June 18, 2024 • 35 mins
As we approach the half way point of the series, Naeun and Ben go head to head to tell a story on the theme Today Was A Bad Day.
10 years ago, Ben had planned a day to take his friend Brenna out surfing for the first time. Hours later, he was driving Brenna to the hospital, covered in blood. Ben’s been carrying the guilt from that day ever since. So, he reaches out to Brenna, to make amends, and for a chance at forgiveness.
And Naeun takes us back to a day in 2020 when sisters Rosa and Sophie Do were grappling with uncertainty as the pandemic took hold. Of course, they were worried about the spread of Coronavirus. But on this day, the sisters came up against something far worse.
Find and Tell is the search for the next generation of Australian storytellers. Each episode, join host Jamila Rizvi and the best up and coming storytellers the country has to offer.
Follow along each Wednesday to find out who will be crowned the Find And Tell champion and take home the grand prize.
Find And Tell is co-production between BlakCast & iHeart Australia.
Hosted by Jamila Rizvi
Storytellers are Naeun Kim, Mark Mariano, Ben Haywood & Kate Robinson
Show Producer is Jay Gasser
Mix & Mastering by Ryan Pemberton
Story producers are Indianna Symons, Ryan Pemberton, James Parkinson & Grace Richardson
Theme music by Alex Cox
Video production by All Things All Creatures @allthingsallcreatures
Special thanks to Mundanara Bayles, Corey Layton, Stephanie Coombes, Alyssa Partington, & Bree Steele.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name's Kate Robinson. I'm a storyteller on Finean Tell.
I am an Iranian Australian podcaster who currently lives on
Warundrii Woong and Bunoran country. I'd like to recognize the
traditional custodians of this continent whose land was stolen nearly
two hundred and fifty years ago, in particular the Camereaga
(00:21):
and Warunduri people whose land this podcast was recorded on.
And we extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait islander peoples that are listening. The rich storytelling history
of the world's oldest living culture is what we pay
homage to when we tell stories on Finan Tell.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Hello, I'm Jimilla Risby, and this is Fine and Tell
the search for the next generation of Australian storytellers and
a chance to honors some stories that we might not
otherwise have heard. Each episode, our storytellers go head to
head to tell a story related to the episode's theme.
Whoever finds and tells the best story will win the
(01:04):
episode and be one step closer to being crowned the
Find and Tell Champion and win best in Class podcast.
In goodies and gear from the amazing team at Road
Australia and we are excited to welcome the Australian Film,
Television and Radio School on as a partner. After us,
we'll provide our winner with a range of short courses
(01:26):
and mentoring so they can continue to find and tell
stories into the future. In today's episode, our storytellers are
tackling the theme today was.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
A bad day.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
First up, it's Ben, who last time took us on
a Teddy Bear hunt. Let's hear what he's got in
store for us today. Hey, Ben, welcome back to Find.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
And Tell, Happy to be guest. Thank you tell me.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
During the process of making your three podcast episodes, did
you start to feel more comfortable as you went along
or with a new challenges at every stage?
Speaker 4 (02:01):
I mean, today was a bad day was a hard
topic for me because no one really wants to talk
about the bad days most times, you know, the stories
that we tell are positives, like no one really wants
to hear about you're feeling down or you're feeling negative.
And I wanted to kind of take that as an
opportunity to do, you know, I guess put myself out
there and feel pretty vulnerable to address address how I
(02:23):
felt about that day.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
All right, I want to hear this episode. Your theme
this week was today was a bad day. Let's get
to it.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Brenna grew up in the landlocked state of Kansas, USA.
She would recall the stories from her father about living
on the coast in Australia and the culture that came
with it. The moment Brenna turned eighteen do she wanted
to experience this for herself. So Brenna made the move
to the Ilahara with her older sister Tanil to live
with their grandmother, and not too long after that, Brenna
met me. I remember many memories from the tour I
(02:58):
spent with Brenner, movies, heading the different bars and clubs,
and just jumping in the car chasing adventures, you know,
the average eighteen year old life, although one day will
forever stand out amongst the rest, a day that shadowed
all the good memories from that year, one bad day
that I would carry the burden of for the next
ten years. This is a story I've told friends and
(03:20):
family before. Usually when conversations turn to past mistakes in life,
this story is the first one that comes to mind,
and every time I tell it, I get this overwhelming
feeling rush over me and sit in the pit of
my stomach guilt. The times I would tell the story
to friends, I'd always ask myself, I wonder how Brenner
(03:41):
is doing. And so, after many years of no contact,
in the hopes she might be willing to sit down
and talk about that day, I reached out.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Even when he sent me that message, I just was like, what,
it's been one you okay? I messaged to Nil and
I said, you'll not believe who's messaged me. And she
said who? And I said Ben Heyward And she's like,
what does that boy want? And I said, well, I
don't know, and she's like, we'll better open that message.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Hi, Brenner, it's been a while. I know this is
out of the ordinary, but I'm reaching out to ask
you'd potentially be up to chat with me about the
day over ten years ago when you were seriously injured.
Speaker 6 (04:25):
I thought of this story because.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
I've carried a lot of guilt for some time now,
and I feel responsible for what happened to you that day. Obviously,
it's a lot to take in, and I understand if
you need more information or time. Once again, thank you
for considering. I hope your chat soon.
Speaker 7 (04:41):
Ben.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Hello, how are you good to see you?
Speaker 5 (04:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Really good to see you.
Speaker 6 (04:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
This was the first time I've seen Brenner in over
ten years, and the first time I've ever spoken to
her about that day when we were kids.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
We were eighteen. I was eighteen, new to Australia. I
think I was just craving like new experiences and then
meeting you and obviously like we were like good, would
go on a few dates and things you offered. I
just remember us having a conversation of things to do around.
Speaker 6 (05:15):
The ill Worra.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Brenna was keen to learn how to surf, and I
was excited to be the one to teach her.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
I was like, oh, that's so cool because I haven't served.
You know, I've never served in a grow up surfing.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
So after a few weeks we planned to finally put
the wetsuits on and head out. But that day the
other war was hit with severe storms, pouring rain and
huge swell. I could see the disappointment in Brenna's face,
knowing that she was so excited to go out and
surf for the day, so I decided I could take
it to a local nine gem.
Speaker 6 (05:45):
What did you call it again, the washing machine? The
washing machine, Yes, that's what you called it.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
The washing machine is a large flat slab of natural
rock at the tip of Barrack Point, a local popular
surf break. The rock drops down vertically about two feet
and as kids, we would crouch down, lay hard against
the rock wall and let the whitewash flow seamlessly over
the top of us, allowing you to experience what it's
like in the inside of a barrel of a wave.
(06:16):
It's perfect for someone to get the experience of surfing
without actually doing it. I picked Brenner up and just
before leaving, I remember Brenda's grandmother looking me in the
eyes and saying, you look after my granddaughter now. I
gave him my word that I would.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
We walked out to the cliff edge. We looked down
and there was the expanse of the rock. It just
looked like a little rectangular slab.
