Image Stories
Group One:
‘I Want to Live Honestly, Like the Eye in the Picture’ – Yayoi Kusama
It is a sad story and a sad eye. What is the sadness behind the eye? It is the sadness of a mother who has lost her children. She goes in search of them, but during the trip there is an accident and a car crushes her. She is shocked, and starts to see her children’s faces in her mind. These images become a recurring nightmare that haunts her all the time.
‘I Want to Live Honestly, Like the Eye in the Picture’ – Yayoi Kusama
Group Two:
‘Woman Seated in the Underground’ – Henry Moore
The picture is of a prisoner in a jail; perhaps he is a King? This story is an opportunity to show people what life is like in prisons. The prisoner is kept in a small room, with no freedom of speech or quality of life. It is a dark place. It is a different place. The victim has a great interest in other people and was framed for the crime he has been convicted of. We need to deal with prisoners in good ways and according to the law, respecting the individual’s human rights and their right to health, food and freedom of speech. There is a requirement for the International community to respect the law.
‘Woman Seated in the Underground’ – Henry Moore
Group Three:
‘The Sun’ – Edvard Munch
There is a sunrise. It is the best scene in Britain. The sun rises on mountain and sea. The leaves open. The sea is calm. It is a scene that exists in cities across Britain. There are crowds of different people coming from different places. It is a calm, tourist place.
‘The Sun’ – Edvard Munch
Group Four:
‘Fishermen at Sea’ – J M W Turner
There were some friends in a ship on the sea. One day, Omar and his friends had gone on a voyage to try and achieve their dream of bringing diamonds from America to Canada. Accidentally, at eight o’clock, they got into trouble. There was a storm and Omar lost control of the ship. Omar tried again and again to regain control of the ship. His friends Mohammed and Ali try to help him. They suffer and suffer, but fortunately the storm passes and they are able achieve their aim in the end.
‘Fishermen at Sea’ – J M W Turner
b) Action Synopsis
‘Within The Heart Of The Waves’
SCENE ONE: ONCE UPON A TIME…
A Narrator introduces us to Aisha and her family. They are arguing. Aisha wishes to leave home and go to university. Her family is very angry. They tell her she must stay and that her place is with her family. They fall asleep.
SCENE TWO: LEAVING HOME
Although reluctant to leave her family behind, Aisha knows that she has to leave. The Narrator, unseen, wakes the girl and leads her to the ocean.
SCENE THREE: VOYAGE AND SHIPWRECK
Aisha takes a boat out on the sea. The creatures of the ocean welcome her. At first the voyage is calm and peaceful, but before long a violent storm leaves her shipwrecked on a desert island. A song is sung and stones are placed on the ground to mark the passage of time.
SCENE FOUR: OMAR AND THE BOYS
Leaving a trail of sand on the floor, the narrator tells us that Aisha believed that she was alone on the island. Following the trail, Omar and his two friends discover the girl. They share their stories and Aisha asks if anyone else is living there. The boys tell her that they believe a wild beast lives on the island too, but that they have never seen it. Just then, a low growling noise is heard…
SCENE FIVE: MEETING BASHIRI
The ‘wild beast’ is in fact an old man named Bashiri. He is angry that the strangers have woken him, but eventually makes friends with the young people. He tells them the story of his journey to the island, explaining that he has lived there for many years. When asked why he had never tried to leave, Bashiri explains that he was not strong enough on his own. He tells the group that they now have the wisdom, strength and will to achieve anything, and that they must build a boat in order to escape.
SCENE SIX: SALVATION
As the boat is about to set sail, Bashiri tells the group that he cannot go with them. He explains that he is not strong enough for the voyage, and asks Aisha to take his story with her and to tell it to many people. She protests, explaining to him that the group doesn’t know the way home. He tells them that, “All you need is a good wind to fill your sails”. With Bashiri and the Narrator providing the ‘breath’ for the sails, the young people sail off into the future.
c) Old Man Life Stories
GROUP ONE:
A long time ago there was a very old man – he was 90 years old. When he was younger the man was married, had 9 children and owned a herd of camel. One day his herd disappeared – they had gone searching for food – so he went to find them. He went on a long journey, far from his tent, when suddenly there was a storm that destroyed all life. The old man took shelter under the shade of a tree and stayed there for many years. He used grass, leaves and roots for food. One day he left this place and found a well. He also met a smart young man who asked him, “Where are your family?” The old man replied, “If you join me and help me find them, then I’ll show you where they are.” Together they found his family, but they didn’t recognize the old man. He instructed each of his sons to bring him a stick. Once they had brought their sticks to him, he told them to each break theirs in half, which they managed easily. The old man then joined each stick back together again, and asked his sons to try and break them in half once again. They were unable to break them in half this time, and the old man told them, “We are stronger together than we are apart, and our bond cannot be broken.”
