VOA-CONNECT
[AIR DATE: 03 02 2018]
[FINAL TRANSCRIPT]
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Your Own Path
((SOT))
“As a photographer my main goal is to influence others to be different. Don’t be afraid of being different.”
((Animation Transition)
((Banner))
Beneath the Strip
((SOT))
“The world forgets about you down here and the people don’t know that you are even living below the city that they live in.”
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((Banner: Rebuilding Puerto Rico))
((PKG)) PUERTO RICO AFTERMATH
((Banner: Lasting Damage))
((Reporter/Camera: Gianpaolo Pietri))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS))
((MAP: Puerto Rico))
Puerto Rico: After Hurricane Maria
64 people in the US Commonwealth died in the September, 2017 storm while 1000+ deaths are linked to its aftermath.
Damages are estimated between $45 billion and $85 billion.
((NATS))
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“There was no government. There was a complete collapse and an awakening of realizing that government is not really designed right now to be able to help the communities, and you could see that it was up to us to having to self-organize and understand what our needs were, to actually take it in our own hands.”
((LUIS RODRIGUEZ, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“When we saw the SOS sign in the street, that they need water, and some neighbors wrote it in the street, water and food, so we started asking ourselves, you know, help is not coming, and we have to do something. So, we start talking to the neighbors and the organization here to start doing something just like cooking and making something for the people.”
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“After the initial shock of not even being able to stay in your own home, there was this kind of itch, and I just started feeling uncomfortable because I felt like there had to be something we could do.”
((CARLOS CHAVEZ, GAS STATION OWNER))
“Everything failed. I cannot blame anyone in particular, but there was absolutely no communication, no power.”
(VINCENT FAFARD, DIRECTOR OF RENEWABLE ENERGY, BLDM INC.)
“The power grid of the Power Authority, prior to the hurricane, was quite vulnerable. It's a centralized generation system, so all of the power to the customer relies on transmission and distribution lines that are mostly overheads.”
((JOSÉ ROMÁN, CHAIRMAN, PUERTO RICO ENERGY COMMISSION))
“There is an integrated resource plan that the commission approved on September 2016. PREPA needs to file a new one this coming July 2018, and the commission is presently working on rules to guide the ‘planification’ to not only meet the energy needs, but also to make the system more resilient on events like the one that transpired.”
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“We identified that we needed to provide people, or provide our community, with food, communication, electricity and water.”
((LUIS RODRIGUEZ, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“First, we start asking our friends.”
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“Like, you posted on Facebook.”
((LUIS RODRIGUEZ, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“Yeah I posted, and then, some friends in San Juan went to Costco with the list that I post, and just bring all the food. People started coming to our house to get rice. Friends at first. Then, we started asking for donations outside Puerto Rico.”
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“Even though we didn't have anything when we started, the moment that we decided that we were going to do this, we spent about five days deciding, saying, ok, we're going to do this, we're going to be cooking every day, and it took the moment we decided, the donations started arriving. Our friends started showing up to our house with their trucks full of food, and then, I started asking for monetary donations, and that's when it was like opening the floodgates because so many people wanted to help, and they just didn't know where to go, how to channel that.”
((LUIS RODRIGUEZ, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“Tomorrow, we're going to Vieques, because they want to do another one over there. So we are starting now to help each other, to help them to start, to tell them our experience.”
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“The part that's unique, that while there are other efforts that are similar, the part that we're focusing on is, how do you build self-efficacy so that people feel that they're actually part of solving their own problems, rather than, I'm going to go here, and someone's going to give me help, and then, I'm just going to go home and sit and wait for the help. So, there's a dramatic difference.”
((LUIS RODRIGUEZ, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“It's a change of culture. Like, people are sometimes waiting for FEMA (emergency officials) or the government to just come. And they came, and they bring water and some boxes, just one day, and then they left.”
((CHRISTINE NIEVES, MARIANA RESIDENT))
“And I just started asking on Facebook and in my networks specifically. I started asking the network called Tech Lady Mafia, which is women who are in tech all over the world. And I asked them, I need a way of being able to communicate when I'm up on the mountain. And then this guy comes over in his private plane with the antenna and solar battery and without enough money to really last more than a week on the island and such an enormous amount of commitment to doing what's right, and he came over and within two days we had Wi-Fi up here. And we were able to offer it to anyone who was here. It's an undeniable fact that this effort was mostly led by women. And, actually, most efforts like this are led by women. We're understanding that data is power. Actually, being able to have community data, which the municipal government doesn't have, the state government, the federal government doesn't have. So who has the data about what happened to us? We’re the only ones.”
