Section-2
Note for Facilitator:
Keep aim and required connection in mind as you progress through the section.
Aim: To physicalize and identify a natural disaster and report on it.
Required Connection: Participants will begin to identify, protect the facts and preservethe story. They will begin to advocate for others.
Exercise
imageofthe wordphysicalizing a situation
Create 2 groups (A and B), who stand at either diagonal corner of the room facing one nother.
Decide on an imaginary line in the middle of the room which neither group will cross.
Decide which group will go first.
The Facilitator will call a word and the chosen group must run to the middle of the room and do an instant freeze frame of that word. There is no consulting beforehand.
The other group observes as the group holds the freeze for 10-20 seconds approx. or as long as is comfortable. During this time the observers can discuss what they see.
Do a demonstration first.
Each group takes turns at freezing one word as announced by the Facilitator.
General word suggestions:
- Forest
- Jungle
- Swimming Pool
- Playground
- Party
- Funeral
WORKSHOP 2
Then suggest:
Natural disaster
- Both groups do 'Natural Disaster' separately first and observe each other.
- Now ask them to do it at the same time, meeting in the middle facing each other. You can ask individual participants to step out and look at the freezes.
- Group picks one type of disaster based on ideas/images that arise from the above e.g. tsunami, earthquake, volcano.
- Now tell group A they are the Tsunami (or whichever disaster they have chosen) - they are the antagonist/oppressor.
- Tell group B they are the victims/the oppressed of the disaster.
- On the count of 3, both groups must run together from their corners and freeze in the middle, as before, to the chosen word e.g. Tsunami. You can ask individual participants to step out and look at the freeze and say what they see.
- Do this again and this time, A and B can merge: they can cross to each other’s zones. For instance, a victim might find themselves under a wave.
The Merging = The Cause and the Effect
Using this imagery, the group is now experiencing and witnessing the universal and the individual experience in a disaster situation.
Discuss with the group what different participants became and what they saw.
WORKSHOP 2
Exercise
after-effect freeze
Ask the full group to walk around the room and tell them that when FREEZE! is called, participants will become a victim of the disaster, whether a person or an object.
Give them a few seconds to decide what they will be before calling FREEZE!
Some participants may choose to connect with others or remain isolated when they freeze in the space.
Identify individual freezes amongst them.
Ask other participants to look at others’ freezes to identify what might be happening:
- Who are they?
- What is their situation now?
Return to a group circle after all the individual freezes have been identified.
De-role. Tell the participants to de-role and “brush off” their character, as they say 'I am no longer the victim, I am John/Katie etc.'
'Brushing off' = physically brushing down one arm with other hand and repeat on other side. They can do legs also. Explain to the participants that this de-roling and 'brushing off' helps to bring us back to reality and to our own selves. It can also get rid of any bad feelings that are associated with that character or the situation they just
imagined.
GROUP DISCUSSION
Questions about the causes and their effects:
- Who/What is the Oppressor in the situation above?
- Who/What are the Oppressed?
- What is the Universal and the individual experience?
- What Human Rights connections do we see?
- What Human Rights violations do we see?
Write them all up on the flip chart
Connection: Participants will have creatively explored a natural disaster situation and identified its effects on human rights.
WORKSHOP 2
Exercise
tv news report: Protect the
facts, Preserve the story
Groups of 3-4 participants will report on a natural disaster – they will decide on and rehearse the report e.g. with a news anchor, reporter, witness(es), etc.
Groups are required to:
- Identify the situation
- Clarify the facts
- Report
Groups present their news report to the other groups. The reports will tell:
- The Universal Story: Disaster to the world / area
- The Individual Story: The victim’s / witness' story
GROUP DISCUSSION
Relate the reports back to Human Rights connections and violations: Are the basic needs of the victims being met? No? Name them!
Add answers to the flip chart.
Connection: Participants will have connected Human Rights violations to the natural disaster. They will have learned to protect the facts and preserve the story.
They have advocated on behalf of others.