Speaker 6 (06:42):
I think the tide was high.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
It was stormy as well, so it was a bit rough.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
But like at that.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
Point, you know we're going to experience this, you know,
barrel of a wave. Because you kept talking about how
beautiful it was. I did have some reservations going all
the waves are a little bit high, but you were like, no, like,
this is how it needs to be. Okay, let's do it,
you know, because I trusted you, and I.
Speaker 6 (07:07):
Was just like if people have done this before.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Like they didn't really have any kind of initial fears
for safety when I went there with you, I wasn't
even thinking about, you know, what would it happen.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
This is exactly how I remember that day. Besides one
important piece. See, what Brennan didn't know was that I
knew it was too dangerous to be out there. I
knew we shouldn't have gone out that day. I've replayed
this scenario so many times in my head trying to
figure out why I ignored my instincts. The answer that
(07:44):
I'd given myself was that I was too embarrassed to
admit that I was in over my head. I let
ego cloud my judgment, and I really just wanted to
impress Brenner.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
Then you told me, okay, like it's time to go,
time to you know, crouch beneath the washing machine.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And by this point I'm screaming because the sound of
the waves are just so loud, crashing against the rocks,
I was.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
You know, pretty thrilled, like it was exhilarating, you know,
your your adrenaline's pumping.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I'm screaming, telling her, when the waves come, you have
to duck hold on tight, and.
Speaker 6 (08:24):
So we crouch along this rock.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
I think you're holding on to me and I'm holding
on to you, and you're like, okay, are you ready?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
And we ducked down and the first wave crashed over
the top of us.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
And I think I remember just thinking, oh my god,
this wave is really powerful.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Like that was crazy, and the excitement on her face
was that feeling didn't last too long because after the
first wave come over, the second wave, the third wave
came over crashing.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
I just remember going, oh my god, like please, like
just stop, just stop, just stop.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
It was white wash everywhere.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
I was skidding on my bum had my hands out,
my feet in front of me, and I was just skidding.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
By the time I had enough kind of stable grip
to lift my hands off the rock face and white
wash out of my eyes.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
I looked up and Brenna was gone.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
I jumped up and I turned around and I could
just see Brenna's body just laying hard up against the cliff. Face,
which is in a pool of her own blood. She said,
I can't stand my feet. Her feet had been sliced
by oysters and cut by the sharp rock face, and
they had cut her to the bone. Brenna was losing
(09:51):
like a lot of blood, like there was blood everywhere.
She was soaking wet. I could see muscles and bone
and flesh.
Speaker 7 (09:58):
We have to go to the hospital. We get to
the hospital and I say, wait here, I'm going to
go get your wheelchair and I run in. They were like, oh,
you're okay, you're bleeding, and I remember saying, it's not
my blood.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
I need a wheelchair right now.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
They had to.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
Put me in the shower to remove the wet suit,
and they basically washed all the wounds with me, and
then they popped me back into the bed.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
I remember standing next to the hospital bed, still dripping
wet and salt water and blood. Brenna told me to
call her grandmother. There's a phone, rang I remember thinking,
the last time I spoke to this woman, I told
her that her granddaughter would be safe.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Now.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Only hours later, I was calling to tell her that
Brenner was in the emergency department. Making that call and
happened to hear your grandmother say what's going on and
I've gone Brenna's in the hospital.
Speaker 7 (10:55):
After she told me you make sure you look after
my granddaughter, I was like.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Fuck.
Speaker 7 (11:01):
So that for me was like a pretty heavy moment
because I was responsible and I knew better, because I
knew we shouldn't have want to anything that day. I
knew looking at the size of the swell and the conditions,
but I was too embarrassed and I let my ego
(11:22):
get in front of me. I remember you getting swept away,
and that feeling was just horrific because I didn't address
the guilt then, I just allowed it to kind of
make me feel worse.
Speaker 6 (11:40):
I felt bad that you felt so bad about it.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
The experience that we shared together, it was not just
you choosing to go out there and making me go
out there. I went out there on my own accord
as well. I wanted to be cool and I wanted to,
you know, experience life in Australia, and I thought that
this was how people did it over here. And I
(12:06):
felt embarrassed too, because I was like, oh, you know,
he's probably taken that many people to the washing machine,
and I'm the first person that's actually you know, didn't
do it properly, and you'd probably think all some dumb American.
I never had any sort of like harsh feelings towards you.
(12:27):
It was more just I think self reflection from my
own self to go what I did was my decision
was pretty stupid, but I've learned from it. There's so
many things that happen in people's lives that have such
a big effect on maybe someone personally, but another person
you know, might not think it as much. When you
(12:50):
were talking about the locals and how it was like
a local gym, it kind of resonated with me a
little bit because I wanted to feel like a local
because I wanted to live here and I wanted to
be a part of Australia because it is part of
my heritage. And I think maybe that was that was
kind of the crux of it, you know, I wanted
(13:11):
to feel, you know, one with Australia.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Have you been back there that day?
Speaker 5 (13:19):
So I live I live around that area and I
go for a lot of runs along Barrick Point where
it's located out, but I've never actually been back down
to that rock surface. It definitely doesn't look as menacing,
(13:41):
I think as as I remember it. So is this
the kind of weather that you would take people?
Speaker 6 (13:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Wow, see right now, that's perfect that this is the
type of weather. We should have come.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Out still potentially get dragged, but definitely not at the
rate that I did.
Speaker 7 (14:02):
Did you want to go give it a gay? Oh?
Speaker 5 (14:04):
No, definitely not.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
No, I got enough of it.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
But yeah, one and done.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
I don't think I could ever know that moment.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
We got to have a big slap in the face
with our mortality. We are not immortal, even though we're
eighteen and feel like we are and feel like we're
on top of the world and the world is our oyster. No,
the world has oysters and they cut off your feet.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Ben, What are you most proud of hearing that?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (14:45):
One of my most proud of I think I'm proud
of myself that I took the opportunity and the chance
to address the guilt that I've carried for such a
long time. You know, I don't know if I would
have done it otherwise. Yeah, And given the opportunity to,
I guess have the courage to, I guess reach out
to Brennan after so many years I don't know if
(15:07):
I would have put myself out there if it wasn't
for this, if it wasn't for you know, find and
tell and giving me the platform to do it.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
She was incredibly generous with her contribution and forgive me
for making a story that's close to you a bit
too in the business. But she was also great talent,
like she can really tell a story. How did you
coach or prepare her ahead of the interview.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
I didn't, I didn't at all. I yeah, Wow, the
Brenner that I remembered from when we were kids and
when we used to hang out when we were teenagers,
I knew that she was going to be able to
tell a good story, just because she's so intricate with
the way she speaks. And I remember telling her that
as well. I said, the Brenner that I know can
can speak amazing like she can speak amazingly well. So
(15:58):
I didn't really have to coach in any way. I
just asked her to just recap the events of that day.
