kay said...

I try to pray every night for these poor people. :'( I feel so lucky and ashamed that nothing like that has happened where I live... yet...

JULIE BERTAGNA said...

We moan about the weather where I live - but things like this bring home how lucky we are in this part of the world.

I could only find one very small report that said the tsunami was not as strong as expected once it reached these islands. I hope that's true.

JULIE BERTAGNA said...

Anna, thank you so much for such a lovely comment. That means a lot to me.

I would love the Exodus trilogy to also give you a sense of hope for the future and, despite all the dramatic and tragic events in the story, leave you with a strong belief in the human race - I do hope Aurora does that for you!