Docuseries: Kiribati

Title: TBD

Project Manager: Robert Karoro

Partners: EMRU, KEMRU, and Maraki Kokoria

Filming date: July 2023

Filming locations: South/North Tarawa and Banaba

The documentary will showcase the interaction between Banabans, our ancestors & nature through the story of how water was discovered on Banaba. The story is based on oral history that then follows how colonialism and increased droughts in the era of climate change dramatically impacted the lives of Banabans.

Synopsis

Banaba, otherwise known as Ocean Island, is a raised limestone island in the central Pacific that is part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the times of our ancestors, it was widely known that water on Banaba was scarce. Banabans stored water during wet seasons to be consumed during the dry season. However, during periods of droughts, Banabans were often left unprepared. In the most perilous of droughts, Banabans could only drink water from the eyes of the minuscule flying fish, but this all changed when the young man, Naikara, found water.

During a particularly rough drought, Naikara set out to look for water in the forest around Buakonikai (village interior of Banaba). He thought of his young family, a 10-year-old daughter, a 4-year-old son and his wife, who had not had a single drop of water for two days. In desperation, he cried out to his ancestors to help him bring life to his family.

While resting from the scorching heat of the sun, he noticed a crab staring up at him. At first, he didn't acknowledge the crab but soon realised the crab’s eyes remained fixed on him. As his attention moved to the crab, he noticed the exoskeleton was wet. He quickly jumped to his feet and started following the crab, leading to the entrance of a cave. The cave was dark, and he couldn't see anything, but he continued following the crab into the cave, feeling his way around. Not too far from the entrance, he reached down and felt water. Amazed by what he felt, tears came running down his face and in that instance, the crab morphed into a woman that lit up the cave.

Naikara fell to his knees, for he knew he was in the presence of the deity, Tutuabine. The woman told him, ‘I heard you cry, and I, therefore, came to help you. Go back to your family in the village and tell everyone that there is water on the island. But before you go, I will give you the instructions on how to fetch water from the cave, and you will have to tell everyone in the village’.

Tutuabine instructed Naikara that only young women could fetch water from the cave. Men were forbidden from entering. To enter, the young women must be dressed, oiled up with coconut oil, and with fresh garland before entering. While this brought water security to Banabans for many generations, the entire balance between Banabans and the island’s delicate environment would be shattered by European conquest.

When the Europeans reached Banaba, the island gained new importance in the colonies due to an abnormally large concentration of Phosphate that, along with neighbouring Nauru, would go on to supply much of the fertilizer that led Australia and New Zealand to provide food security to their dependents. In the next scene of the docufiction, the drama surrounding how the Banabans were tricked out of their island, mined to resemble a barren lunar landscape, will be set to song, chronicling their eventual exodus and relocation to distant Rabi Island in Fiji.[1]

While mining forced the out-migration of much of the island’s native custodians, a few Banaban families remained on their home island, and the story, in recent years, has begun to loop. Water is once again scarce, but with the land decimated by colonial overlords having strip-mined Banaba, Tutuabine’s proverbial cave ceases to exist. The remaining Banabans have been abandoned and their plight has turned to desperation as there is no longer harmony between the Banabans and nature.

In the final scene, a young man on Banaba is searching for water in this modern time during the drought. The young man knows the story of Tutuabine and the assistance previously offered from his ancestors. He tries to call out to them jokingly, but little does he realise that a crab is staring up at him. This time, however, the exoskeleton is dry from the drought, and fear fills its eyes.

The concluding song will be arranged with Banabans from Rabi (Fiji), Australia, and Kiribati, to sing together and give a glimpse of hope for the Banabans.

The End

[1] This part of the movie will show historical information that are available in videos and archives on environmental damage done on Banaba and how it has destroyed environment (documentary e.g Go tell it to the judge). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS99b9qMTvI

 
SCENARIO FOR PHILIPPINE PROPOSED FILM: INDIGENOUS LIVES MATTER

Background: The Afro Asian connectivity  was initiated through screening in Manila on April 3 2022  of the Ghanian   film Ulysses from Ghana   on old and contemporary vestiges  of slavery and discrimination. It   had for its purpose to link black lives matter with indigenous lives matter.

Accordingly, it is proposed to present the story  in the Philippine were the incursion of both Spanish and American and other  colonial powers were stopped if not mitigated by muslim resistence and traditional commitment to the importance of   protection of  ancestral land.

The center piece of  this scenario would be the heroic story of Sultan Kudarat which occurred centuries before  Patrick Henry’s celebrated quote  “give me liberty or give me death”. Sultan Kudarat ruled  Mindanao (then Maguindanao) for fifty years, from 1619 to 1671.  He gathered leaders or the different tribes of  Muslims in Mindanao;   during his long reign  he ensured that Spain never completely controlled Mindanao until the beginning of Spanish American war.  In their battles against Kudarat, Spanish soldiers developed a plan   to keep Kudarat’s wife a hostage and thus block his military victories.

The true  heroine of the movie would be Kudarat’s wife, one of the daughters of Sultan Mawallil Wasit of Sulu  archipelago in the early part of 17^th century.  Pursued  by  the ,   during one of the bloodiest battles in 1637 when Kudarat was wounded, she jumped from  the clift with her baby rather than be kept hostage by the invaders.

This  story provides artistic core   involving a more contemporary story  created by well known Philippine playwright Marilou Jacob on the Muslim situation or rebellion. The angst of the muslim community in terms of their sense of lack of opportunity or  the of child warriors that get involved in this warfare which was  presented in Malou Jacob’s  BATANG  MUJAHIDEEN play.    This socio political   reality  is depicted in the inequity  and deprivation   arroused and  motivated rebellion  in Mindanao.     Coupled   with  the    Christian /Muslim   Conflict of 20^th and 21^st century  that  mirror  the   violence and the  plight   the plays which were performed on stage and broadcast on  Radio  Balintataw  and which have won awards as best drama and best educational   program.

The peace initiative in the contemporary Philippines  through different administrations  embarked  on a  sustained  dialogue  process until finally the  Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao  was ratified by the Congress in 2018,   giving a hope for a lasting peace following  one of the longest civil conflicts in the world.

The film would be a collage of legend, Malou Jacob’s play and commentaries on both past and present plight of Muslims in Mindanao proving the value of Road to Peace and Cultural Diversity, the two pillars of UNESCO programmes.

Venue:  in coordination with the SDGS Resiliart Secretariat , the film will be made on locations in Mindanao selected in cooperation with  The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). The  National Commission on Muslim Filipinos  and the cinema and dramatic arts  committees  of National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) of the Philippines. .It will also emphasize the value or integrating cultural traditions inclusive of the wedding or the  lamentation and  prayers  in chants, traditional music and dance . These are component   parts  of any celebration and the rituals of triumph  over death which  would be  both highly  dramatic and  audio-visually  highly effective.

 This concept is   Presented by the Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble UNESCO Artist for Peace in the coordination with the International Theatre Institute ( ITI) Social Change Network and  The Philippine ITI Center together with the South-South Cooperation Council.