March 9, 1997
Followers Struggle to Fill Mother Teresa's Sandals
By JOHN F. BURNS
CALCUTTA, India, March 5— Off an alleyway in the teeming heart of this city of 15 million people, a plain wooden board with simple white lettering hangs on the wall inside a discreet doorway. By means of a slide that can be adjusted by the nuns within, the board tells visitors what they mostly want to know.
''Mother Teresa: In,'' it says.
From the gray-washed building Calcuttans know simply as the ''Mother House,'' Mother Teresa has presided for decades over the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. The order has been judged by many to be the most successful Roman Catholic mission of the century, as well as one that has helped sustain the church's reputation for compassion in an age when its critics have frequently accused it of doctrinal rigidity.
From a start in 1948 when Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, ventured alone into Calcutta's streets to tend to the ''poorest of the poor,'' the order has grown to a worldwide institution with more than 4,000 nuns and 400 Catholic brothers running nearly 600 homes, clinics and schools in more than 100 countries, including the United States. Mother Teresa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, may be better known than any living Catholic leader aside from Pope John Paul II.
But the signs from the Mother House these days suggest that the era of Mother Teresa, who is 86 years old and weakened by a chronic heart ailment and other health problems, is drawing to a close.
For weeks, an electoral college composed of more than 100 nuns and brothers from around the world, including at least half a dozen Americans, has been gathered in the house on Lower Circular Road, struggling with the problem of choosing a successor to Mother Teresa as the order's superior general.
A month ago, a deadline for a decision passed with no announcement, other than a statement that the nuns and brothers would continue their retreat. Now, fresh reports, purportedly originating from the Mother House, have suggested that a decision could come soon, possibly in days. Few church matters have aroused such anticipation since the last time the College of Cardinals in Rome chose a Pope, in 1978.
Once before, in 1990, the order met to find a successor to Mother Teresa, at her request, but a last-minute wave of sentiment led to a vote in which only a single vote, Mother Teresa's own, was cast for an alternate candidate.
At the time, Mother Teresa was already in ill health, with a heart pacemaker that had been fitted in 1989, and had permission to step down from Pope John Paul, who directly oversees the work of the order.
This time, there seems little chance that Mother Teresa's wishes will be defied. Five feet tall when in good health but bent lower now by a spinal affliction and in a wheelchair for much of her days, Mother Teresa is said by those close to the Missionaries of Charity to have convinced the order that it is time for her to step down.
To do so, Mother Teresa has had to confront worries that the order, without her charisma and rigorous leadership, may have trouble making a transition to a new era.
Loyalists within the order are said to have been convinced that Mother Teresa should be allowed to retire when she spent much of the last three months of 1996 in and out of Calcutta hospitals. More than once, she hovered at the brink of death with complications from what doctors described as a mild heart attack, followed in late November by a balloon angioplasty -- her third in six years -- a procedure designed to clear blockages from the arteries that supply blood to the heart.
''Every single sister I have spoken to has acknowledged that they must let her go this time, because she is so sick,'' said Navin Chawla, a senior Government official who has written two biographies of Mother Teresa. Mr. Chawla, 51, who has spoken to Mother Teresa by telephone from New Delhi in recent days, said the mood in the Mother House appeared solemn, but resigned.
''I can't imagine any last-minute change of heart this time,'' he said.
Mr. Chawla said that Mother Teresa sounded stronger than she had in weeks, but that this appeared to be due more to willpower than returning health. With oxygen equipment and a heart monitor in her bedroom, and capable of standing unassisted for only brief periods, Mother Teresa has spoken often recently of her own death. In the spare sentences that have been her hallmark, she has said that dying holds no fear for her, that on the contrary it is something she awaits with anticipation.
''It will come when my work is over, when the example has been given,'' she told an Italian friend, Gabriele Romagnoli, who visited her in a Calcutta hospital in December and wrote an account of their discussion that appeared in The Week, an Indian news magazine.
Mr. Romagnoli quoted Mother Teresa as adding, ''I know that God will know when the time is right, and so I cannot do anything other than wait peacefully.''
The order's reluctance to allow Mother Teresa to retire appears to have been compounded by uncertainty over whom to appoint in her place. Unconfirmed reports in 1991 said that Mother Teresa had signaled her preference for Sister Frederick, an 80-year-old nun of mixed British and Maltese descent who has acted as the principal administrator of the order in recent years and who has a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian.
But Sister Frederick, who has overseen the medical care of Mother Teresa, is said to be ailing herself and reluctant to take on the job.