And yeah, obviously in that interview that we did do
was the first time that she had heard that I
carried the guilt from that day as well, So it
was a bit of a surprise to her, but as
you heard, like, she's such an amazing person and she
(16:18):
just for her to be willing to sit down and
talk to me after ten years of no contact was
someone really special. So I'm glad that. I'm glad that
it turned out the way it did.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
You've shown us what it is to have two people
experience the same event and have very different memories of
it and very different perceptions and processing of it. And
you didn't have to tell us that and give us
a lecture on that being the case or what the
psychology of that is. You sort of made that point
so beautifully, and I think much more powerfully by showing
us rather than telling us. One of the sequences in
(16:49):
there that really struck me was the section where you're
recalling that day at the washing machine, and you're going
backwards and forwards between your retelling and then Brenner's retelling.
How did you make that choice to use both recollections simultaneously.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
The first time I recapped my memories of the event,
which were much more traumatic than Brenner's, and you can
kind of hear the difference of it, you know, I
recorded my recap first of all, and then in the
interview with Brenner, and I just said, you know, go
for it, told me what you can remember, and that
was her one take. I guess it's like a bit
(17:30):
of a juxtaposition. I guess that is that the word
that we.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Use in the internet got Yeah, and you've kept it.
You've kept your retailing quite pure by making sure you
did yours first, and you weren't you weren't colored by
what she said.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Next, I suppose in your last episode you interviewed someone
you'd never met before who could have been a teddy bear,
and in this episode you interviewed someone who you hadn't
seen for a long time, but you who you knew.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Well.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
What was the difference in preparing for those two inter
use and was it more or less daunting to interview Brenner.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
I definitely had more nerves sitting down with Brenner because
it's such a sensitive topic and we hadn't had no
contact for such an extended amount of time. I think
it was just a little bit nerve wracking. Yeah, reaching
out to somebody from your past and for me to
(18:24):
carry something, you know, that I felt like I was
responsible for for such a long time. And for her
to be like, oh, that was just a silly thing
that happened when we were kids.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
You know.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
I think we both kind of left that a little
bit more, I guess, wiser from both people's perspective on
the situation as well. So I was glad I had
that opportunity. I'm so grateful that Brenna wanted to actually
sit down and then revisit that.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
Ben.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I think you've made a really stunning piece of audio. Congratulations,
Thank you so much. How will Ben fair up against Nar?
We're going to hear what story she found. The theme
of today was a bad day in just a moment.
(19:10):
This is Fined and Tell, and our theme this week
is today was a bad day. When we last heard
from Nan, she made us consider what it's like when
your name becomes a global phenomenon and helped us sympathize
with Karen's around the world. Let's see what she's made
for us this time. Hey, Nayan, welcome back to Find
(19:33):
and Tell.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Hello, it's good to be back.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
All right, we're going into story number two, so we're
not quite you know, old hands at this, but I
feel like we've had a little bit of practice. Is
a little less nerve wracking sending this one out into
the world than it was last time.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
No, I thought it'd got easier, but no. And I
feel also because this story is the one that I'm
most yeah, feel most personal and passionate about, So I'm
extra and O.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
You're a news journal in your day job, so this
is a little bit different for you, but at the
same time it's a little bit familiar. I feel like
the big shift is you. You're being asked to bring
more of you to this project. How does that feel?
Is that comfortable for you?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
It makes me feel very vulnerable. Yeah, it's yeah, definitely
a great opportunity to explore topics that I normally wouldn't
be able to. And my initial reaction to you know,
the theme today was a bad day. I mean, every
day is a bad day news. There's lots of bad
things happening here. So I thought, yeah, I could hopefully
(20:39):
make this something a bit more personal, something a bit
more poignant, and something that even though it's a bit
uncomfortable to hear to at least think about. Yeah, because
I think it will help everyone understand each other more.
And yeah, I'm.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Really looking forward to hearing it. This is today was
a bad day. That's the theme we're tackling, and it's
NaN's second contribution to find and tell.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Life is changing in Australia and around the world.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Those were Twenty twenty was a weird year, but particularly
for Asians.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Police in London say the number of hate crimes against
people of East Asian descent has tripled since the beginning
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaker 6 (21:23):
We had been seeing things about attacks already, like in
the US, and that boiled our blood every time we
saw it, Like I saw a really sad one in
New York about a man who literally got like beat up,
beat up for being Asian in the subway.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Sophie Doe first saw these kind of news headlines as
Sydney was locking down. Like most of us. She thought
the pandemic would pass quickly. Obviously it didn't. Sophie has
a younger sister, Rosa. They've shared a room for most
of their lives, finish each other's sentences and even sound
a little alike.
Speaker 6 (22:01):
Me and Rosa are like two peas in a pod
where best friends were like, literally we're the same person,
except I feel like I grew up a little more
tomboyish than her.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
The sisters of Vietnamese Australian It's like wearing another layer.
According to Rosa, I feel like growing up Asian in
Australia is something that only Asian Australians have to think about, right,
Like being Asian was almost a disadvantage and almost something
(22:32):
that I had to leverage. There were the usual insults,
things like ching chong and where are you really from,
which they learned to brush off. I would hear comments
being like, oh, like you're really cool for an Asian,
or like you're really pretty for an Asian, or you're
really funny for an Asian. Before twenty twenty, they didn't
(22:55):
have to think twice about walking around Merrickfilm, the suburb
they grew up in.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
This place is predominantly an Asian area. That is where
all the Asian grocery stores are, that's where all the
Asian restaurants are, and it's a place where I was like,
I'm always safe here.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
March thirty was a mundane not that you could tell.
The streets were empty, most shops were closed, and social
distancing was mandatory. The sisters wanted Bubble Team an excuse
to go outside or.
Speaker 6 (23:26):
Azara and I were going out for gong cha, that's
what we wanted, and we were like, I need to
get out of the house. We could just go for
a nice walk.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
I remember we were like leaving the house and we
were like, oh, we should drive, but then we're like, oh,
it's a nice day. We've been locked in like like
how long, so let's just go for a walk.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
And it's not that far. That day was just kind
of like a fluke. We kind of just decided like,
let's just go a different way.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
They eventually come to the main road where they noticed
they're not the only ones around, and.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
When we got down to that crossing, I remember like
hearing people, two girls specifically being like super loud, and
I was just like, why are they going too loud?
It's like super quiet and dead on the streets right.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Now, So seeing anyone was like, oh, like someone's there,
rosa notices. One of the girls was especially noisy, and
she had her hair in like a like a high bun,
and she had like a headband.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
She was white, and she also had like this like
shoulder bag with her. They looked, honestly, like the best
way to describe the two girls where they looked a
little sketchy, like they looked as though they got in
trouble frequently.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
The sisters were on the other side of the street,
but felt like something was off, so they continued to
wait for the pedestrian light. But then the two girls
start to cross the road towards Sophie and Rosa, and
they walked past us, saying us stay away from those girls.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
They've got coronavirus shit, like you guys eat bats and
shit and like Eurasian dogs. And I'm like, what does
that even mean? At first, I.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Didn't think I heard it right, but then I was like,
wait a second, did she actually just say that?
