Wednesday, November 30, 2005

What do you fancy watching?

A documentary-maker who makes wonderful programmes contacted me, he is interested in ''the ongoing story of KCU as an insight into what keeps/could keep multicultural UK together''. So I talked to him, for a while

He has made programmes in Rwanda, he has made programmes in the Balkans. He has seen the very worst, I think, of what humans can do to each other.

I too, have seen a little of the worst that humans can do to each other.
And I have also seen the very best.
I stood on a train, remembering a wire round my throat, and a fist in my face. Then a stranger's hand detonated a bomb, seconds later, a stranger's hand reached out and squeezed mine.
These events changed my life. But in many ways, for the better.


And I staggered out of the murder scene, and later I wrote about my day, and many people read it, and some of them were on my train, and they got in touch with me, and we decided to go to the pub and set up a website. And we tried to help each other get through this. Kings Cross United started. And here I am , and here we are, almost 5 months later.

Now if any of us are having a bad day, or if we get on a tube and feel scared, we send a group email around and we say '' I feel like this...'' and people reply and they say ''Oh, mate...''
And things are better.

We go to the pub once a month and we buy each other drinks and we try to cheer each other up and to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We are an ordinary, random group of people who got on a train and something extraordinary happened to all of us.
I don't think that we would make a very exciting film. We look, and we behave like any group of...what? Friends? Colleagues?Members of a club? down a pub.

We could be anyone, we could be you. And that is the whole point.

You can look at us and see ''the ongoing story of KCU as an insight into what keeps/could keep multicultural UK together''

But I see

common humanity
compassion
love

Is that ''investigative/forensic/political/topical enough'' for an investigative/forensic/political/topical documentary team?

Well. I don't know. I don't know that you could capture it on camera. I can try and write about it, but anyone who has experienced human kindness already knows what I am talking about.


Question:

Is hope topical?
Is love political?

Can you investigate random outbreaks of kindness as well as of senseless outbreaks of violence?

Is the story behind a riot - what tears people apart - more interesting than the story behind what brings people together?

It's worth thinking about....

isn't it?

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The story of what brings people together is so rarely told - that's probably why it's interesting. But I agree: it's almost impossible to convey that link between people in words, let alone in pictures.

Which is a pity, because more of us need to realise and think that there can be that sense of togetherness in the world.

(And tonight, I am spouting claptrap; forgive me.)

November 30, 2005 7:54 pm  
Blogger Zhoen said...

Army buddies. That is what you sound like.

Forgiveness is for the forgiver. The sinner can only accept the forgiveness when s/he also accepts the guilt. But the forgiveness is still given, and the forgiver can live with at least that much peace.

Thank you.

November 30, 2005 9:00 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Even if you and the KCU decide to do this, or not to do this television programme... just remember hope is eternal, love is special, and kindness is what we all deserve

I know it may not make sense what I say - but I said it anyway

Rachel - Keep up the writing, keep up the work, keep up your spirits

As I said on another blog, Thank You

December 01, 2005 2:03 am  
Blogger Anglonoel said...

Rachel- you make me cry. I hope no-one I know & love goes through what you did. Best wishes

Noel.

December 02, 2005 2:59 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rachel,

Keep up the good work! What you and your fellow surivivors are doing is of enormous value to humanity. It is so easy to become dispirited and lose hope in humnaity, in life itself, when you have been a victim of violence, especially a random act of violence, but we need hope to carry on with life. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast".

I send you my very best wishes,
LM

December 05, 2005 1:27 pm  

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