Another nun considered to be a possible successor in the past, Sister Agnes Das, 66, is said to be suffering from cancer, and to have ruled herself out. Many in the Missionaries of Charity are said to have considered Sister Agnes to be the natural successor, since she was the first nun to join Mother Teresa in her work among the poor in the late 1940's.
She would also have been a popular choice in India, since she was born in what is now the Indian state of West Bengal, whose capital is Calcutta.
Recent speculation in India had focused on several other senior nuns, all native-born Indians. Among these three, the most widely discussed possibility has been Sister Priscilla Lewis, the order's official spokeswoman, who is in her early 60's, and who is favored by many in the order because of her experience running the order's missions outside India, including 16 years in New York City.
With secrecy surrounding the retreat, outsiders have speculated about the influence of Pope John Paul. People with close links to Mother Teresa have said that the Polish-born Pope's interest is partly personal, as a fellow Eastern European and religious conservative who has developed a deep bond with Mother Teresa. In the 1980's, the Pope bowed to what Mr. Chawla described as ''a bit of friendly bullying'' by Mother Teresa when he agreed to allow the Missionaries of Charity to open a soup kitchen inside the Vatican walls.
Inevitably, many in the order are said to be apprehensive. One point of concern is the attitude of future Indian governments toward the order once the shield provided by Mother Teresa's international renown is removed. India, as a predominantly Hindu country, has been less accommodating to Christian missions generally than it has to the Missionaries of Charity, which has been strongly favored ever since India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, met Mother Teresa in the 1960's and promised her whatever help she needed.
But Mr. Chawla said there would be no change in official attitudes. He said Indians were deeply proud of the Missionaries of Charity and of Mother Teresa, who took Indian citizenship in 1950, and saw the order as part of broader Indian tradition of spirituality and compassion.
The apprehensions are palpable at the first of the order's missions, the Sacred Heart Institute for the Sick and the Dying in the Kalighat district of Calcutta, which was opened in 1952 when Mother Teresa moved her mission off the streets for the first time.
While many of the men and women lying on the steel cots in the soft yellow light of a Calcutta evening seem to be too ill even to know who Mother Teresa is, the volunteers who do much of the work at the mission focus much of their conversation these days on ''Mother,'' as she is known.
The volunteers wonder about many things, including the flow of donor funds for the Missionaries of Charity once Mother Teresa's leadership is gone. But Andreas Wimmer, 42, a native of Munich who has spent eight years at Kalighat, said he took heart from Mother Teresa's own answer.
''She has told us, 'If the work were mine, it would die with me, but it is the work of God, so He will look after it,' '' he said.
Photo: Mother Teresa, 86, weakened by a chronic heart ailment, talked with visitors at her missionary order's house in Calcutta, India, in December. (Dieter Ludwig for The New York Times)
Dear Majorie,
My grandmother is Desiree A. Harst-Lewis.
She gave me your contact details last summer.
I have been asking her to write about my request of finding out more about my family history.
She has been writing you about my request.
I was wondering if you would like to meet me sometime next month or at the end of this month. My grandmother gave me your address in Bournemouth.
I would be really happy to meet you, for me family is a very important thing in live.
I have been trying to contact you by phone before but nobody answered.
My grandmother told me it would be better if I would write you.
I am looking forward to hear from you, would it be possible to write me back?
Hope you could respond,
Best Wishes
Sarojini Lewis
My address:
Miss Sarojini Lewis
2F2
9 Bellevue Street
Edinburgh EH7 4BX
Scotland
My grandmother is Desiree A. Harst-Lewis.
She gave me your contact details last summer.
I have been asking her to write about my request of finding out more about my family history.
She has been writing you about my request.
I was wondering if you would like to meet me sometime next month or at the end of this month. My grandmother gave me your address in Bournemouth.
I would be really happy to meet you, for me family is a very important thing in live.
I have been trying to contact you by phone before but nobody answered.
My grandmother told me it would be better if I would write you.
I am looking forward to hear from you, would it be possible to write me back?
Hope you could respond,
Best Wishes
Sarojini Lewis
My address:
Miss Sarojini Lewis
2F2
9 Bellevue Street
Edinburgh EH7 4BX
Scotland
The army personnel centre
Ms support unit, P & D Branch
Historical Disclosures, MP 555
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glascow G2 8EX
Dear Roddy Hay,
After having a phone conversation about the documents needed I would like to send you my application, the copy of my grandfathers death certificate and a cheque of 30 sterling payable to MOD Accounting Officer.
