Reviews/Articles
Attack the Block film review by Jacquelin Melilli
jacquelinmelilli.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/attack-the-block-review/
Whistleblower Film Review by Jacquelin Melilli
jacquelinmelilli.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/whistleblower-film-review/
Norwegian Wood Film Review by Jacquelin Melilli
jacquelinmelilli.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/norwegian-wood-review/
Speech ‘for' Building Skate Park at Coronation Park
Presented to Nambucca Shire Council
7 February 2008
IT'S BEEN 20 YEARS IN THE PROCESS BUT SKATERS WIN!
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A Place Called Hell by Jacquelin Melilli (2008)
There is hell on earth. Where atrocities are committed everyday, where life has no value, where mercy and compassion do not exist, where fear reigns and survival depends on the dialect you speak, the ethnic group you belong to. Helena Barney Nebo reveals the hell she left behind."Australia is such a friendly country," says Helena, describing her new home.
Helena, husband Anthony, and their children, Markus, then age 12, Mariama (11), Antoinette (10), Manthony (9) and Precious Apple (3), immigrated to Australia from Guinea, West Africa, in November 2004. They were refugees who had escaped unimaginable horrors and hardship. Narrowly escaping death numerous times, watching family members gunned down, long journeys fleeing on foot - hiding from rebel soldiers - constantly fearing for their lives.
"When we arrived in Australia, we thought we were in heaven."
Poised on the couch in her new home in Coffs Harbour, Helena cradles a fluorescent pink mobile phone on her lap. Her hairstyle - a work of art - is intricately braided with a splash of gold faux hair braided along one side of her head. As a means of survival, she learnt to braid hair at a young age in exchange for money or food.
Born in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, Helena Barney (1973) and husband Anthony Nebo (1970), are descendants of the Krahn ethnic group, indigenous to Liberia. The Republic of Liberia is located on the West Coast of Africa, bordered by Guinea, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire. Liberia's population is 3.6 million (2005). The official language is English, although there are 16 indigenous languages, Krahn being one of them.
Helena's upbringing was poor. She was the first of nine children. School was expensive so she stayed home, helping her mother with the daily chores and braided hair as a small source of income. Unemployment was high and it was very difficult to get a job, especially if you were unskilled. Helena's father, Alfred Barney managed to get a government job as a soldier two years before the civil war began. This meant that Helena was finally able to attend school at the age of 14. She learnt English and things were going well until her third year when war broke out and her father was shot dead by rebel troupes. Soon after President Doe, also a Krahn, was assassinated on September 9, 1990. The Krahn government was overthrown and genocide proclaimed on the Krahn ethnic group. Rebel soldiers forced their way into homes murdering every occupant. Soldiers would corner people in the streets or break into their homes demanding to know which dialect they spoke. Speaking English was not enough to keep you safe, as it was not an African's mother tongue.
"If you only spoke Krahn, you were shot on the spot. You were only safe if you could fluently speak another dialect," said Helena. "They killed my grandfather. My uncle almost escaped when questioned, until an onlooker told soldiers that he had heard him speak Krahn and they shot him in front of me. You were told to laugh. If you cried, they would know you were related and shoot you too."
Learning to hide your emotions was imperative for survival. Helena's family only spoke Krahn. Many were killed in surprise attacks at night, whilst asleep in their homes. People lived in constant fear, too scared to go out at night, yet locking their doors did not stop the soldiers.
Shortly after President Doe's assassination, twenty-one members of Helena's family, including her mother, eight siblings and grandmother, joined a mass exodus of thousands, as rebel soldiers chased them in trucks, shooting wildly and throwing bombs. There was no time to collect personal belongings or documents.
"We left with just our clothes on," said Helena, aged 17 at the time.
She and her sister carried the two youngest siblings on their back. Hoping to find refuge in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, 367km away, they walked under the scorching sun, and at night hid in the bushes to sleep, always wary of rebel soldiers finding them. After weeks of walking, their swollen, cracked feet made each step excruciating.
"My whole body was in pain. We were very tired. When we found a river, we would wash ourselves and our clothes," said Helena.
They ate whatever they could find. Many died of spider or snake bites. On the most part, they were spared by wild animals, although lions were known to attack. Helena said the elephants were particularly frightening because of their size and the chance that they could become enraged if they felt threatened.
Disaster struck again when rebel troupes caught up with them. Storming through the bush in trucks, they began shooting blindly and throwing bombs, killing many. Some infants, young children or the elderly suffered heart failure from the loud explosions. Helena's eight-year-old sister was one who dropped dead from shock and sheer exhaustion. As panicked people scrambled for their lives, Helena's sister was trampled, her small bruised body left behind. The pitch in Helena's voice changes, her body tense as she recounts the incident.
For full article, contact Jacquelin.
Valley of the Dolls - directed by Mark Robson (1967)
