3309 Historiography Seminar has to deal with 'Yolanda'
austraLasia #3309
Historiography
Seminar has to deal with 'Yolanda'
CEBU (Lawaan,
Talisay): 8
November
2013
-- The EAO Historiography Seminar, which
concludes today,
Friday 8 November at the Don Bosco Retreat Centre south of
Cebu City,
at Lawaan, Talisay, was not reckoning on an intruder in its
original
planning stage: typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines),
which
weather forecasters are describing as "among the most powerful
witnessed anywhere in modern times....possibly the most
powerful the
planet has seen."
Yolanda is a super Category 5 typhoon and expected to cause
catastrophic damage through storm surge, winds (300km plus at
the
centre) and torrential rain. The Seminar concludes as
Yolanda's centre
hits just north of Cebu island - which will make travel out of
Cebu a
problem for many participants. As you read this, spare a
prayer for
everyone in the path of this typhoon. Preservation of human
life has
been paramount in the preparation for this event.
"The state of Salesian Historiography and the conservation and
development of the Salesian historical patrimony in the
region". Here
too thoughts have been given to preservation of another kind
from 4-8
November at the Don Bosco retreat House, Lawaan, Talisay,
Cebu. Some 30
Salesians and other Salesian Family Group representatives have
spent
the week sharing insights and techniques on preservation of
the
patrimony of each group and province represented. The entire
effort has
been guided by the ACSSA, which would translate into English
as the
Association of Salesian History Enthusiasts. Fr
Stanislaw Zimniak
sdb and Sr Grazia Loparco fma are the two ACSSA leaders from
Rome
guiding the Seminar.
Other than significant contributions from well-known figures
in the
Region's 'writing up, narration of history' (as historiography
is wont
to be!) , names such as Nestor Impelido, Teresa
Furukawa... there have been contributions from outside the
Salesian
Family, viz., Professor Levi Lanario from the University of
San Carlos,
Cebu, speaking on a study of historiography by religious
orders in East
Asia, and Fr Alberto Flores from the Manila Archdiocese, with
a similar
study of religious orders in the Philippines. Also from
Manila,
Professor Regalado Trota Jose, who explored 'The Work of
Conservation
and Preservation of Documents for the Writing of History:
Contemporary
Problems and Perspectives.'
Salesian Sister groups in the Salesian Family have been
prominent in
this exercise: Caritas (SCM) Japan, DQM Thailand, SIHM, also
from
Thailand, in addition to the FMA. Salesians from north
and south
Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Timor have all
shared
insights, problems, successes.
One
contributor with considerable experience in digital archiving
spoke of
the important steps required today to ensure that the more
'fragile'
digital material we are now accustomed to is preserved. He
insisted on
the importance of metadata for all documentation.
An interesting highlight of day 2 was the 'goodnight' by Fr
Shinjiro
Urata who introduced his doctoral dissertation where he had to
read/study/analyse the original writings of Fr Julius Barberis
and it
was made possible because it was preserved as a legacy of
historiography.
Participants were also able to join people for the Mass in the
grounds
of the Basilica of Sto Nino (the church was closed because of
earthquake fissures) at which Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu
presided,
and later visited the Library of the University of San Carlos
to see
how they preserve their works.
Earthquakes and typhoons have very definitely punctuated
proceedings at
this Seminar, with salutary reminders on preservation, and
that in the
end, we are all in the hands of Christ the King and Lord of
History,
whose Feast we shall soon be celebrating.