Please understand my reason for enquiry as I am the granddaughter of G.S. Lewis and would like to have more knowledge of what happened to him during his life as I did not know him because he died before I was born. It is very important for me and it would be nice to have as detailed information as possible send to me as soon as possible.
With kind Regards
Sarojini Lewis
Sarojini Lewis
9 Bellevue Street 2F2
Edinburgh EH7 4BX
mail@sarojinilewis.com
Ms support unit, P & D Branch
Historical Disclosures, MP 555
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glascow G2 8EX
Dear Roddy Hay,
After having a phone conversation about the documents needed I would like to send you my application, the copy of my grandfathers death certificate and a cheque of 30 sterling payable to MOD Accounting Officer.
Please understand my reason for enquiry as I am the granddaughter of G.S. Lewis and would like to have more knowledge of what happened to him during his life as I did not know him because he died before I was born. It is very important for me and it would be nice to have as detailed information as possible send to me as soon as possible.
With kind Regards
Sarojini Lewis
Sarojini Lewis
9 Bellevue Street 2F2
Edinburgh EH7 4BX
mail@sarojinilewis.com
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE CIRCULATION.
Locus, a collection of new photographic and sonic works opens on 20th February at Stew Gallery, Fishergate, Norwich. Local artists Angus Sinclair and Mike Saunders recent work explores themes of flux and memory, using the referential forms of photography and field recordings to document Anglia Square shopping centre in its current state of flux.
Sinclair states that his photographs aim ‘to evoke a sense of place which exists independently of the artist, in the unoccupied perspective where the artist-narrator’s presence is covert. His hand is only noticeable by its absence; he is a ghost who releases the shutter.’
Both Sinclair and Saunders have acquired all their equipment for the show from retail outlets in Anglia Square and the proximity of Stew gallery to the Square creates a tension between memory, recording and the imagined as Saunders explains: ‘the locus of sound plays back and forth, amplifying itself with the real-time noise of the outside surroundings, creating a conversation between the place and its recorded doppelganger. The fact that the recording is played through loudspeakers from the Square – old radios, hifis, and car speakers bought mainly from the many charity shops – ties the sound and the way it is physically presented back to the square.’
The show also features new photographic work from Sarojini Lewis, who explores the genetic as well as geographic definition of the show’s title Locus: ‘the essential idea I communicate with my work is an emotion consisting of two sides. On one side it is the human desire of being a part of a natural environment, on the other side it is the feeling of being out of context in the same environment.’
Lewis, who has recently been spending her time between Israel, Scotland and Holland, has also been exploring ideas of family lineage: ‘I started my research in Scotland. Motivated by family research and feelings that appear while studying old documents, I travelled through the Scottish natural parks and woods. Another rural perspective is created in Israel and the countries that are close to this country and have a border in between them. Again I was inspired by the fact that my grandfather once was a spy in Palestine during the period of occupation by the British army with the operation called the Palestine Mandate. I travelled through the different dry looking environments that characterise the landscape of Israel, Egypt and Jordan.’
The show will run until 3rd March and admission is free.
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Landscapes in Scotland/Israel/Egypt/Jordan/Cyprus
The essential idea I communicate with my work is an emotion consisting of two sides. On one side it is the human desire of being a part of a natural environment, on the other side it is the feeling of being out of context in the same environment.
These feelings develop while being in certain environments. I have made a body of images that witness natural landscapes and the perplexing questions raised on the emotional attachment to these environments. It is the transition between the personal gaze of a landscape and the documentation of landscape that interests me. I ask myself questions about this environment such as:
Is this a natural environment or is it constructed environment? When is a place a natural environment? What is nature?
I do not intend to give a certain answer to questions about what could be natural and what could be constructed in this space. These questions lye unanswered. Instead of a clear topologic documentation of these environments I represent the rural spaces as places the viewer could imagine him/her-self stepping into. Place inspired by my own personal gaze.
At first I would like to look at my subject through a personal view in order to make it relevant for a wider public. Traces that lead me to photograph these rural environments often have a relation to my family history and the variation of places that my family originated from. Inspired by a family tree with the family name Macbean I started my research in Scotland. Motivated by family research and feelings that appear while studying old documents, I travelled through the Scottish natural parks and woods.
Another rural perspective is created in Israel and the countries that are close to this country and have a border in between them. Again I was inspired by the fact that my grandfather once was a spy in Palestine during the period of occupation by the British army with the operation called the Palestine Mandate. I travelled through the different dry looking environments that characterise the landscape of Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
During the documentation I had in mind the fact that my grandfather could have been active in this area about 50 years ago.