Speaker 6 (25:14):
So that was why Rosa and I were both like
almost in unison, like what did you say?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
As Rosa recalls, the reaction set the girl off even more.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
She drops her bag and then starts running out Elson,
I'm like, oh shit, like this isn't gonna go well.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Like she had like her fists up and she was
like jumping around and like looking like she wanted to swing.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
It was like pure like ftal flight.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
It was pure fear because I remember like feeling my
legs shaking, you know, when you're like about to do
a speech in class and you're really nervous and your
legs start like shaking.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
That's how I felt, but like jelly.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Rosa, Sophie, and the two girls were roll in the
middle of the road. People were watching and filming from
their apartments and shops, but no one came out to help. Eventually,
a man walking by carrying his groceries tries to come
between them. It looked as if the two girls were
finally moving on when one of them stops and turns
to face Rosa, and.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
That's when she turned around and she spat on me.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
In that moment, Sophie felt powerless.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
I watched the whole thing in slow motion, like it
happened so slow in my eyes, like I remember seeing
it so like vividly, and I felt dumb for not
stopping it, like I felt guilty. I was like, I
wish it got on me.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Sophie's furious and wants to protect her younger sister. She
tries to retaliate, but the man with his groceri is
intervenes and.
Speaker 6 (26:57):
I was like, oh man, I want to do something
so bad. And I was just like, you're so disgusting,
Like what's wrong with you?
Speaker 3 (27:05):
The man gives Rosa some water to wash her eye
out while the two girls run off, Sophie and Rosa
and left to process what had just happened.
Speaker 6 (27:14):
I was just like shocked and disgusted.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I was like, how, like, no one's ever spoilt on
me before, first of all, And I was like, how
could she.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
I just felt very.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Like angry, very angry, very disrespected. The feelix spitting on
someone is like, it's such a disrespectful thing to do,
Like I probably would have rather have punched me in
the face, to be honest. After reporting the incident to police,
the sisters make their way back home. Now they have
to tell their family.
Speaker 6 (27:44):
And my dad was very upset.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
So my dad's very protective of us, obviously, and he
was really really angry, really upset. And I also remember
my hearing from my cousins that my aunties and uncles,
a few of them had said like, oh, they shouldn't
have done anything, like should have just like ignored it.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
They should have just like turned the other cheek. I
remember not crying until like the night of like everyone
went to sleep and I was in my own room
and I had time to myself, and I finally like,
broke down and cried because I was just like, how
could this happen to us?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Later that night, Rosa and Sophie posted videos of the
incident online. It wasn't long before people on the internet
identified the girls behind the attack. It turns out the
main perpetrator was already known to police, but she was
seventeen years old, meaning she was charged as a minor.
In the end, she only had to pay a fine
(28:46):
and received a good behavior bond.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Or Two women who were spat on in an alleged
coronavirus fueled racist attack have spoken about the ordeal.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
The incident even made headlines internationally. Rosa and Sophie were
overwhelmed by the response. It made them feel like they
weren't so alone.
Speaker 6 (29:05):
A huge band of people, not just Asians but white
people too, of every background defending us and being like,
that's not how we treat people in Australia. And I
think meeting those made me feel very like there are
good people still and it just takes, unfortunately, something like
this happening for people to be like, no, we got
(29:25):
your back.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Rosa and Sophia are grateful most of the internet stood
up for them, but more importantly, they're proud of themselves
speaking up during that whole thing that only lasted five minutes.
Speaker 6 (29:40):
I'm happy that we spoke up. I'm happy that we,
you know, stood our ground, and I was also able
to make sure we both got out of it safely.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Neon, congratulations again on some really impressive storytelling and storytelling that.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I think.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
There's a lot of complexity of what's going on in
that story, and so I'm hoping we can unpack that
a little bit. You're an Asian Australian woman yourself, so
how did you manage your own well being and your
own feelings about the situation while you were creating the narrative?
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah, good question. If you remember at the time, you know,
the pandemic was so chaotic, there was so much coming
out in the news every day, let alone in a
daily news cycle, a lot of stories. You know, you
hear maybe twenty thirty seconds best from them, you know,
in a small news report, and you get the crux
of what they're saying, but you don't get the nuances.
(30:45):
And there's yeah, so many things I feel aren't able
to be shared in news reporting. So that's why I felt, Yeah,
because this was such a personal piece, and I remember
at the time I was so outraged and helpless at
the same time. I am just confused, and it was
just one of those stories that always lingered at the
(31:06):
back of my head and it was hard at times.
Even listening back to the story. I was getting a
bit teary just then, and I thought this would be
the perfect opportunity to really let Sophie and Rosa share
their experiences and let them share how that moment hasn't
defined them, but rather how they've been able to move
(31:26):
on from it and define it themselves.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
As part of you bringing it to life, we heard
audio of the incident. What were we listening to there?
Speaker 3 (31:38):
So that was raw footage of the actual whole incident
that happened. Oh wow. It was a mix of people
bystanders who had filmed and then eventually they uploaded it
or sent it to Rosa and Sophie, And one of
the videos was Rosa filming herself because she wanted to,
I guess, in that moment defend and protect us. So
(32:01):
that was actually what happened on the day.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I think it's a really impressive piece of storytelling and
something that's important to revisit. You know, I think there's
a bit of a sense of, well, that's something that
happened in COVID and that was COVID specific, rather than
recognizing the underlying racism that's going on there. That doesn't
go anywhere just because the virus isn't something people are
as scared of anymore. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
The theme was today was a bad day and we
heard some really heavy stories. I'm going to take a
moment and try and figure out who's going to win
this contest. Are we back in a moment and we'll
let them know. From the opening moments to the final
(32:52):
seconds of Ben's episode, I found it utterly captivating. I
really commend him on being so vulnerable and going and
finding an girlfriend to be able to tell this story
is actually really brave. Ben is embodying the purpose of
this competition and how he's celebrating different parts of Australia,
and he's managed to bring the physicality of the setting
(33:13):
to life for us as well as the characters in
his story. He really should be congratulated on the emotion
that was at the forefront. The heart that was in
this story this week is a very difficult contest to call, though,
because Naan also did an outstanding job. Obviously, the subject
matter is an incredibly important one, and Naan's reporting prowess
(33:36):
is really clear. The way she sequenced how we heard
that story as the audience. It's sort of something you
don't notice when you're just listening to a news story,
but actually that's very hard to achieve. She's really thought
about how she told us each piece of information and
in what order. Now, if I had any notes, and
I'm grasping here, I wouldn't expect Naan to put herself
(33:59):
and her opinions in the story normally, but Naance an
Asian Australian, and I would have really lacked to hear
her reflections even briefly on the story she was trying
to tell. I have complained about how tough this decision
making stuff is every week, folks, I really have. But
this one, this one might be the toughest yet. And
(34:21):
the winner I've picked is I think the strongest piece
of raw storytelling that I've heard in the competition. Ben, Honestly,
I am so impressed you are this week's win out.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
Congratulations, thank you so much. I can't believe it. I
honestly can't believe it. Thank you so much. You are
most welcome.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I think the way that you put that story together,
you help me from the first second to the last. Okay,
that was an extremely hard decision to make. It's a
real testament to our storytellers who are absolutely raising the
bar week by week. Thanks are starting to get very
(35:01):
exciting as we get close to the finals, so make
sure you don't miss an episode of Find and Tell.
