 Aloha, and mabuhay. Welcome to another edition of Pinoy Power Hawaii here on Think Tech Hawaii. I am your host, Emi Ortega Anderson, and it is always a pleasure to come into your home. We shoot live every Tuesday at 12 noon. Today we have a very, very special treat for you. And you're going to witness part of Hawaii's history. It's titled Shipment Day, and there's no better people to tell you than the wonderful people that are involved in this wonderful production, wonderful masterpiece. So welcome to Pinoy Power Hawaii, our writer, director, Lorenzo Di Stefano. Thank you. And also, our lovely actress who plays Olivia Koole Shafi. Welcome. Thank you for having us. Take us to how this production gets started, and tell us a little bit about Lorenzo and Koole. Okay. Well, Olivia Robelo-Bretha was my cousin. She was born in Kaua'i in 1916, and I didn't meet her until I was in my late 30s. I'm born and raised in Honolulu. She was my mother's first cousin. And I found out then that I had a cousin with leprosy, Hansen's disease, living in Kalapapa. And I think like a lot of families, you know, there was like a secret relative, you know, not spoken of. And when I did eventually meet her, I kind of fell in love with her, you know. She's quite a bit older than me, but a tough Portuguese lady, lots of character, lots of determination, resilience. And so I was fortunate to know her for 17 years, between 89 and when she died in 2006, at the age of 90. So she lived in Kalapapa for almost 70 years. Shipment Day is a tribute to her. It only covers the early days of her diagnosis at the age of 18 in Kalihi in 1930s Honolulu. And until the day before her shipment day, which was June 30th, 1937, after being incarcerated in Kalihi Hospital for two and a half years, she was sent to Kalapapa to a very unknown future. Lorenzo and Kule, it sounds so morose, you know, because the literal knowledge that we know about leprosy or Hansen's disease, I can only liken it to Shipment Day. I can only relate it as going to concentration camp or the death camp. I mean, that's how I perceive it. Let's take a look at the image one for reference and tell us about this day. Well this is one of my visits to Olivia in the 90s in her home in Kalapapa. She was a great raconteur, a tough woman. We got along great though. You know, I think I was, like a lot of friends and relatives of hers, I was kind of her window to the world. When she was able to travel by this time, the separation laws had been repealed in 1969, which are the laws that kept people from being able to ride around in cars and going to people's homes, a very tough situation that added to the stigma already. So I was able, luckily I met her after that time, and so I was able to participate in her world. And we traveled together, and she went to Belgium, to Father Damien's ceremony there, and she went to New York, and Alaska, LA, and so on. So she became a traveler, which made up for some of the isolation of her past. I don't know what I would do, being secluded from the outside world, and just being like a prisoner in your own world. But in 1969, that all changed. Yeah. There was a parolee, like all the people here. She was prisoner number 3306 for her whole life, from the Board of Health, the Board of Health ruled, you know. Concentration camp, maybe a little harsh of an analogy in terms of extermination was not in order there, but certainly incarceration and separation. They were wards of the state, their needs were taken care of, but they also lost a lot of freedom as a result of taking that. They had no choice, really. Yes. You know. And that must have been very devastating to somebody like Olivia at 18 years old, her prime. So thank you for sharing this wonderful story, so that we can be all empowered and relate to the struggles, the trials, triumph, and how she lived a wonderful life after all these government kinks got out of the way. So let's move to the beautiful actress sitting next to you, Kuley. Let's refer to image number two for the people that brings Shipment Day to life. We have a cast of eight people playing about 20 parts, Kuley plays Olivia. And I think I mentioned to you that we shall speak about this, that she met Olivia when she was nine years old here in Honolulu, and the irony of the fact that now, these many years later, she's portraying her on stage, which is fascinating, you know. So describe to us, Kuley, what was that like the day you met Olivia? It was pretty surreal, I would say. I was nine, so I didn't know what leprosy was or why I was meeting this woman, but my mom really wanted to meet her, and she wanted me to meet her because they were going to Kalau Papa, and you have to be 16 or older in order to go visit. To mingle. Yeah. And so because I wasn't able to go on that trip, they brought me to Queen's Hospital where she was staying, and all I remember is standing at the foot of her bed and seeing her toes curled in, and her fingers curled in, and you know, as a child, that's pretty fascinating. But outside of that, I just remember she was really sweet and a little bit sassy, which I liked, and