I aim to show different narratives within the photographic documentation of landscape and the natural aspects within the landscape. Altogether they make an unclear narrative. Suggesting a form of human presence.
The essential idea I communicate with my work is an emotion consisting of two sides. On one side it is the human desire of being a part of a natural environment, on the other side it is the feeling of being out of context in the same environment.
These feelings develop while being in certain environments. I have made a body of images that witness natural landscapes and the perplexing questions raised on the emotional attachment to these environments. It is the transition between the personal gaze of a landscape and the documentation of landscape that interests me. I ask myself questions about this environment such as:
Is this a natural environment or is it constructed environment? When is a place a natural environment? What is nature?
I do not intend to give a certain answer to questions about what could be natural and what could be constructed in this space. These questions lye unanswered. Instead of a clear topologic documentation of these environments I represent the rural spaces as places the viewer could imagine him/her-self stepping into. Place inspired by my own personal gaze.
At first I would like to look at my subject through a personal view in order to make it relevant for a wider public. Traces that lead me to photograph these rural environments often have a relation to my family history and the variation of places that my family originated from. Inspired by a family tree with the family name Macbean I started my research in Scotland. Motivated by family research and feelings that appear while studying old documents, I travelled through the Scottish natural parks and woods.
Another rural perspective is created in Israel and the countries that are close to this country and have a border in between them. Again I was inspired by the fact that my grandfather once was a spy in Palestine during the period of occupation by the British army with the operation called the Palestine Mandate. I travelled through the different dry looking environments that characterise the landscape of Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
During the documentation I had in mind the fact that my grandfather could have been active in this area about 50 years ago.
I aim to show different narratives within the photographic documentation of landscape and the natural aspects within the landscape. Altogether they make an unclear narrative. Suggesting a form of human presence.
I have a very old wooden chest that has "Macbean Calcutta" on the side. I googled the words and found your page..... Not sure what else to tell you. I can send pics soon
Hi Larry
First of all sorry for sending you lots of messages. The fact that you
have this chest just really brings up a lot off emotions. In this
message I would like to explain you more about my research.
3 years ago I started a trip to India with my father. He lived in
India for 6 years and in this time of his life ( in his twenties) he
tried to discover more of his roots. My grandfather is from India, his
mom and dad are from India to. My grandfathers mother was called
Prescilla Macbean and was married to Charlie Lewis. That is why my
family name is Lewis.
While making the trip to India I met Joyce Lewis who is the sister of
my grandfather she gave me the Macbean family tree and that is why I
moved to Scotland. In Scotland I started a research about the name
Macbean. Basically I found a couple of historical documents and the
last one was from Samuel Macbean. He might be the person who emigrated
from Scotland to India and married a Indian women with a western name:
Alice Biggle. ( see family tree)
The chest could have been his chest, he might have send that from
Scotland to Calcutta with his belongings during his emigration.
I'm at the point where I'm stuck and decided a while ago that I would
stop the research.
Now that you have send me this picture I start to think that it is a
sign for me to go on.
Again I'm really curious where you found this chest. Would it be
possible to write me as detailed as possible where you found the
chest, what you are using it for and if anything was still in it.
At the moment I'm studying and doing an Master in Fine Art Photography
the Macbean research is one of the main subjects I focus on.
Please understand that it is really important info and for all your
effort in emailing me and stuff I could send you a print of my
photography!
Hope you can respond,
Best Wishes
Sarojini Lewis
Re: hi
We bought the chest at a container shipment auction in Sulphur Springs Texas around 1998. It was empty except for the ten gold bars in the hidden compartment ( just kidding). Other than that I do not know much more. I will send more, and better pics when I have time. We are busy getting things purchased and ready for our BBQ restaurant to open next spring. I was always curious as to a Scottish name on a wooden chest labeled Calcutta (asuming India). You are more than welcome to use the pics
We used the chest for a coffee table in the living room until 2007 or so. At the present time it is being used as a storage for photograpghs and memory books and things (ironic we have photos in it and your study is photograpghy). I put a few layers of paint on it and removed some to add character to the piece. I have sine removed 90% of the paint. There are two key holes on the front but the locking mechanisms are gone.
Hi Larry
First of all sorry for sending you lots of messages. The fact that you
have this chest just really brings up a lot off emotions. In this
message I would like to explain you more about my research.