Just hit follow in your podcast app. A big thank
you to our show partners Afters and Roade Australia. Find
in Tell is a co production between iHeart Australia and
the black Cast podcast network. Black Cast empowers First Nations
(35:22):
people and people of color to reclaim their narratives, strengthen
cultural identity, and contribute to a more inclusive Australia by
showcasing exciting emerging talent from Australian communities.
My name's Kate Robinson. I'm a storyteller on Finean Tell.
I am an Iranian Australian podcaster who currently lives on
Warundrii Woong and Bunoran country. I'd like to recognize the
traditional custodians of this continent whose land was stolen nearly
two hundred and fifty years ago, in particular the Camereaga
(00:21):
and Warunduri people whose land this podcast was recorded on.
And we extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait islander peoples that are listening. The rich storytelling history
of the world's oldest living culture is what we pay
homage to when we tell stories on Finan Tell.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Hello, I'm Jimilla Risby, and this is Fine and Tell
the search for the next generation of Australian storytellers and
a chance to honors some stories that we might not
otherwise have heard. Each episode, our storytellers go head to
head to tell a story related to the episode's theme.
Whoever finds and tells the best story will win the
(01:04):
episode and be one step closer to being crowned the
Find and Tell Champion and win best in Class podcast.
In goodies and gear from the amazing team at Road
Australia and we are excited to welcome the Australian Film,
Television and Radio School on as a partner. After us,
we'll provide our winner with a range of short courses
(01:26):
and mentoring so they can continue to find and tell
stories into the future. In today's episode, our storytellers are
tackling the theme today was.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
A bad day.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
First up, it's Ben, who last time took us on
a Teddy Bear hunt. Let's hear what he's got in
store for us today. Hey, Ben, welcome back to Find.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
And Tell, Happy to be guest. Thank you tell me.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
During the process of making your three podcast episodes, did
you start to feel more comfortable as you went along
or with a new challenges at every stage?
Speaker 4 (02:01):
I mean, today was a bad day was a hard
topic for me because no one really wants to talk
about the bad days most times, you know, the stories
that we tell are positives, like no one really wants
to hear about you're feeling down or you're feeling negative.
And I wanted to kind of take that as an
opportunity to do, you know, I guess put myself out
there and feel pretty vulnerable to address address how I
(02:23):
felt about that day.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
All right, I want to hear this episode. Your theme
this week was today was a bad day. Let's get
to it.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Brenna grew up in the landlocked state of Kansas, USA.
She would recall the stories from her father about living
on the coast in Australia and the culture that came
with it. The moment Brenna turned eighteen do she wanted
to experience this for herself. So Brenna made the move
to the Ilahara with her older sister Tanil to live
with their grandmother, and not too long after that, Brenna
met me. I remember many memories from the tour I
(02:58):
spent with Brenner, movies, heading the different bars and clubs,
and just jumping in the car chasing adventures, you know,
the average eighteen year old life, although one day will
forever stand out amongst the rest, a day that shadowed
all the good memories from that year, one bad day
that I would carry the burden of for the next
ten years. This is a story I've told friends and
(03:20):
family before. Usually when conversations turn to past mistakes in life,
this story is the first one that comes to mind,
and every time I tell it, I get this overwhelming
feeling rush over me and sit in the pit of
my stomach guilt. The times I would tell the story
to friends, I'd always ask myself, I wonder how Brenner
(03:41):
is doing. And so, after many years of no contact,
in the hopes she might be willing to sit down
and talk about that day, I reached out.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Even when he sent me that message, I just was like, what,
it's been one you okay? I messaged to Nil and
I said, you'll not believe who's messaged me. And she
said who? And I said Ben Heyward And she's like,
what does that boy want? And I said, well, I
don't know, and she's like, we'll better open that message.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Hi, Brenner, it's been a while. I know this is
out of the ordinary, but I'm reaching out to ask
you'd potentially be up to chat with me about the
day over ten years ago when you were seriously injured.
Speaker 6 (04:25):
I thought of this story because.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
I've carried a lot of guilt for some time now,
and I feel responsible for what happened to you that day. Obviously,
it's a lot to take in, and I understand if
you need more information or time. Once again, thank you
for considering. I hope your chat soon.
Speaker 7 (04:41):
Ben.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Hello, how are you good to see you?
Speaker 5 (04:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Really good to see you.
Speaker 6 (04:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
This was the first time I've seen Brenner in over
ten years, and the first time I've ever spoken to
her about that day when we were kids.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
We were eighteen. I was eighteen, new to Australia. I
think I was just craving like new experiences and then
meeting you and obviously like we were like good, would
go on a few dates and things you offered. I
just remember us having a conversation of things to do around.
Speaker 6 (05:15):
The ill Worra.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Brenna was keen to learn how to surf, and I
was excited to be the one to teach her.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
I was like, oh, that's so cool because I haven't served.
You know, I've never served in a grow up surfing.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
So after a few weeks we planned to finally put
the wetsuits on and head out. But that day the
other war was hit with severe storms, pouring rain and
huge swell. I could see the disappointment in Brenna's face,
knowing that she was so excited to go out and
surf for the day, so I decided I could take
it to a local nine gem.
Speaker 6 (05:45):
What did you call it again, the washing machine? The
washing machine, Yes, that's what you called it.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
The washing machine is a large flat slab of natural
rock at the tip of Barrack Point, a local popular
surf break. The rock drops down vertically about two feet
and as kids, we would crouch down, lay hard against
the rock wall and let the whitewash flow seamlessly over
the top of us, allowing you to experience what it's
like in the inside of a barrel of a wave.
(06:16):
It's perfect for someone to get the experience of surfing
without actually doing it. I picked Brenner up and just
before leaving, I remember Brenda's grandmother looking me in the
eyes and saying, you look after my granddaughter now. I
gave him my word that I would.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
We walked out to the cliff edge. We looked down
and there was the expanse of the rock. It just
looked like a little rectangular slab.
Speaker 6 (06:42):
I think the tide was high.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
It was stormy as well, so it was a bit rough.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
But like at that.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
Point, you know we're going to experience this, you know,
barrel of a wave. Because you kept talking about how
beautiful it was. I did have some reservations going all
the waves are a little bit high, but you were like, no, like,
this is how it needs to be. Okay, let's do it,
you know, because I trusted you, and I.