she loved children, so she was very kind to me. Were you at all fearful, were you afraid that you might catch something? No. No. You know, my mom always told me that I was sort of a, I never really saw all those things. I mean, I noticed them, but as a kid, those things just never affected me. Everyone was the same to me. Yes. That's wonderful, and this is why you have a deeper appreciation of the story of Olivia and Shipman Day. So take us back again now. Why did you want to bring this to light? Well, you know, as a tribute to her, she wrote a book called My Life of Exile in Kalapapa. It's published by Pacific Historic Parks here in Honolulu. Originally, Arizona Memorial Press, it was published in 1988, so it's been in print for 30 years. And I'm her literary executor, you know. She named me as a sort of watch dog for her work, and we just put out a new edition of the book, and it's thousands, tens of thousands of people really have become aware of her story through this book, which is available through them. We'll also be having copies for sale at the theater. So it's in a book farm. It is a memoir, My Life of Exile, and so in that she tells the whole story, including what we cover in Shipman Day and then beyond, because it's too big a story to tell really on stage, or maybe even on film, you know, that's 90 years of life. So I decided to, when she died in 2006, I didn't write it right away, you know, but I kind of wrote it for Kool-Aid as a one-act play. It was a short 20-minute piece we did at theater in LA, and then we did it at playbuilders here in Honolulu in 2016 as a one-act again, and Kool-Aid won Best Actress at that festival. And Manaw Valley Theater approached me to expand it into a full length, so now it's about 80 minutes. And so we were able to flesh out some of the things that we're just sort of talking to the audience now become scenes and adding, we had four actors in that, now we have eight. So her mother, her father, her fiance, some sailors, her two girlfriends from the hospital, this makes up a kind of microcosm of all the people involved in her early days, you know. And Honolulu in the 30s is kind of a character too. We use a lot of music from Sol Ho-O-P-E, that's sort of what she might have heard on the radio at that time, and it brings it to life, you know. Oh, is this a good time to get a sampling of Kool-Aid's? Sure. Yeah. Okay. Let's set this up. Yes. This is like a little monologue from several parts of the play that we put together for events like this, so that people get an idea of Olivia's voice, which Kool-Aid is wonderfully embodied now. And so this is from Shipment Thing. I used to dream. I used to think I was special. I'm Olivia Rebello. I was born 21 years ago on June 6, 1916 in Kalaheo-Koloa, Kauai, in the territory of Hawaii. Like other Portuguese women, my mother, Mary Fernandez, tended to her family and took in dress-making and needlework for extra money. The men, like my father, Manuel Rebello, either worked for the Spreckles Kilauea or Kikaha Sugar Refineries, or at other jobs involving the sea and the land. When I was about seven, we left Kauai and came to Oahu. It's been fun growing up in Kalihi, right next to the busiest downtown in the North Pacific. The streets are filled with trolleys and buses and cars and more people than I'd seen in one place in my whole life. It's like something out of a Hollywood movie, full of sights and sounds and extras from all over the world. Our neighbors are Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese and Filipino. Even as we are, we all live together on this floating island. They're all poor, just like us. It isn't like anybody starving or anything, but there are times when it gets pretty tough. Until two and a half years ago, during the first week of October, 1934, my life was ordinary and uneventful. That's when Mama and I took the bus downtown to see the family doctor. Why do I have to go? I asked her. She said it was only a routine visit. That we kids can't stay healthy without the help of the doctors. But I am healthy. She said she knew, but that everybody has to visit their doctor at least once a year whether they like it or not. When Dr. Wason came in, he looked at a blemish midway at my right arm. As he was examining it, he asked how long I'd had it. I told him about two weeks. Mama said we'd been coating it with red dirt from our front yard to stop the itching. That's when he unwrapped a brand new razor blade and said, I'm just going to take a little sample for the laboratory to check out. I asked him what for, and he said it was just a precaution that there were some things floating around, but it was probably nothing to worry about. That's when he began taking scrapings from around that spot in my arm. He went deeper into the flesh than I ever thought he would. I tried really hard not to scream. And I didn't, but I almost passed out. The solid bones bandaged me up and told my mother that I'm in excellent health for an 18-year-old, not to worry about a thing, probably just a mosquito bite gone bad. We returned home and reported to my father that