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS))
As the painful recovery continues, 250,000+ Puerto Rican Americans have left the island for the mainland.
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up….
((Banner))
Finding a Place
((SOT))
“I chose to stay high instead of change my life for a long time until that day came where I decided to switch the importance and choose that living life was more important than getting high.”
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) HOMELESS SCHOOL
((Banner: From the Streets))
((Reporter/Camera: Anjana Pasricha))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((MAP: Thane, India))
((POP UP BANNER))
India has millions of street children. Signal School is help in a converted shipping container.
((NATS))
((Batu Sawant, CEO, Samarth Bharat Vyaspith which runs Signal School))
“People who live on the streets will not dress up their children and send them to school or pick them up in the afternoon. So, it was necessary to bring the school to them.”
((Kiran Chandrakant Kale, Student, Signal School))
“Batu sir approached me and asked if I was interested in joining the school to study. I said yes. So he asked me to come and join the school.”
((Shradha Dandavate, Teacher, Signal School))
“It was hard in the beginning because these children are not used to sitting still in one place. They are not familiar with school. They desperately want to go back and work on the streets. But it’s our responsibility to make them familiar with the school environment and get used to it. We would tell stories, sing songs and play games with them too.”
((Mohan Kale, 10TH Grader, Signal School))
“When I came to Mumbai, I used to work on the streets like the other children. Because my parents were illiterate, I learned the value of education much later in my young life.”
((Batu Sawant
“It ended begging. That helped change their mindset that you can get things free by just asking. Education teaches them that you can work hard and have a good career.”
((Shradha Dandavate, Teacher))
“In the beginning, I was concerned about how I was going to interact with these children. But I was not alone. I have Ms. Arti with me who has experience. So with her help, all the teachers came together and devised a plan on how to approach the kids. We started out by introducing them to health and hygiene, followed by basic course subjects.”
((Mohan Kale, 10TH Grader, Signal School))
“I love school because it teaches me what I can do for the world, for myself, and improve my life.”
((Shradha Dandavate, Teacher))
“By the age of three and a half years, we admit children in the preschool class, but we have students that go all the way up to the tenth grade. So our kids are typically four to seventeen years old but we also have a 19 year-old student. The school will have been running for two years in June. Over that time, we have seen the children grow and become more comfortable and more confident.”
((Kiran Chandrakant Kale, Student))
“I will study well and become a big, important man.”
((PKG)) LAS VEGAS HOMELESS
((Banner: Under the Streets))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States))
((Locator: Las Vegas, Nevada))
((Paul, Former Tunnel Resident and Volunteer, Shine a Light))
“The tunnel was built because the town wasn’t built to take on water. They can come down here. The world forgets about you down here. The cops aren’t down here like that. The people don’t know that you are even living below the city that they live in. It’s almost, as if like, I used to call it Neverland. You get to come down here and you never have to grow up and you never have to worry about responsibility and the real world trials. I mean, it’s easier.”
((Bonnie, Tunnel Resident))
“A lot of people come (and say) this is the cleanest tunnel on this side of the Mississippi, you know, and it is and I pride myself on that. We keep it very clean. The guys that are out front, we call the front men or the gate men. They’ll let everyone know if somebody is coming through which they didn’t do tonight, but they are also up there for a reason because they can’t conform to the way we live, you know. You see they have cigarette butts all over and their trash is all over. Well, that’s okay. They can stay up there. They have been here a long time. But that’s where they stay but they don’t come back here.”
((Paul, Former Tunnel Resident and Volunteer, Shine a Light))
“I mean these guys are smart guys. You can see they have strung up their own electricity in there. They have things in there a normal house would have. They have learned how to exist in a flood channel under Las Vegas and have everything they need except running water, which I wouldn’t put it past them to figure out how to do that.”
((Robert, Tunnel Resident))
“The tunnel, I don’t mind the tunnel. It’s like free rent, you know. The only thing we are missing is running water. We have even got sunlight sometimes if you go outside. You know what I mean? The tunnels are not the bad part. It’s Las Vegas that is the bad part. I hate this place but I love the fact that it is (open) 24 hours and it is so convenient.”