Speaker 6 (07:07):
Was just like if people have done this before.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Like they didn't really have any kind of initial fears
for safety when I went there with you, I wasn't
even thinking about, you know, what would it happen.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
This is exactly how I remember that day. Besides one
important piece. See, what Brennan didn't know was that I
knew it was too dangerous to be out there. I
knew we shouldn't have gone out that day. I've replayed
this scenario so many times in my head trying to
figure out why I ignored my instincts. The answer that
(07:44):
I'd given myself was that I was too embarrassed to
admit that I was in over my head. I let
ego cloud my judgment, and I really just wanted to
impress Brenner.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
Then you told me, okay, like it's time to go,
time to you know, crouch beneath the washing machine.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And by this point I'm screaming because the sound of
the waves are just so loud, crashing against the rocks,
I was.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
You know, pretty thrilled, like it was exhilarating, you know,
your your adrenaline's pumping.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I'm screaming, telling her, when the waves come, you have
to duck hold on tight, and.
Speaker 6 (08:24):
So we crouch along this rock.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
I think you're holding on to me and I'm holding
on to you, and you're like, okay, are you ready?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
And we ducked down and the first wave crashed over
the top of us.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
And I think I remember just thinking, oh my god,
this wave is really powerful.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Like that was crazy, and the excitement on her face
was that feeling didn't last too long because after the
first wave come over, the second wave, the third wave
came over crashing.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
I just remember going, oh my god, like please, like
just stop, just stop, just stop.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
It was white wash everywhere.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
I was skidding on my bum had my hands out,
my feet in front of me, and I was just skidding.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
By the time I had enough kind of stable grip
to lift my hands off the rock face and white
wash out of my eyes.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
I looked up and Brenna was gone.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
I jumped up and I turned around and I could
just see Brenna's body just laying hard up against the cliff. Face,
which is in a pool of her own blood. She said,
I can't stand my feet. Her feet had been sliced
by oysters and cut by the sharp rock face, and
they had cut her to the bone. Brenna was losing
(09:51):
like a lot of blood, like there was blood everywhere.
She was soaking wet. I could see muscles and bone
and flesh.
Speaker 7 (09:58):
We have to go to the hospital. We get to
the hospital and I say, wait here, I'm going to
go get your wheelchair and I run in. They were like, oh,
you're okay, you're bleeding, and I remember saying, it's not
my blood.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
I need a wheelchair right now.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
They had to.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
Put me in the shower to remove the wet suit,
and they basically washed all the wounds with me, and
then they popped me back into the bed.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
I remember standing next to the hospital bed, still dripping
wet and salt water and blood. Brenna told me to
call her grandmother. There's a phone, rang I remember thinking,
the last time I spoke to this woman, I told
her that her granddaughter would be safe.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Now.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Only hours later, I was calling to tell her that
Brenner was in the emergency department. Making that call and
happened to hear your grandmother say what's going on and
I've gone Brenna's in the hospital.
Speaker 7 (10:55):
After she told me you make sure you look after
my granddaughter, I was like.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Fuck.
Speaker 7 (11:01):
So that for me was like a pretty heavy moment
because I was responsible and I knew better, because I
knew we shouldn't have want to anything that day. I
knew looking at the size of the swell and the conditions,
but I was too embarrassed and I let my ego
(11:22):
get in front of me. I remember you getting swept away,
and that feeling was just horrific because I didn't address
the guilt then, I just allowed it to kind of
make me feel worse.
Speaker 6 (11:40):
I felt bad that you felt so bad about it.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
The experience that we shared together, it was not just
you choosing to go out there and making me go
out there. I went out there on my own accord
as well. I wanted to be cool and I wanted to,
you know, experience life in Australia, and I thought that
this was how people did it over here. And I
(12:06):
felt embarrassed too, because I was like, oh, you know,
he's probably taken that many people to the washing machine,
and I'm the first person that's actually you know, didn't
do it properly, and you'd probably think all some dumb American.
I never had any sort of like harsh feelings towards you.
(12:27):
It was more just I think self reflection from my
own self to go what I did was my decision
was pretty stupid, but I've learned from it. There's so
many things that happen in people's lives that have such
a big effect on maybe someone personally, but another person
you know, might not think it as much. When you
(12:50):
were talking about the locals and how it was like
a local gym, it kind of resonated with me a
little bit because I wanted to feel like a local
because I wanted to live here and I wanted to
be a part of Australia because it is part of
my heritage. And I think maybe that was that was
kind of the crux of it, you know, I wanted
(13:11):
to feel, you know, one with Australia.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Have you been back there that day?
Speaker 5 (13:19):
So I live I live around that area and I
go for a lot of runs along Barrick Point where
it's located out, but I've never actually been back down
to that rock surface. It definitely doesn't look as menacing,
(13:41):
I think as as I remember it. So is this
the kind of weather that you would take people?
Speaker 6 (13:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Wow, see right now, that's perfect that this is the
type of weather. We should have come.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Out still potentially get dragged, but definitely not at the
rate that I did.
Speaker 7 (14:02):
Did you want to go give it a gay? Oh?
Speaker 5 (14:04):
No, definitely not.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
No, I got enough of it.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
But yeah, one and done.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
I don't think I could ever know that moment.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
We got to have a big slap in the face
with our mortality. We are not immortal, even though we're
eighteen and feel like we are and feel like we're
on top of the world and the world is our oyster. No,
the world has oysters and they cut off your feet.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Ben, What are you most proud of hearing that?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (14:45):
One of my most proud of I think I'm proud
of myself that I took the opportunity and the chance
to address the guilt that I've carried for such a
long time. You know, I don't know if I would
have done it otherwise. Yeah, And given the opportunity to,
I guess have the courage to, I guess reach out
to Brennan after so many years I don't know if
(15:07):
I would have put myself out there if it wasn't
for this, if it wasn't for you know, find and
tell and giving me the platform to do it.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
She was incredibly generous with her contribution and forgive me
for making a story that's close to you a bit
too in the business. But she was also great talent,
like she can really tell a story. How did you
coach or prepare her ahead of the interview.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
I didn't, I didn't at all. I yeah, Wow, the
Brenner that I remembered from when we were kids and
when we used to hang out when we were teenagers,
I knew that she was going to be able to
tell a good story, just because she's so intricate with
the way she speaks. And I remember telling her that
as well. I said, the Brenner that I know can
can speak amazing like she can speak amazingly well. So
(15:58):
I didn't really have to coach in any way. I
just asked her to just recap the events of that day.
And yeah, obviously in that interview that we did do
was the first time that she had heard that I
carried the guilt from that day as well, So it
was a bit of a surprise to her, but as
you heard, like, she's such an amazing person and she
(16:18):
just for her to be willing to sit down and
talk to me after ten years of no contact was
someone really special. So I'm glad that. I'm glad that
it turned out the way it did.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
You've shown us what it is to have two people
experience the same event and have very different memories of
it and very different perceptions and processing of it. And
you didn't have to tell us that and give us
a lecture on that being the case or what the
psychology of that is. You sort of made that point
so beautifully, and I think much more powerfully by showing
us rather than telling us. One of the sequences in
(16:49):
there that really struck me was the section where you're
recalling that day at the washing machine, and you're going
backwards and forwards between your retelling and then Brenner's retelling.