GROUP TWO:
Once there was a man called Omardeen. When he was twenty-one years old he went with his friends on a voyage across the sea. They faced a huge storm and their ship was lost. All of the friends were swept away in different directions, and Omardeen found himself on an island where everything was strange. For days and days he stayed there, and understood that he would never be able to go back home. He accepted his situation and began to create a new life, but wondered how he would be able to live without any other human life? He collected leaves and built a cave to preserve himself. Years and years went by and he adjusted to his new life - the island becomes part of his body. One day, when he is forty-one years old, he goes fishing and meets some strange people. They ask him questions and he tells them his story. They are shocked and impressed and go back to the sea. After a while, he finds a lady and he tells her his story too. He asks her to be his wife and she agrees. They stay on the island together and start a family.
GROUP THREE:
There was once an old man who lived on an island - his name was Bashiri. He came to the island when he was twenty-five years old and had lived there for one hundred years. He arrived there because his boat had broken in the sea. It had sunk in a storm of rain, thunder and lightening. One-day rain came to the island and it became a wet island. After many years some young people sail to the island on a new boat. He is impressed and starts thinking about the past – how did he create a life here with no other humans or animals? After a long journey, the young people reach the island and find Bashiri in front of his cave. He is surprised when they talk to him. They ask him how, when and why he came here, so he tells them his story. They ask him, “Can we help you find your way back to the homeland?” When he arrives home, he finds that his son is now a grandfather. His son didn’t believe that he was still alive; the family had thought that no one had survived the storm. The family celebrates, and is very thankful to the young people for bringing their father home. The young people become famous.
BASHIRI’S STORY:
My name is Bashiri. I was once married and had nine children. I came to this island when I was thirty-five years old. My family was hungry, so I took a long journey from my tent to search for food. I went with my friends to the sea and we faced a great storm of rain, thunder and lightening. We lost our ship – it sank. All of my friends disappeared, and I found myself alone on this island. Everything here was strange. Days and days went by, and I wondered how I could create a new life without my friends and family. I decided however, that God had written for me to be here on this isolated island and that each problem gives you a new experience. I chose to live. I collected leaves and twigs, built a cave to preserve myself and adjusted to life here. 37 years have now gone by, and this island has now become a part of my body.
d) Song Lyrics
Within the Heart of the Waves
Music and Lyrics by Bashir Ali/Beiba Elrau
We ask God for mercy
For the missing girl sinking in the sea
A wave took her
She was thrown from wave to wave
She raises her hands for a miracle
To survive
She went on a mission
To bring good things to her life
Her boat crashed during this important trip
She lost the love of her mother
She’s lost everything
Her ship broke on the sea
She lost her ship on the sea
She lost the love of her mother
She’s lost everything
e) Landmine Victim Centre Quotes
“The young need no advice, they are charged. They see others with a homeland and have no homeland of their own.”
Ahmed
“All we need now is a good wind to fill our sails.”
Ahmed
“We need to start rebuilding the ship, piece by piece, to sail it home.”
Saleh
“I never studied, so I couldn’t help my children in their studies. I want you all to study and learn as much as you can.”
Karachi
“The young are like plants in plastic pots, that should be re-rooted, re-planted in the motherland.”
Saleh
“Each problem gives you a new experience.”
Humad
“To reach fertile land we must travel through drought.”
Humad
“When we lose an elder we lose their knowledge and wisdom. The new generation need to exploit this in life, extract all the good experiences and wisdom while they still live.”
Humad
“People without land and freedom have no value.”
Said
“Now it is your turn to take us back to our land.”
Mariem
“We do not need material things. With a strong will we can do amazing things.”
Sidahmed
“Be patient. Continue what your forefathers started. It was harder in days gone past, now the mission is easier.”
Ali
“There is no price – you have to give up everything for your homeland. You cannot put a value on it.”
Brahim
“We have a right to our land.”
Bashiri
“Be united and study. Keep the target of independence between your eyes.”
Bashiri
“Although the young people are born in exile, they are feeding from the milk of their mother’s breast. Their roots are not here, but they are feeding off the love of the land as they drink.”
Saleh
“Don’t feel sorry for me. All freedom comes at a price.”
Said
“Don’t fear, don’t feel sorry about what’s happened, resist until the end.”
Said
“I will not hide, I will fight.”
Said
Bibiliography
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