ABC ‘You Can’t Ask That’

After a disaster there can be a strange balance between the curiosity of wanting to know how things are for people against the concern of not wanting to pry or make things awkward by asking the wrong question.

Thankfully, the ABC did it for us a few years ago. In the last episode in series four of the magnificent show ‘You Can’t Ask That’, the team did an episode on disaster survivors.

The episode runs for 29 minutes and it’s sad and raw and thoughtful and ultimately optimistic. The people in the episode show us how diverse the experiences of people are during and after a disaster event, but also how there are some common threads. The people who have put themselves forward to be interviewed are so incredibly generous with sharing their stories and we are lucky to have this sort of information available to watch so we can learn more about the range of experiences that people have.

The episode doesn’t try and solve or resolve anything, but is a frank description of what the experience of going through a disaster can be like. Participants answer questions about what happened on the day, why they’re not ‘over it’, how the event changed their lives and worldviews, how their mental health fared and life lessons they have taken from their experience.

You can watch the episode on iView if you’re in Australia (I’m hoping you can find it by searching online if you’re in another location).

**Please note that in the first half of the episode the people who are interviewed tell the story of their experiences of the event, so take care when watching.