How did you make that choice to use both recollections simultaneously.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
The first time I recapped my memories of the event,
which were much more traumatic than Brenner's, and you can
kind of hear the difference of it, you know, I
recorded my recap first of all, and then in the
interview with Brenner, and I just said, you know, go
for it, told me what you can remember, and that
was her one take. I guess it's like a bit
(17:30):
of a juxtaposition. I guess that is that the word
that we.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Use in the internet got Yeah, and you've kept it.
You've kept your retailing quite pure by making sure you
did yours first, and you weren't you weren't colored by
what she said.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Next, I suppose in your last episode you interviewed someone
you'd never met before who could have been a teddy bear,
and in this episode you interviewed someone who you hadn't
seen for a long time, but you who you knew.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Well.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
What was the difference in preparing for those two inter
use and was it more or less daunting to interview Brenner.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
I definitely had more nerves sitting down with Brenner because
it's such a sensitive topic and we hadn't had no
contact for such an extended amount of time. I think
it was just a little bit nerve wracking. Yeah, reaching
out to somebody from your past and for me to
(18:24):
carry something, you know, that I felt like I was
responsible for for such a long time. And for her
to be like, oh, that was just a silly thing
that happened when we were kids.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
You know.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
I think we both kind of left that a little
bit more, I guess, wiser from both people's perspective on
the situation as well. So I was glad I had
that opportunity. I'm so grateful that Brenna wanted to actually
sit down and then revisit that.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
Ben.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I think you've made a really stunning piece of audio. Congratulations,
Thank you so much. How will Ben fair up against Nar?
We're going to hear what story she found. The theme
of today was a bad day in just a moment.
(19:10):
This is Fined and Tell, and our theme this week
is today was a bad day. When we last heard
from Nan, she made us consider what it's like when
your name becomes a global phenomenon and helped us sympathize
with Karen's around the world. Let's see what she's made
for us this time. Hey, Nayan, welcome back to Find
(19:33):
and Tell.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Hello, it's good to be back.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
All right, we're going into story number two, so we're
not quite you know, old hands at this, but I
feel like we've had a little bit of practice. Is
a little less nerve wracking sending this one out into
the world than it was last time.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
No, I thought it'd got easier, but no. And I
feel also because this story is the one that I'm
most yeah, feel most personal and passionate about, So I'm
extra and O.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
You're a news journal in your day job, so this
is a little bit different for you, but at the
same time it's a little bit familiar. I feel like
the big shift is you. You're being asked to bring
more of you to this project. How does that feel?
Is that comfortable for you?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
It makes me feel very vulnerable. Yeah, it's yeah, definitely
a great opportunity to explore topics that I normally wouldn't
be able to. And my initial reaction to you know,
the theme today was a bad day. I mean, every
day is a bad day news. There's lots of bad
things happening here. So I thought, yeah, I could hopefully
(20:39):
make this something a bit more personal, something a bit
more poignant, and something that even though it's a bit
uncomfortable to hear to at least think about. Yeah, because
I think it will help everyone understand each other more.
And yeah, I'm.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Really looking forward to hearing it. This is today was
a bad day. That's the theme we're tackling, and it's
NaN's second contribution to find and tell.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Life is changing in Australia and around the world.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Those were Twenty twenty was a weird year, but particularly
for Asians.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Police in London say the number of hate crimes against
people of East Asian descent has tripled since the beginning
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaker 6 (21:23):
We had been seeing things about attacks already, like in
the US, and that boiled our blood every time we
saw it, Like I saw a really sad one in
New York about a man who literally got like beat up,
beat up for being Asian in the subway.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Sophie Doe first saw these kind of news headlines as
Sydney was locking down. Like most of us. She thought
the pandemic would pass quickly. Obviously it didn't. Sophie has
a younger sister, Rosa. They've shared a room for most
of their lives, finish each other's sentences and even sound
a little alike.
Speaker 6 (22:01):
Me and Rosa are like two peas in a pod
where best friends were like, literally we're the same person,
except I feel like I grew up a little more
tomboyish than her.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
The sisters of Vietnamese Australian It's like wearing another layer.
According to Rosa, I feel like growing up Asian in
Australia is something that only Asian Australians have to think about, right,
Like being Asian was almost a disadvantage and almost something
(22:32):
that I had to leverage. There were the usual insults,
things like ching chong and where are you really from,
which they learned to brush off. I would hear comments
being like, oh, like you're really cool for an Asian,
or like you're really pretty for an Asian, or you're
really funny for an Asian. Before twenty twenty, they didn't
(22:55):
have to think twice about walking around Merrickfilm, the suburb
they grew up in.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
This place is predominantly an Asian area. That is where
all the Asian grocery stores are, that's where all the
Asian restaurants are, and it's a place where I was like,
I'm always safe here.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
March thirty was a mundane not that you could tell.
The streets were empty, most shops were closed, and social
distancing was mandatory. The sisters wanted Bubble Team an excuse
to go outside or.
Speaker 6 (23:26):
Azara and I were going out for gong cha, that's
what we wanted, and we were like, I need to
get out of the house. We could just go for
a nice walk.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
I remember we were like leaving the house and we
were like, oh, we should drive, but then we're like, oh,
it's a nice day. We've been locked in like like
how long, so let's just go for a walk.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
And it's not that far. That day was just kind
of like a fluke. We kind of just decided like,
let's just go a different way.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
They eventually come to the main road where they noticed
they're not the only ones around, and.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
When we got down to that crossing, I remember like
hearing people, two girls specifically being like super loud, and
I was just like, why are they going too loud?
It's like super quiet and dead on the streets right.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Now, So seeing anyone was like, oh, like someone's there,
rosa notices. One of the girls was especially noisy, and
she had her hair in like a like a high bun,
and she had like a headband.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
She was white, and she also had like this like
shoulder bag with her. They looked, honestly, like the best
way to describe the two girls where they looked a
little sketchy, like they looked as though they got in
trouble frequently.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
The sisters were on the other side of the street,
but felt like something was off, so they continued to
wait for the pedestrian light. But then the two girls
start to cross the road towards Sophie and Rosa, and
they walked past us, saying us stay away from those girls.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
They've got coronavirus shit, like you guys eat bats and
shit and like Eurasian dogs. And I'm like, what does
that even mean? At first, I.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Didn't think I heard it right, but then I was like,
wait a second, did she actually just say that?
Speaker 6 (25:14):
So that was why Rosa and I were both like
almost in unison, like what did you say?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
As Rosa recalls, the reaction set the girl off even more.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
She drops her bag and then starts running out Elson,
I'm like, oh shit, like this isn't gonna go well.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Like she had like her fists up and she was
like jumping around and like looking like she wanted to swing.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
It was like pure like ftal flight.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
It was pure fear because I remember like feeling my
legs shaking, you know, when you're like about to do
a speech in class and you're really nervous and your
legs start like shaking.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
That's how I felt, but like jelly.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Rosa, Sophie, and the two girls were roll in the
middle of the road. People were watching and filming from
their apartments and shops, but no one came out to help. Eventually,
a man walking by carrying his groceries tries to come
between them. It looked as if the two girls were
finally moving on when one of them stops and turns
to face Rosa, and.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
That's when she turned around and she spat on me.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
In that moment, Sophie felt powerless.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
I watched the whole thing in slow motion, like it
happened so slow in my eyes, like I remember seeing
it so like vividly, and I felt dumb for not
stopping it, like I felt guilty. I was like, I
wish it got on me.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Sophie's furious and wants to protect her younger sister. She
tries to retaliate, but the man with his groceri is
intervenes and.
