I want to talk a bit about · our story that we, we aren't from here, our place is Ambrym, · South East Ambrym; we lived there then · volcano · the volcano erupted; it erupted and the people came · They sent some people to prison; then us, the volcano erupted. · It erupted, it threw out ashes. · It went on until, um it was like this I was sick then we stayed and came here first. · We came and stayed here. · The volcano erupted a lot; people stayed behind in their villages. · They looked straight to the sea. The government saw how it was, · Then it sent a ship to go get them; but I didn't see it, I had already come here, I'd already come to this place. · Then um, the two of us first came ahead, came to stay here; we stayed and stayed and stayed until · Christmas of 1951. · 1951, and · A cyclone, a big cyclone, hit the people on Epi. · The government had already brought people to Epi then. · The hurricane hit them, water flowed in, the ground came and burried people; then they stayed · We stayed here; there was only rough water here, there wasn't a hurricane. · It rained and rained and rained and rained. · We brought some food here, we went here to the stones here and on the beach there · Christmas day dawned · The 25th, the 25th Christmas; we stayed until, it went on. · It got dark, and then timed passed. It was the middle of the week after Christmas. · And um what, word came from Epi saying that · the hurricane struck people and the ground buried them. · Lots of people died, lots and lots; you looked at the sea and it was just blood, blood blood blood. · Then the government sent - no, who - Master Utie, the one we worked for, · He sent his ship; and then he said to go ask for just the people from Beas. · Then they went; went to say they would take them to the one who was looking after this Akrina, · "You go and what should we do? Should we stay?" He said "yes um they said I should call and get just the people from Beas." · He said "No!" · The old man cried, and he brought all of them. · He brought them, there were eighty of them on this small ship. · They came and reached this place; we stayed in the plantation. · The day dawned and people went to the hospital. · You went to the hospital and they didn't look human, it was so bad; you saw the faces, it was so bad. · They went to the hospital, those who died it was like they didn't think about them. · And actually my grandparent died at that time. · They died at that time; it made them like this, a branch came like this, it came and killed them at once. · His baby and his wife went to the sea; they kept going... · But the sea got them them and they died straightaway; then it took them out, the poor baby went into the sea; a big wave came up and took it straight to shore. · Its mother here, her baby died, its Daddy was already dead. · They took the two of them and buried them in the same hole. · Then they came, they came here. · We stayed and stayed and then we came and worked here; we cleaned the place; they worked, worked, worked until it was done. · The trees the trees, and stuff stuff stuff stuff. · Lots and lots. · We cleaned the place until it reached the river, it went up to the river. · The food is still here today; it's not our place here. · Us, our place, our home, our island is Ambrym. · We came here and all the the boys like this haven't been, the ones like this haven't been. · We don't know, we don't know where our home is. · So that's our talk, our story about the volcano striking us. · Say that's the story now. ·