3 years ago I started a trip to India with my father. He lived in
India for 6 years and in this time of his life ( in his twenties) he
tried to discover more of his roots. My grandfather is from India, his
mom and dad are from India to. My grandfathers mother was called
Prescilla Macbean and was married to Charlie Lewis. That is why my
family name is Lewis.
While making the trip to India I met Joyce Lewis who is the sister of
my grandfather she gave me the Macbean family tree and that is why I
moved to Scotland. In Scotland I started a research about the name
Macbean. Basically I found a couple of historical documents and the
last one was from Samuel Macbean. He might be the person who emigrated
from Scotland to India and married a Indian women with a western name:
Alice Biggle. ( see family tree)
The chest could have been his chest, he might have send that from
Scotland to Calcutta with his belongings during his emigration.
I'm at the point where I'm stuck and decided a while ago that I would
stop the research.
Now that you have send me this picture I start to think that it is a
sign for me to go on.
Again I'm really curious where you found this chest. Would it be
possible to write me as detailed as possible where you found the
chest, what you are using it for and if anything was still in it.
At the moment I'm studying and doing an Master in Fine Art Photography
the Macbean research is one of the main subjects I focus on.
Please understand that it is really important info and for all your
effort in emailing me and stuff I could send you a print of my
photography!
Hope you can respond,
Best Wishes
Sarojini Lewis
Re: hi
We bought the chest at a container shipment auction in Sulphur Springs Texas around 1998. It was empty except for the ten gold bars in the hidden compartment ( just kidding). Other than that I do not know much more. I will send more, and better pics when I have time. We are busy getting things purchased and ready for our BBQ restaurant to open next spring. I was always curious as to a Scottish name on a wooden chest labeled Calcutta (asuming India). You are more than welcome to use the pics
We used the chest for a coffee table in the living room until 2007 or so. At the present time it is being used as a storage for photograpghs and memory books and things (ironic we have photos in it and your study is photograpghy). I put a few layers of paint on it and removed some to add character to the piece. I have sine removed 90% of the paint. There are two key holes on the front but the locking mechanisms are gone.
Lieve Sarojini,
Heb inmiddels nagedacht over de foto's en de documenten. Ik kom niet op een goed idee of een context waarbinnen die twee een coherent geheel kunnen vormen. Nu ben ik de laatste paar weken wel heel erg moe en zit mijn hoofd nogal vol. Ben echt ernstig toe aan een korte vakantie.
Wat ik je wel kan melden is het feit dat mijn vader, George Samuel Lewis, gedurende zijn diensttijd in het Britse leger ook een periode in Israel, wat toen nog niet bestond en werd aangeduid onder de naam Palestine, gestationeerd is geweest. Hij heeft mij daar ooit eens iets over verteld.
Hij zat in een schots regiment en was waarschijnlijk de enige 'bruine'. Het moet vlak na het beëindigen van de tweede wereldoorlog zijn geweest. Hij moest zich onder de bevolking mengen en verhalen rapporteren wat onder de bevolking gezegd werd. Een soort spionagewerk.
Nu je in Israel bent is het misschien geen verspilde tijd wanneer je jezelf daar een klein beetje in verdiept. De Britten zaten in Palestina onder een verdrag "The Palestine Mandate" geheten of iets in die trant. Ik heb ergens thuis nog een soort oorkonde van mijn vader. Daar staat de naam van zijn regiment op en ook zijn registratienummer. In het verleden heb ik contact opgenomen met de Britse ambassade in Den Haag met de vraag of ik verdere informatie over of inzicht kon krijgen in zijn dossier. Dit met het doel meer te weten te komen wat er precies met hem gebeurt is tijdens zijn dienst.
Via via had ik namelijk wel vernomen dat hij tijdens een veldslag in Noord Afrika shell-shock heeft opgelopen. Dat hij toen een tijdje naar huis in Shillong is gestuurd en dat hij zich vrij snel weer moest melden bij zijn regiment. Hij hoefde daarna niet meer onder de wapens, maar kreeg administratieve klusjes en waarschijnlijk dan dat spionage achtig werk in Palestina. Vervolgens is zijn regiment naar Java gestuurd en kreeg hij ook daar weer een administratief baantje. Het zou ook erg goed zijn dat wanneer je weer terug in Nederland bent je Oma eens wat meer laat vertellen over hem en hoe ze elkaar ontmoet hebben.
