Stories of ordinary people transformed by extraordinary events. Stories of survival and healing. Sources of hope for a society free from hate. This is CONTINUUM.
A first of its kind in Australia, CONTINUUM: Stories of lives transformed by terror recognises that the stories of terrorism survivors can be a powerful source of hope for a society free from hate.
“I was euphorically overwhelmed with gratitude that I did not die, because actually I was convinced that I would,” said Louisa Hope, a survivor of the Martin Place siege, at the launch of the CONTINUUM website in December.
Marking its 10-year commemoration this December, the Martin Place siege transformed the Sydney CBD, first into a warzone, and then into a sea of flowers and multilingual well-wishes. Ever since the siege, Louisa has been determined to turn her experience to good. Louisa founded the Louisa Hope Fund for Nurses to show her appreciation for those who took care of her in her three-month hospital stay following the siege.Telling her story of survival on the CONTINUUM website, Louisa reflected on the immediate impact of a terrorist attack on social cohesion and community harmony.
“You may think that the siege, the actual 17 hours, was insanity. That was like nothing compared to what happened afterwards. That’s when it all goes Psycho City,” Louisa said.
“You may think that the siege, the actual 17 hours, was insanity. That was like nothing compared to what happened afterwards. That’s when it all goes Psycho City.”
“We were very aware of the media and the power of what was going to be said and done. I knew we had to tread very carefully. We don’t want to have any media that was spinning and some of the outlets were absolutely out for blood. But we kept coming back to a key question one of my friends posed: ‘who is the audience that really needs to hear this message of forgiveness?’”
As a CONTINUUM Storyteller, Louisa has joined a community of terrorism survivors who have, individually and collectively, made the decision to turn their traumatic, transformative experiences into ethical and creative action with the potential to effect real positive social change.
Among her fellow CONTINUUM Storytellers is Abdi Ibrahim, a survivor of the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack. Abdi is the older brother of Mucaad Ibrahim, the youngest victim of the attack, murdered at the age of three. Abdi’s sisters Luul and Khadre Ibrahim have also joined the CONTINUUM project and share their stories on the project website.
“CONTINUUM is a safe platform for all of us to express our feelings. It’s a connection as well. Our pain might be different, but we are all in here together. Imagine how many people are there in the world that could just click on the website and can relate to this,” said Luul about her experience of being involved in the project.
The Ibrahim family are survivors of the Christchurch Massacre.
Louisa Hope, a survivor of the Martin Place siege.
Louisa Hope, a survivor of the Martin Place siege.
Abdi Ibrahim , a survivor of the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack.
The Ibrahim family, survivors of the Christchurch Massacre.
CONTINUUM Storytellers Julie and Mark Wallace are the parents of Sara Zelenak, who was killed at the age of 21 in the 2017 London Bridge and Borough Markets attack by ISIS-inspired extremists.
“There’s good that can come out of everything, and hope and resilience can win over hate,” Julie said.
“There’s good that can come out of everything, and hope and resilience can win over hate.”
Julie Wallace
Julie and Mark founded a non-profit organisation in their daughter’s memory, the Sarz Sanctuary. Mark is determined that Sara’s legacy be one of change in terms of the way society responds to grief and trauma. He wants to support others who may experience such events in years to come.
Dr Gill Hicks AM MBE is the last living victim rescued from the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Gill is the founder of the not-for-profit M.A.D for Peace, where she champions messages of community harmony. For Gill, joining the CONTINUUM project was a continuation of nearly 20 years of advocacy work focussed on breaking the cycle of hate.
“Humanity is better than we all believe it is and we need platforms like CONTINUUM to bring us together in a positive way,” Gill said.
Alpha Cheng was personally compelled by his experience of losing his father, Curtis Cheng, in an ISIS-inspired attack outside the NSW Police Force headquarters in 2015. Alpha is a public speaker and advocate for addressing hate and extremism through compassion. Having worked in this space for nearly 10 years, Alpha found he discovered new insights after getting involved in the CONTINUUM project.
“It was actually really grounding for me to reflect on the continuum and not on a particular point in time. I now see myself as a part of my own continuum.”
Kosta Lucas is one of the key creative forces behind CONTINUUM. An academic and practitioner with over a decade of expertise in the areas of social justice and countering violent extremism, Kosta’s work revolves around finding ways to build community resilience against division and enmity.
Kosta worked collaboratively with all the CONTINUUM Storytellers to ensure their stories could be told in a trauma-informed way that centred the survivors’ agency.
“Beside the tangible losses that come with a terrorist attack, one of the things that survivors and victims are robbed of is voice, is agency. They are being used as a plot-point in someone else’s story.”
The CONTINUUM project recognises that victims and survivors of terrorism carry a special symbolic weight and power in the public consciousness. Terrorism survivors are not only individual victims of acts of violence. Their experiences come to stand for everything that terrorists and violent extremists want to destroy: our collective way of life, our values, peace, democracy, and society itself. In other words, survivors come to stand for all of us.
Hear Dr Malcolm Haddon PSM, project lead for CONTINUUM, discuss the initiative in this episode of Step Together’s Start the Conversation series. He is joined by Louisa Hope, survivor of the 2014 Sydney siege and founder of the Louisa Hope Fund for Nurses, and Kosta Lucas, a writer, researcher and educator in countering violent extremism.
“Beside the tangible losses that come with a terrorist attack, one of the things that survivors and victims are robbed of is voice, is agency. They are being used as a plot-point in someone else’s story.”
The CONTINUUM project therefore takes a victim-centred approach to a whole-of-society problem. It has also created a small community of survivors who have found new connections with each other and a source of support as a group.
“A victim-centred approach to a whole-of-society problem.”
“I’m just so encouraged that this project exists. I’m so glad to be part of a collective, positive voice in this space. The connection with other terror survivors is a privilege,” Louisa said.
You can listen to the CONTINUUM Storytellers tell their powerful stories at the project website: This is Continuum.
The CONTINUUM vision is for everyone who listens to these stories to make an ethical decision in their own lives – to speak up, stand up and stand united for a society free from hate.
The CONTINUUM project is a Multicultural NSW initiative supported by the Australia New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee.
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