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Brian Edwards Media

How Twitter brought us news that our family in Christchurch was safe – a remarkable story.

Posted by BE on February 23rd, 2011

 

 

Brian:

Christchurch was my first New Zealand home. I arrived there with my wife and baby son Laurie in September 1964 to take up a lecturing job at Canterbury University. My first office was in what is now the Christchurch Arts Centre, damaged in yesterday’s horrendous earthquake.

My two daughters, Naomi and Rebecca were both born in Christchurch.  Four months ago Rebecca’s son, my newest grandchild, Inigo Peter, was born there too.

It would be strange if I did not have a particular affection for the city.

It was there too that I spent one of the happiest periods of my professional life, as a reporter on the regional magazine programme Town and Around, getting to know the New Zealanders of Canterbury and the West Coast in a way not possible for most new immigrants. They took this gaunt, skinny Irishman with his bizarre accent into their homes and hearts with a warmth I would never quite feel again as a broadcaster on the national stage. The entire district became my village. I ceased to be a stranger in a strange land. I felt that I belonged. 

Rebecca, her husband Andy and four of my eleven grandchildren now live in Sumner. Judy and I spent most of yesterday watching the television coverage from the devastated city. Communication with my daughter seemed impossible. Phone, email and text brought no response. Were they all right? We scanned the TV coverage for clues about how Sumner had fared, but most of the footage was understandably about the ravaged central city.

Judy had brought her laptop into the living room and was… tweeting! 

Judy:

The first news of the earthquake came through on Tweetdeck while Brian was out. One of the first images I found on the web was of the cliff collapsing in Sumner. At times like this commonsense goes out the window.  I knew Rebecca lives at the other end of the beach, I knew the chances of her being in the RSA hall were somewhere south of zero, but that didn’t help – and I also knew the little girls were at school in the city.

Texts and emails to Rebecca produced nothing. In Wellington her eldest daughter Jess was sick with worry. No-one could make contact.

We cancelled everything and for the next six hours we sat glued to the TV. My laptop became a mini-control room. I had Facebook, my Twitter, Brian’s Twitter and our website’s Twitter all going together. (The computer nearly had a hernia over that – I had to use three different servers or it merged them all.)

I started asking for news of Sumner. Patchy information came in. Then one of Jess’s friends tweeted us, filling gaps in our information and helping to spread the word. Thanks, Denielle.

Still nothing about the family or the girls’ school. Finally I put out a message:  Anyone have news of daughter Rebecca and family? They live in Sumner. Can’t make contact.

And Twitter went to work, re-tweeting and re-tweeting, and sending messages of support for us and the family.

Hours later, via who knows how many re-tweets, we heard from someone called Tash, who’d managed to make contact with her father – in Sumner. She thought they could help. Thanks, Tash,

Tash’s father James, a total stranger, made his way across Sumner to Rebecca’s house, where he found her with two of the children, safe and well.  He tweeted Tash; Tash tweeted us.  Thanks a whole heap, James.

We still haven’t made direct contact. Power and phones are out. But news is filtering through to the family.

Andy was driving over Sumner Bridge with one of the wee boys when the earthquake struck. They drove home and Andy walked to Christchurch to get the girls. We know they managed to get home again last night. We know they’re all safe.

I spend a lot of time on the social networks, following politicians and watching how they’re using this new tool. (Verdict: most of them badly, a very few of them brilliantly, many not at all.) That’s how I heard “They’re shooting at us!” from Cairo and read messages of defiance and carnage throughout the Middle East. Instant news, uncensored, to the world.

The silly social network has come into its own again, for one small family. I hope there are some other happy-ending stories out there in the midst of this horrible disaster. We’d love to hear them.

Brian:

Our family is safe. Our hearts go out to the hundreds of people in Christchurch who have not been so fortunate.

Thank you Tash. Thank you James. Thank you to the dozens of Tweeters who came to our aid yesterday. Thank you Judy, queen for a day of one small corner of The Social Network.

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9 Comments:

  1. Eric Wood February 23rd, 2011 at 11:10

    Hopefully one of many stories from #eqnz that has a happy ending

  2. Tweets that mention How Twitter brought us news that our family in Christchurch was safe – a remarkable story. @ Brian Edwards Media -- Topsy.com February 23rd, 2011 at 11:24

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Russell Brown, Neil Gordon, bron marshall, Jo Kennelly, jimfloydmesh and others. jimfloydmesh said: RT @brianedwardsmed: The story of how Twitter found my family. http://wp.me/pYTSv-1eQ [...]

  3. Kerry February 23rd, 2011 at 15:16

    I have been amazed, both in the last earthquake and this – how much more valuable Twitter was for real useful instant information than the MSM. Since last September when anything is happening in the news, I learn a great deal by looking for tweets. And in middle eastern revoltuions, for some of them the only way to communicate with the rest of the world.

    Last night i was able to find out that family of friends were all safe and well, when she had not been able to contact them at all. Someone had seen them, and knew they were safe and tweeted that back to me in moments.

    A year ago I was a Twitter cynic , but no longer. News by the people as it happens. Now often the place i go to first to find out whats going on

  4. Deeleea February 23rd, 2011 at 15:34

    So pleased for you, am across the Tasman and relieved to hear all my kith and kin are ok as well. I have been much the same, keeping up to date via the web, it’s an incredible time to be living, to be so far, and yet so close when such things happen.

  5. World Spinner February 23rd, 2011 at 16:45

    How Twitter brought us news that our family in Christchurch was ……

    Here at World Spinner we are debating the same thing……

  6. sas February 23rd, 2011 at 20:43

    i saw this story on the Guardian website – and it was the one that broke me. 12000 miles away from home, i am overwhelmed with pride at how NZ is coping.

    and so grateful for the internet for keeping us all informed and connected.

  7. Ben February 24th, 2011 at 11:54

    Needless to say I am pleased that your family are safe and well.

    The Internet and social media sites have been a wonderful tool highlighting the sadness, resilience and the goodness of the majority of people.

    Sadly it has also served to highlight that even in a tragedy such as this there are scum who rise to the surface to take advantage of the suffering of others. The latest incident reported was the theft of three generators keeping telecommunications equipment going.

    I generally do not think that imprisonment serves much purpose but in these instances I am prepared to make an exception. I hope those caught looting or taking advantage of people’s misfortunes end up in prison for very long terms. In this instance I would not be unduly distressed if the army were given orders to shoot to kill those found looting.

  8. kilmorest February 25th, 2011 at 15:56

    I live in Central Christchurch.
    A woman stands in the super market queue in front of me.
    With absolutely no fuss, I see a complete stranger handing her money.

    And that is typical of a sense of connectedness.
    For every looter there are 1,000′s of kind and wondrous hearts.
    This is what we are experiencing now.

  9. pjr February 25th, 2011 at 17:07

    Great adversity always brings out the best (and to a lesser extent the worst)in people.Its a somber message for us all about the unpredictable nature of life.Chins up Cantabrians.