Wat ik je vertel is min of meer een reconstructie die ik maak op basis van verhalen die ik gehoord heb. Nadat ik terug was van mijn acht jaren India heb ik mijn vader maar twee keer ontmoet. Omdat ik Shillong vrij goed kende en ik daar ook mensen had ontmoet die hem gekend hebben stelde ik hem daar vragen over. Zoiets van: "Je moet de groeten hebben van die en die". Dan keek hij me aan met een blik van absolute twijffel en een soort radeloosheid. Hij kon ook totaal niets vertellen over Shillong of mensen die hij toen gekend moet hebben. Ik vond dat toen nogal vreemd. Te meer omdat hij bij verder navragen steeds ongedurig werd en te kennen gaf dat hij daar liever niet over wilde praten.
Omdat ik toen al had gehoord dat hij tijdens de oorlog Shellshock had opgelopen heb ik toen de conclusie getrokken dat hij als gevolg daarvan zijn geheugen grotendeels moet zijn kwijtgeraakt. Dit is een wat geromantiseerde visie, maar ik probeerde mijn leven en de band, of liever gezegd het gebrek aan een band, met hem een soort van inhoud te geven, te verklaren of betekenis te geven; mijn vader heb ik nauwelijks gekend, over het verleden kan hij mij niets vertellen als gevolg van geheugenverlies en zonder dat ik me daarvan bewust was heb ik acht jaar in India geleefd om te ontdekken wie hij mogelijkerwijs geweest is. Dichter bij hem te komen door in het land waar hij vandaan kwam te leven.
Ik zal wel een keer alles wat ik van hem weet en wat ik me van hem herinner opschrijven.
Maar goed nu is er dus de Palestina connectie. Wellicht is dat een kruispunt vanwaaruit je jouw gegraaf in het familieverleden kunt benaderen.
Zodra ik een heldere ingeving krijg over je werk en het archief zal ik je wel contacten. Dit is het voor nu. Vertel wat over je leven daar. De sfeer, de mensen, het land.
Veel liefs, Pa
Heb inmiddels nagedacht over de foto's en de documenten. Ik kom niet op een goed idee of een context waarbinnen die twee een coherent geheel kunnen vormen. Nu ben ik de laatste paar weken wel heel erg moe en zit mijn hoofd nogal vol. Ben echt ernstig toe aan een korte vakantie.
Wat ik je wel kan melden is het feit dat mijn vader, George Samuel Lewis, gedurende zijn diensttijd in het Britse leger ook een periode in Israel, wat toen nog niet bestond en werd aangeduid onder de naam Palestine, gestationeerd is geweest. Hij heeft mij daar ooit eens iets over verteld.
Hij zat in een schots regiment en was waarschijnlijk de enige 'bruine'. Het moet vlak na het beëindigen van de tweede wereldoorlog zijn geweest. Hij moest zich onder de bevolking mengen en verhalen rapporteren wat onder de bevolking gezegd werd. Een soort spionagewerk.
Nu je in Israel bent is het misschien geen verspilde tijd wanneer je jezelf daar een klein beetje in verdiept. De Britten zaten in Palestina onder een verdrag "The Palestine Mandate" geheten of iets in die trant. Ik heb ergens thuis nog een soort oorkonde van mijn vader. Daar staat de naam van zijn regiment op en ook zijn registratienummer. In het verleden heb ik contact opgenomen met de Britse ambassade in Den Haag met de vraag of ik verdere informatie over of inzicht kon krijgen in zijn dossier. Dit met het doel meer te weten te komen wat er precies met hem gebeurt is tijdens zijn dienst.
Via via had ik namelijk wel vernomen dat hij tijdens een veldslag in Noord Afrika shell-shock heeft opgelopen. Dat hij toen een tijdje naar huis in Shillong is gestuurd en dat hij zich vrij snel weer moest melden bij zijn regiment. Hij hoefde daarna niet meer onder de wapens, maar kreeg administratieve klusjes en waarschijnlijk dan dat spionage achtig werk in Palestina. Vervolgens is zijn regiment naar Java gestuurd en kreeg hij ook daar weer een administratief baantje. Het zou ook erg goed zijn dat wanneer je weer terug in Nederland bent je Oma eens wat meer laat vertellen over hem en hoe ze elkaar ontmoet hebben.
