The Survivor

In 1939 a thirteen year old Jewish girl from Essen, Germany, - Anneliese Katz - arrived in England. Her parents had managed to send her there to stay with relations, but they themselves could not emigrate, and were murdered in Chelmno, Poland, five years later. Anneliese went to school, then trained to be a nurse. She met, and married, a Sri Lankan Post-graduate and settled down with him in Sri Lanka. In 1956 she became a Sri Lankan citizen. She later became a poet and writer. She was sent to England in "kindertransport", used widely at that time to transport children to safety, when she was thirteen. When she was eighteen, she found out that her parents had been killed. She is considered to be a survivor of the Holocaust... The pain and anguish caused by the Holocaust is potrayed often in her poems. Her poems are depressing, sad. It was her form of expressing herself.

This same person is coming to my school on Tuesday. We're supposed to ask her at least six questions, because we're doing in-depth research about the Holocaust. I can't think of any one question to ask her. Not because I don't know the facts but because I don't know what to say to her. So... any ideas?

Here is a little taste of her work: (Google Anne Ranasinghe for more info)

The Night Of The Tropical Storm

by Anne Ranasinghe

The night of the tropical storm
vaulting sheets of rain
tore through the trees, driven by a wind
so fierce that their high leafy crowns
twisted and tangled as they swayed and bent
under green forks of lightning.
Strangely they all survived

except my more than bush and not yet tree
grown from a seed found in the royal pleasure garden,
its blossom candles flickering red fire
among the feathery foliage
and swinging spiky long brown pods.
There was a regal glory
about this glowing bush against the mossy wall.

The morning after
I found its slumped, shapeless pitiful -
dead at my feet, blossoms already withered,
its naked roots protruding shamelessly
from the ripped soil. A rain-washed sun
shed honey-colour light while squirrels played
wild games through splintered branches

cracking the pods and scattering small hard seeds.

I Speak

by Anne Ranasinghe

I Speak
not with the language of those
who know all the answers
but with the words of the helpless
searching for images
that drift through memory
to make a home-coming
out of exile.
For even in the promised land
I am a stranger.

Eternal fugitive
from a native landscape
I carry with me
the marks of all my sojourns
the tension
between past and present
and guilt
at breaking tradition:
betrayal of the generations.
No one can restore
what has been lost.

It is in forgetting
that we can live our daily lives
but we must survive
in order to remember.

Busy Living Life Out There... (Yes, there!)

I know, I know. I have been gone for a very very long time. But I have a good excuse!!! You see, I was busy living life. Hah! You can never top that.

I am rambling. Got to stop the rambling.

Haha. Living life has made me very hyper, as you can clearly see (or read, whichever is more appropriate).

Here's all that has happened:

• I cut my hair! Just little trim. Much to my annoyance, it seems to have grown back to the way it was within a very short period of time. Two weeks to be exact. I had to go through pain and agony for the haircut, too. The dude who was cutting my hair, dropped the thick brush that is used to do blow-drying with, onto the top of my head!!! Never cut your hair in a place where a television is on!
• A dead frog was found outside our lockers. It was lying there with its tongue sticking out. No one knows where it came from. Probably escaped from the science lab. I felt bad for the poor froggie.
• The next morning I had to see a crow eat the frog. Literally, tear its skin and flesh (or whatever it is that frogs have) apart. Not a very pleasant sight during the early hours of the day. I now hate that crow. Not all crows, just that one (although I can't exactly tell any crows apart).
• I got new glasses which are Armani!!! :D :D Yay!! It's black and rectangular and nerdy. I LOVE EM! My mum got pissed off because I did not pick any of the fancy coloured ones that she pointed out. All the more reasons why I love my new ones.
• My valentines day was all about watching the school play and it was about "Animal Farm." I spent valentines with animals. Someone please feel sorry for me.
• On second thought, don't. Because I had tons of fun that night with my friends. Tip: Animals are sometimes a lot more fun than you think.
• There IS such a thing as global warming and I feel the heat every single day at lunch. Can anyone get me a deal with the Coca Cola Company to get me free drinks everyday? Just one per day. Or two. Okay, maybe three. Or four. Fine! FIVE.
• I actually like geography. Ha ha.

Okay that's it. I've run out of things. I know the stuff that I've given are random... :D