March 3, 2010

The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti has claimed more than 230,000 lives and left more than a million homeless and hungry. Cities have been completely leveled and their ruins have reminded the world of the destruction caused by natural disasters. But soon the cameras will leave. The stories will be buried within the newspapers. What happens next?

Disaster recovery is a long-term and multilayered process. Long-term recovery is about helping individuals, families and entire communities make choices about how they reclaim a portion of life as it was before. It goes far beyond food, water and medicine.

In a new, first-of-its-kind documentary, American filmmakers have documented the long road of recovery, as experienced by survivors of a similar disaster. It profiles villagers in Indonesia who are still walking the long road to recovery in the wake of the devastating tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in 2004. "Kepulihan: Stories of the Tsunami," chronicles four lives during the four years immediately following that disaster, creating an intimate portrait of the long-term recovery process as the survivors tell their own stories, in their own words.

A screening of "Kepulihan" will be held at the New School's Kellen Auditorium on Monday, March 8 from 4-6 pm, and another will be held at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 7 from 12:30-2 pm. We would like to arrange for you to meet one-on-one with director David Barnhart, who visited Indonesia for four years following the tsunami to capture on film the various ways four survivors undertook their healing process. Through these experiences, Barnhart found not only much to learn about the lengthy needs of disaster recovery, but also that within the experience there is much to be celebrated. He will be in New York and available for interviews March 8-10.

The faith-based community has always played a unique role in disaster relief. Inherent to its mission is the necessity to heal both physical and spiritual wounds, and to bear witness of hope in the face of adversity. This, by its very nature, is a long-term commitment. "Kepulihan," produced by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, illustrates this dedication throughout. Damai, a young woman who becomes paralyzed in the disaster, is encouraged by her church to return to her role as a music director despite the presence of a wheelchair. Yadi, a farmer, works to give proper Muslim burials to as many bodies as he can, and he is helped by many others along the way. These are stories of walking together and sharing hope in the long journey of recovery.

For more information on the documentary, and to see a trailer, please visit the film website at http://www.thetsunamifilm.com/.

Presbyterian News Service