Wat ik je vertel is min of meer een reconstructie die ik maak op basis van verhalen die ik gehoord heb. Nadat ik terug was van mijn acht jaren India heb ik mijn vader maar twee keer ontmoet. Omdat ik Shillong vrij goed kende en ik daar ook mensen had ontmoet die hem gekend hebben stelde ik hem daar vragen over. Zoiets van: "Je moet de groeten hebben van die en die". Dan keek hij me aan met een blik van absolute twijffel en een soort radeloosheid. Hij kon ook totaal niets vertellen over Shillong of mensen die hij toen gekend moet hebben. Ik vond dat toen nogal vreemd. Te meer omdat hij bij verder navragen steeds ongedurig werd en te kennen gaf dat hij daar liever niet over wilde praten.
Omdat ik toen al had gehoord dat hij tijdens de oorlog Shellshock had opgelopen heb ik toen de conclusie getrokken dat hij als gevolg daarvan zijn geheugen grotendeels moet zijn kwijtgeraakt. Dit is een wat geromantiseerde visie, maar ik probeerde mijn leven en de band, of liever gezegd het gebrek aan een band, met hem een soort van inhoud te geven, te verklaren of betekenis te geven; mijn vader heb ik nauwelijks gekend, over het verleden kan hij mij niets vertellen als gevolg van geheugenverlies en zonder dat ik me daarvan bewust was heb ik acht jaar in India geleefd om te ontdekken wie hij mogelijkerwijs geweest is. Dichter bij hem te komen door in het land waar hij vandaan kwam te leven.
Ik zal wel een keer alles wat ik van hem weet en wat ik me van hem herinner opschrijven.
Maar goed nu is er dus de Palestina connectie. Wellicht is dat een kruispunt vanwaaruit je jouw gegraaf in het familieverleden kunt benaderen.
Zodra ik een heldere ingeving krijg over je werk en het archief zal ik je wel contacten. Dit is het voor nu. Vertel wat over je leven daar. De sfeer, de mensen, het land.
Veel liefs, Pa
produced together with Gali Gurevich
Israel 20 min. by car from Jerusalem
The different landscapes seem physical less accessible than around Edinburgh. The light is overwhelming and aggressive. There is something more difficult, something strange.
During traveling through Israel in between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem I tried to observe the view. How can I find what I have in mind. What exactly do I have in mind?
How do I feel in this layered system of complex visual details.....
The air condition of the bus is to cold slowly I fall a sleep each time I try to observe.
I forgot what I saw
eleven views
eleven views is a proposed exhibition existing of photographic portraiture within a group. The group consists of twelve students currently in the MA/MFA in Photography at the Edinburgh College of Art. We are interested in the projected identity of each other, co-existing in one environment.
Coincidently we have been placed in a group of twelve, all coming from different countries and having different backgrounds. The first people we met in Edinburgh were not all Scottish. One of the main underlying themes in this series of portraits is the exploration of the diverse cultural identity that exists in our group.
Everyone takes pictures of everyone, so do we.
We are all photographers taking pictures of photographers.
We are at the same time creating content and methodology.
We all have different perceptions of each other.
During this project some of the questions we wish to explore are:
Can we understand each other better through this project?
When you have eleven different representations of a person, will this offer a clear insight to the identity of that person?
Can you still hide your identity although eleven different people are trying to capture it?
Or will it be more about the expressions of different cultural identities seen by people from different backgrounds?
Logistically, everyone in the group photographs the other members of our group.
This will result in twelve collections consisting of eleven portraits and one self -portrait. Each collection will be a group of portraits of one person taken by all the different members of our group including the photograph taken by the person shown in the collection.
The way we would represent the photographs is as follows. We would frame each collection (12 portraits) in one large frame. The collection of photographs will be printed on one single surface, each image will be postcard size, 3 x 5 inches or 6 x 4 inches. The viewer can make connections about who in the group photographed who and which photograph was taken by the person shown in the frame.
Members of the group:
Polina Laposeva , Chihiro Yuasa, Marcel Pedragosa , Zhenwei Huang , Andrew B. Tunnard, Milionis Fotis , Karen D. Stentaford, Chia-Jung Lee , Qi You , Iain M. Sutherland, Suzanne Delaney, Sarojini Lewis
eleven views is a proposed exhibition existing of photographic portraiture within a group. The group consists of twelve students currently in the MA/MFA in Photography at the Edinburgh College of Art. We are interested in the projected identity of each other, co-existing in one environment.
Coincidently we have been placed in a group of twelve, all coming from different countries and having different backgrounds. The first people we met in Edinburgh were not all Scottish. One of the main underlying themes in this series of portraits is the exploration of the diverse cultural identity that exists in our group.
Everyone takes pictures of everyone, so do we.
We are all photographers taking pictures of photographers.