((Bonnie, Tunnel Resident))
“Mine is a lot more girly. I do all the cooking. I do laundry”
(Reporter: So you have got a big family here?)
“Yeah, for sure. We are definitely a family which is good and not good because it makes you comfortable. You know the last thing you want to do when you are homeless is become comfortable because you stay there and it’s easy to stay there. I don’t want to stay here. I hate the tunnels.”
((Craig The “Mayor”, Tunnel Resident))
(Reporter: Do you stay down here?)
“Very little now. Yeah, the last two months I bought me a laptop and a phone. I bought socks and underwear and other things because I get social security. I think I am the only one down here that does out of about 15 people.
((Robert, Tunnel Resident))
“I really wanted to be an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). I wanted to be a paramedic for a really long time. I like saving people. I like helping people. It’s just too dirty. I can’t go present myself at a school, you know. I can’t sign up for anything in person. I get turned down instantly at that kind of stuff.”
((Paul, Former Tunnel Resident and Volunteer, Shine a Light))
“You know, I talk to all of them and I would say 90 percent of them want a way out. They just don’t know how to convince themselves how to do it. The rule is you have to be drug and alcohol-free and that is a big hang up for them. Do I really want to quit doing drugs and alcohol? And that’s where I was at. I chose to stay high instead of change my life for a long time until that day came where I decided to switch the importance and choose that living life was more important than getting high, I wasn’t able to do anything.”
“I mean it’s a great honor to be able to come back to the very place that I had considered my bottom and offer these guys, you know, proverbially as it were, some light at the end of the tunnel.”
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up….
((Banner))
Express Yourself
((SOT))
“I am an 18 year-old photographer based out of Washington DC. My parents are from Afghanistan. I came to the United States when I was one year old,"
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((Banner: Art in many places))
((PKG)) CHINESE ORCHESTRA – JUILLIARD
((Banner: West Meets East))
((Reporter/Camera: Ramon Taylor, Ye Yuan))
((Locator: Juilliard School, New York, New York))
((NATS))
((JOEL SACHS, DIRECTOR, FOCUS! FESTIVAL, THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL))
“China, which is now such a huge factor in everything international, has a culture that's not just the traditional culture, which is magnificent enough, but it has a culture of music-making now that is very, very exciting.”
((NATS))
((CHEN LIN, CONDUCTOR & PROFESSOR, CENTRAL CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC))
“Most of this event was featured through Western orchestra. However, you can find many Chinese musical elements in most of the melodies, harmonies and other musical imagery throughout the whole performance. So as a Chinese conductor or Chinese musician, it’s a wonderful opportunity to introduce Chinese culture to a Western audience, using a Western musical structure such as an orchestra that is infused with Chinese musical elements.”
((NATS))
((JOEL SACHS, DIRECTOR, FOCUS! FESTIVAL, THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL))
“The quality has to be what we're after all the time. So what I was looking for with Chinese composers was the best composers. And I was curious to see whether the best composers would try to write in something that could be identifiably a Chinese manner, whether they intended to write in no particular manner except their own voice, but they were always informed by Chinese culture, or whether they really were thinking Western. And it was really interesting to see the mixtures of those ideas.”
((NATS))
((CHEN LIN, CONDUCTOR & PROFESSOR, CENTRAL CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC))
“Whether you are a stage actor or a film actor, you need to adjust your performance depending on the role you’re playing. As a musician, I would say that the degree of transformation for us is probably richer than that of an actor because music can present so much more. The performance by Luan Tan by Chen Qigang requires the performers as well as the conductor to accumulate a lot of energy towards the later part of presentation, and reach an explosive crescendo towards the end.”
((NATS))
((JOEL SACHS, DIRECTOR, FOCUS! FESTIVAL, THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL))
“It’s the pleasure of seeing people suddenly realize that there’s more music than they ever imagined existed in the world, and that it’s kind of endless, and that, if you’re willing to explore, you never get bored.”
