முடிந்தவர்கள்/விரும்பியவர்கள் உதவலாம்

[akootha]

[size=5]The Vanni is a multi media, interactive comic book about conflict and migration focusing on Sri Lanka.[/size]

[size=6]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/651360878/the-vanni[/size]

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[size=5]The Vanni tells the story of Antoni & Rajini, their children Michael and Theepa, Rajini's younger sister Priya and Antoni's mother Apamma - and their dog Rocky. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Family portrait. (Clockwise from left) Priya, Antoni, Rajini, Theepa, Michael, Appama and Rocky)[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]The story is constructed from survivor testimonies. Every significant event in the novel, from bomb attacks to internment to the isolation of asylum seeking, is an event that occurred to Tamil civilians in reality during the war and after. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]From a refugee camp in 2005, when the family hope to rebuild their lives after the tsunami... to the despair of 2007 when they had to flee the fighting and leave the coast… to the atrocities endured on the tiny spit of beach where the fighting reached its climax.[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Illustration showing the atrocities in the battle zone[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]The graphic novel will depict the horrors inflicted on ordinarily families, as reported anonymously by survivors themselves. We'll be working from first-hand accounts and in consultation with survivors of the fighting. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]The story is told from Antoni's perspective in 2012, now an asylum seeker in London reflecting on the preceding six years of his life. The reflections are in the form of conversations with his asylum lawyer, Nina… via Skype with Rajini in Chennai, where she lives in the purgatory faced by a refugee… and in his troubled dream states where his post-traumatic stress plays out night after night.[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Illustration showing Antoni alone in London[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Besides telling a compelling story, the book will provide resources for the reader to find out more about the war in Sri Lanka, and related topics of conflict, terrorism, forced migration and asylum. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Presented on the internet, the novel is augmented with photographs and video from the ground. There will also be maps, statistics, links and quotes embedded behind the illustrations. This reference material, sourced from organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and various NGOs will open channels for the reader to explore a variety of issues as deeply as they wish. Additionally, statements from the Government of Sri Lanka and Tamil media will be included, allowing the reader to independently weigh the conflicting voices against one another. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]The book is being written with great consideration to impartiality. This narrative is constructed from the lived-experiences of ordinary people; not the rhetoric of political leaders. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]We have been working on "The Vanni" for a year, entirely self-funded. In that time, we have traveled to South Asia to gather visual reference material, photographing flora and fauna, landscapes, typical Tamil villages, fishing communities and buildings. We have spoken with Tamil survivors, asylum lawyers, and experts at a variety of organisations.[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Lindsay and I beginning to storyboard in India, 2012[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]We have employed computer programmers to develop the website, filling it with useful resources, multimedia and a primer on the conflict in Sri Lanka. And we have written & drawn a 20 page preview of the book. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Chapter by chapter, we intend to make the entire book available for free, so this story can reach as many people as possible.[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Work so far has cost in the region of £10,000. The entire project will unfold over approximately two years. But we can no longer afford to fund the comic ourselves. That's why we're asking for your help.[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Every penny donated will help us produce the book to the highest possible standard. If you care to donate a little more, we'll show our gratitude with exclusive gifts for higher contributors. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Despite the terrible bloodshed which unfolded across its fields and beaches, the Vanni is a stunningly beautiful part of the world. Many of the photos featured in this film are my own, taken during my time in Sri Lanka. Higher contributors will receive limited-edition prints. We're also providing original artwork and even the chance to be featured in the background of one of the London scenes - and then receive the original page to keep. For details of the funding brackets, please see the information below.[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo.1[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo. 2[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo. 3[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo. 4[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo. 5[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo. 6[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Funding reward photo 7[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]In every crowded capital of the world, thousands of asylum seekers are totally anonymous. This book will introduce the reader to one such man - Antoni - showing the path which led him to his strange new life, alone on the fringe of an unfamiliar society. A good husband, father and son, who shoulders the guilt of the survivor, and the memories of the lost; a man who misses his family terribly, and waits for the slow cogs of obscure law to turn; a man whose last hope is to be allowed to start a new life, in a strange place, when all he wants is to be home, on his beach, fishing. [/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5][/size][size=5]Fishing in Vanni[/size][/size][size=5]

[size=5]Thank you so much for considering this project.[/size][/size]

[hari]

Thank you very much

[akootha]

[size=5]Dear Friends.

Lindsay and I just launched a Kickstarter campaign to micro fund 'The Vanni' project. We need your support to get this project going and tell the very important story of survivors of the Sri Lankan war and also a more global story of conflict, forced migration and asylum seeking.

Any financial help you can give will be rewarded with illustrations and photographs from the project - see the link below for more details. [/size]

[size=5]Please Share this, Facebook it, Tweet it, Blog it, drop it into dinner conversations, shout out "The Vanni" on busy tube and bus rides, and tell lots of rich people about it ;0)

Lindsay and I want to create a new and innovative way of looking at problems of global concern.

Please support us in any way you can.

http://www.facebook.com/benjamin.dixie.7

http://www.facebook.com/thevanni2012

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/651360878/the-vanni

http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/651360878/the-vanni/

http://www.thevanni.co.uk/intro/

Thank you

Dixie & Lindsay[/size][size=2]

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[akootha]

[akootha]

[size=6]Graphic Violence[/size]

[size=5]ON 12 SEPTEMBER 2008, I was told we would have to evacuate the town of Kilinochchi, the administrative headquarters of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.[/size]

[size=5]The Sri Lankan Army were a few kilometres to the south and had already shelled the town, hitting a UN compound and an air strike had landed within a kilometre from my UN office causing shrapnel to rain across the courtyard.[/size]

[size=1][size=5]At the news of our departure, hundreds of Tamil civilians staged a protest outside our offices pleading with us not to leave. After 20 years of conflict, they understood that without the presence of international agencies and staff in the area, the army would move in with a very heavy hand, but no one predicted quite how heavy it was to be. As the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) moved further north into Vanni to continue with its operations, we (the UN) prepared to evacuate. Having worked in Vanni for nearly four years, I had made many friends with our staff and people within the community. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had a strict pass system that prevented Vanni residents (including the dependents of national UN staff ) from leaving the area. I had to start the excruciatingly emotional task of saying ‘goodbye’ to friends that we were about to leave behind.[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=5]One family I visited haunts me to this day. I had known them for three years; attended their wedding, was there when their daughter was born, had eaten endless delicious dinners under the mango trees in their garden and generally considered them very close friends. They all called me ‘Tambi’ (little brother) and had treated me like a family member[/size].[/size]

http://www.tehelka.c...8121GRAPHIC.asp