We are at the same time creating content and methodology.
We all have different perceptions of each other.
During this project some of the questions we wish to explore are:
Can we understand each other better through this project?
When you have eleven different representations of a person, will this offer a clear insight to the identity of that person?
Can you still hide your identity although eleven different people are trying to capture it?
Or will it be more about the expressions of different cultural identities seen by people from different backgrounds?
Logistically, everyone in the group photographs the other members of our group.
This will result in twelve collections consisting of eleven portraits and one self -portrait. Each collection will be a group of portraits of one person taken by all the different members of our group including the photograph taken by the person shown in the collection.
The way we would represent the photographs is as follows. We would frame each collection (12 portraits) in one large frame. The collection of photographs will be printed on one single surface, each image will be postcard size, 3 x 5 inches or 6 x 4 inches. The viewer can make connections about who in the group photographed who and which photograph was taken by the person shown in the frame.
Members of the group:
Polina Laposeva , Chihiro Yuasa, Marcel Pedragosa , Zhenwei Huang , Andrew B. Tunnard, Milionis Fotis , Karen D. Stentaford, Chia-Jung Lee , Qi You , Iain M. Sutherland, Suzanne Delaney, Sarojini Lewis
Goodbye Polwarth Gardens!
Dear Natasha Collins (and other managers for 100 3f1 Polwarth Gardens)
I write to you as a response to the email I received from Natasha Collins stating that there will not be a good will gesture from the landlord of this property. There is a gesture being made by your director for a new flight of 43 ponds.
Yesterday I have spoken to Alexandra Simpson from Letwise to advise me on this unfortunate situation. She advised me to write you the following statement;
I am very happy that your director wants to make a gesture of 43 pounds for a new flight. Though I would like to state that there has been a mistake made by your collegue from the financial department concerning the end date of lease. This is provided on the note that I send Natasha Collins earlier on.
I do not wish to be held responsible for your mistake and therefor do not intend to pay another month of the rent.
I understand that you want to provide me a new flight ticket to help me stay until the end of the lease as stated in the document but I have made many family arrangement for July and will no longer be able to stay in the property you provide.
Because Natasha Collins discovered the mistake that has been made no longer than two weeks ago, there is not anough time for me to change the family arrangements that have been made.
Since your collegue made this mistake in November I do not see why this mistake has been discovered not longer than two weeks ago.
I understand I do not get my deposit back until everyone leaves the property, after the final bills are due, you can give my deposit back on my account with the Bank of Scotland; xxxxxx
The meter readings at this moment are 18037.148 for the gas meter and 01498 KWh for the electricity meter.
Once again I do not wish to be hold responsible for the final months rent. I hope you understand these reasons and we can come to a solution that would be more agreeable for me.
Yours truly,
Sarojini Lewis
Sarojini Lewis
Gerard Scholtenstraat 120
3035ST Rotterdam
0031-104656879
Dear Natasha Collins (and other managers for 100 3f1 Polwarth Gardens)
I write to you as a response to the email I received from Natasha Collins stating that there will not be a good will gesture from the landlord of this property. There is a gesture being made by your director for a new flight of 43 ponds.
Yesterday I have spoken to Alexandra Simpson from Letwise to advise me on this unfortunate situation. She advised me to write you the following statement;
I am very happy that your director wants to make a gesture of 43 pounds for a new flight. Though I would like to state that there has been a mistake made by your collegue from the financial department concerning the end date of lease. This is provided on the note that I send Natasha Collins earlier on.
I do not wish to be held responsible for your mistake and therefor do not intend to pay another month of the rent.
I understand that you want to provide me a new flight ticket to help me stay until the end of the lease as stated in the document but I have made many family arrangement for July and will no longer be able to stay in the property you provide.
Because Natasha Collins discovered the mistake that has been made no longer than two weeks ago, there is not anough time for me to change the family arrangements that have been made.
Since your collegue made this mistake in November I do not see why this mistake has been discovered not longer than two weeks ago.
I understand I do not get my deposit back until everyone leaves the property, after the final bills are due, you can give my deposit back on my account with the Bank of Scotland; xxxxxx
The meter readings at this moment are 18037.148 for the gas meter and 01498 KWh for the electricity meter.
Once again I do not wish to be hold responsible for the final months rent. I hope you understand these reasons and we can come to a solution that would be more agreeable for me.
Yours truly,
Sarojini Lewis
Sarojini Lewis
Gerard Scholtenstraat 120
3035ST Rotterdam
0031-104656879
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