((NATS))
((PKG)) BODY ART / PEOPLE IN AMERICA
((Banner: Body as a Canvas))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezai))
((Athena Zhe, International Artist, Body Painter))
“I was born and raised in the Ukraine, and I came here when I was 14 years old to pursue an American dream. I was always creating stuff since I was a little child. All of the walls were painted. My notepads were painted. Everything, everywhere I could paint, I always did. Like, there’s always doodles in every single book I was reading.
I started by doing face painting, and I was doing it for about a year or two. I’m the type of person that always likes to take it to the next level. Like, ok, what’s next? What’s next? You know, I’m already done with face painting, now what? And I went to a face and body art convention in Florida, and I saw that people were doing body painting. And I’m like, oh my god, this is so exciting, it’s so much better than just face painting, because now I can do all my art with the body painting as well, and that’s how body painting came along.
I definitely had my body painted quite a few times. And one of the main reasons I why I decided to do that is because I wanted to know what it feels like for the model to be painted. Because, for me, it’s very important to make my model feel as comfortable as humanly possible. And, in order for me to understand it better, I chose to be on the other end of the brush, so I can learn this experience.
Initially, when I was exposed to this career, my parents did not support me at all. They wanted me to be a lawyer, a doctor. I’m actually the first person in my family that does not have a college degree. But, at the same time, I’m the most successful one out of my whole family.
When I pick up a brush, it’s almost like I’m getting into my own zone, in my own little world, my comfort zone. Very often, my models try to talk to me throughout the process, but it’s so hard for me to even keep up a conversation because I’m so focused about what I’m doing, and I’m so inspired that it totally takes me out of this world. It’s almost like a drug.
I have moments in my life that I get focused on one particular design or a color. A few years ago, I got my first car. And everything had to be zebra. Like, even my dog was not allowed in the car unless he was dressed up in a zebra outfit. And now, as I purchased my first house, everything in my house is colored teal. Everything!
I am a huge fan of Tom Jones. “What’s new, pussycat? Woah, woah!” Oh my God, ok, so, that’s how obsessed I am. For some reason, for some really weird reason, it inspires me. When I wake up in the morning and I turn on his music, nothing else matters.
What I do for a living, it makes me happy. I feel like I have not worked a day of my life. I feel like America gave me an opportunity to pursue my passion, as an artist. And I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to succeed in art field that I am in if I would be back in Ukraine. It’s a great feeling, it’s a great feeling to do what you love.”
((PKG)) STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
((Banner: Street Photographer))
((Reporter/Camera: Daniel Brown))
((MUSIC))
((WARESS KARIMI, STREET PHOTOGRAPHER))
"My name is Waress Karimi, also known as “Kreamy Skates” on Instagram, and I’m an 18 year-old photographer based out of Washington DC."
((MUSIC))
((WARESS KARIMI, STREET PHOTOGRAPHER))
“My parents are from Afghanistan. I came to the United States when I was one year old, so I came here in the year 2000.”
((MUSIC))
((COURTSEY CHYRON: Instagram-kreamyskates))
((WARESS KARIMI, STREET PHOTOGRAPHER))
“Photography means to me like freedom, like expressing myself, showing people how I see these things that we often take for granted. When you are walking down the street you don’t really realize how much beautiful architecture there is. All these cool stuff basically that the naked eye doesn’t really see. You have to look in depth.”
((MUSIC))
((COURTSEY CHYRON: Instagram-kreamyskates))
((WARESS KARIMI, STREET PHOTOGRAPHER))
“The thing that motivates me to continue taking pictures is there are so many different cities and all of these different places that I can go to and take my style here and apply it there. So there are so many different possibilities. Not only that, but as a career perspective, photography is what I want to do as a career as well. Since its fun, that’s another thing that keeps me motivated with it.”
((MUSIC))
((WARESS KARIMI, STREET PHOTOGRAPHER))
“As a photographer my main goal as of now is to influence others to be different. Don’t be afraid of being different. Don’t be afraid of not getting enough attention on Instagram because you are not posting of what everybody else is doing. And not only that, but basically push a new limit to photography. We are already seeing this whole urban themed photography on Instagram everywhere. I want to see people trying to do something new instead of that urban style photography. Like portraits are cool too, but everybody is doing portraits, everybody is doing rooftops. I want to see something new, that’s what I hope to see in the future where people are starting to be themselves rather than copying other people.”
((MUSIC))
BREAK THREE
CLOSING ((ANIM))
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SHOW ENDS