Speaker 6 (26:57):
I was like, oh man, I want to do something
so bad. And I was just like, you're so disgusting,
Like what's wrong with you?
Speaker 3 (27:05):
The man gives Rosa some water to wash her eye
out while the two girls run off, Sophie and Rosa
and left to process what had just happened.
Speaker 6 (27:14):
I was just like shocked and disgusted.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I was like, how, like, no one's ever spoilt on
me before, first of all, And I was like, how
could she.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
I just felt very.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Like angry, very angry, very disrespected. The feelix spitting on
someone is like, it's such a disrespectful thing to do,
Like I probably would have rather have punched me in
the face, to be honest. After reporting the incident to police,
the sisters make their way back home. Now they have
to tell their family.
Speaker 6 (27:44):
And my dad was very upset.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
So my dad's very protective of us, obviously, and he
was really really angry, really upset. And I also remember
my hearing from my cousins that my aunties and uncles,
a few of them had said like, oh, they shouldn't
have done anything, like should have just like ignored it.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
They should have just like turned the other cheek. I
remember not crying until like the night of like everyone
went to sleep and I was in my own room
and I had time to myself, and I finally like,
broke down and cried because I was just like, how
could this happen to us?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Later that night, Rosa and Sophie posted videos of the
incident online. It wasn't long before people on the internet
identified the girls behind the attack. It turns out the
main perpetrator was already known to police, but she was
seventeen years old, meaning she was charged as a minor.
In the end, she only had to pay a fine
(28:46):
and received a good behavior bond.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Or Two women who were spat on in an alleged
coronavirus fueled racist attack have spoken about the ordeal.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
The incident even made headlines internationally. Rosa and Sophie were
overwhelmed by the response. It made them feel like they
weren't so alone.
Speaker 6 (29:05):
A huge band of people, not just Asians but white
people too, of every background defending us and being like,
that's not how we treat people in Australia. And I
think meeting those made me feel very like there are
good people still and it just takes, unfortunately, something like
this happening for people to be like, no, we got
(29:25):
your back.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Rosa and Sophia are grateful most of the internet stood
up for them, but more importantly, they're proud of themselves
speaking up during that whole thing that only lasted five minutes.
Speaker 6 (29:40):
I'm happy that we spoke up. I'm happy that we,
you know, stood our ground, and I was also able
to make sure we both got out of it safely.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Neon, congratulations again on some really impressive storytelling and storytelling that.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I think.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
There's a lot of complexity of what's going on in
that story, and so I'm hoping we can unpack that
a little bit. You're an Asian Australian woman yourself, so
how did you manage your own well being and your
own feelings about the situation while you were creating the narrative?
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah, good question. If you remember at the time, you know,
the pandemic was so chaotic, there was so much coming
out in the news every day, let alone in a
daily news cycle, a lot of stories. You know, you
hear maybe twenty thirty seconds best from them, you know,
in a small news report, and you get the crux
of what they're saying, but you don't get the nuances.
(30:45):
And there's yeah, so many things I feel aren't able
to be shared in news reporting. So that's why I felt, Yeah,
because this was such a personal piece, and I remember
at the time I was so outraged and helpless at
the same time. I am just confused, and it was
just one of those stories that always lingered at the
(31:06):
back of my head and it was hard at times.
Even listening back to the story. I was getting a
bit teary just then, and I thought this would be
the perfect opportunity to really let Sophie and Rosa share
their experiences and let them share how that moment hasn't
defined them, but rather how they've been able to move
(31:26):
on from it and define it themselves.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
As part of you bringing it to life, we heard
audio of the incident. What were we listening to there?
Speaker 3 (31:38):
So that was raw footage of the actual whole incident
that happened. Oh wow. It was a mix of people
bystanders who had filmed and then eventually they uploaded it
or sent it to Rosa and Sophie, And one of
the videos was Rosa filming herself because she wanted to,
I guess, in that moment defend and protect us. So
(32:01):
that was actually what happened on the day.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I think it's a really impressive piece of storytelling and
something that's important to revisit. You know, I think there's
a bit of a sense of, well, that's something that
happened in COVID and that was COVID specific, rather than
recognizing the underlying racism that's going on there. That doesn't
go anywhere just because the virus isn't something people are
as scared of anymore. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
The theme was today was a bad day and we
heard some really heavy stories. I'm going to take a
moment and try and figure out who's going to win
this contest. Are we back in a moment and we'll
let them know. From the opening moments to the final
(32:52):
seconds of Ben's episode, I found it utterly captivating. I
really commend him on being so vulnerable and going and
finding an girlfriend to be able to tell this story
is actually really brave. Ben is embodying the purpose of
this competition and how he's celebrating different parts of Australia,
and he's managed to bring the physicality of the setting
(33:13):
to life for us as well as the characters in
his story. He really should be congratulated on the emotion
that was at the forefront. The heart that was in
this story this week is a very difficult contest to call, though,
because Naan also did an outstanding job. Obviously, the subject
matter is an incredibly important one, and Naan's reporting prowess
(33:36):
is really clear. The way she sequenced how we heard
that story as the audience. It's sort of something you
don't notice when you're just listening to a news story,
but actually that's very hard to achieve. She's really thought
about how she told us each piece of information and
in what order. Now, if I had any notes, and
I'm grasping here, I wouldn't expect Naan to put herself
(33:59):
and her opinions in the story normally, but Naance an
Asian Australian, and I would have really lacked to hear
her reflections even briefly on the story she was trying
to tell. I have complained about how tough this decision
making stuff is every week, folks, I really have. But
this one, this one might be the toughest yet. And
(34:21):
the winner I've picked is I think the strongest piece
of raw storytelling that I've heard in the competition. Ben, Honestly,
I am so impressed you are this week's win out.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
Congratulations, thank you so much. I can't believe it. I
honestly can't believe it. Thank you so much. You are
most welcome.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I think the way that you put that story together,
you help me from the first second to the last. Okay,
that was an extremely hard decision to make. It's a
real testament to our storytellers who are absolutely raising the
bar week by week. Thanks are starting to get very
(35:01):
exciting as we get close to the finals, so make
sure you don't miss an episode of Find and Tell.
Just hit follow in your podcast app. A big thank
you to our show partners Afters and Roade Australia. Find
in Tell is a co production between iHeart Australia and
the black Cast podcast network. Black Cast empowers First Nations
(35:22):
people and people of color to reclaim their narratives, strengthen
cultural identity, and contribute to a more inclusive Australia by
showcasing exciting emerging talent from Australian communities.
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