all was well. That night, I had a scary dream. I was inside an old wooden building with an eight-foot fence all around it. The people inside had distorted faces and expressions of fear and loneliness I never can forget. A few were young, most were middle-aged and old. Some were clearly sick with bumps and swelling and swollen ears. Except for that, they looked just like my neighbors in Kulihi, just like me. My mother was in my dream, standing in an area where people from the outside world were visiting those trapped inside. When my mother woke me and I told her of my dream, she said not to think about it anymore. Why should you be going to a place like that, Olivia? The doctor hasn't even called us back. You're perfectly fine. Soon, we've got all about it and went on with our lives. About a week later, a man showed up at our house. Is this the home of Olivia Rebello? Who wants to know, my father asked. The man opened his briefcase and handed him a piece of paper. By the order of the Board of Health, I'm here to take her away. Take me where? To Kulihi Hospital. But why do I have to go there? Because you have leprosy. All my hopes for a normal life ended that day. The whole world had suddenly changed. Even if I were to live another thousand years, nothing would ever be the same for me again. Thank you. Bravo. Wonderful. Wow. Gives me chicken skin. And thank you. Did a marvelous job, Kuley, and I would like to see the whole play. Good. We're going to take a quick break and we will be right back with more on Shipment Day here on Pinoy Power Hawaii. Again, we want to thank the wonderful staff of Think Tech Hawaii for their generosity. Aloha. I want to invite all of you to talk story with John Wahee every other Monday here at Think Tech Hawaii. And we have special guests like Professor Colin Moore from the University of Hawaii who joins us from time to time to talk about the political happenings in this state. Please join us every other Monday. Aloha. Hello. My name is Stephanie Mock and I'm one of three hosts of Think Tech Hawaii's Hawaii Food and Farmer series. Our other hosts are Matt Johnson and Pamai Weigert and we talk to those who are in the fields and behind the scenes of our local food system. We talk to farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, and more to learn more about what goes into sustainable agriculture here in Hawaii. We are on a Thursdays at 4 p.m. and we hope we'll see you next time. Welcome back to Pinoy Power Hawaii and we are having a discussion or this story, a big part of Hawaii Shipment Day. And you've seen a sampling of the wonderful parts that Kule plays as Olivia. I can only imagine the terror, the horror that she was feeling that day she was handed that diagnosis or the day she was being taken away because of her, the disease. Tell us a little bit more about leprosy because, you know, it's not often talked about anymore real quickly to better understand. Well, I think it's a much misunderstood disease. You know, when you know someone who has a condition or a disability or anything, you become sensitized to that. If you love them, then you want to know more about what they've been through. And Olivia fought her whole life against that stigma. You know, she says, I'm not my disease. Call me by my name. My name is Olivia. And you see that now with gay rights and various other people fighting for their honor, you know, for their self-determination. And so she was an early fighter. I call her the Rosa Parks of leprosy in a way, you know. She was a strong, just a regular, everyday person who refused to submit. She had to submit, but she refused to give in, you know. Leprosy is a bacteriological infection. Unlike what I thought is not a tropical disease. It happens in Norway. It happens in Brazil. It happens in Hawaii and China and India. It's biblical references are many. We have a quote in Leviticus from the Old Testament about leprosy. So it's around. And people are still getting it. Dr. Kalani Brady, who's going to be a medical advisor to us on the play and a friend of mine and a friend of Olivia's, told me recently there are 800,000 new cases last year in the world. There are medications available now. So disfigurement and things like that are avoidable now, in other words, but people are still getting leprosy. And one of the larger facilities in the States was in Louisiana. It's called Carville. And a lot of patients from Kalapapa and all over the world went there for surgeries and such. It's now a National Hansen's Disease Museum run by the National Institute of Health. So it took place in the South, it took place in the tropics, it took place in Scandinavia. It's a devilish disease that robs people of their circulation, basically. That's why the extremities are often affected. But there's a lot of misnomers too, like noses don't fall off and this kind of thing. A lot of it is myth. So we're trying to get at the truth of it through a one woman's story, a woman who was engaged to be married. So the play is not all depressing and we have some humor in the play. And the bond between her and her fiancée, Les Teixeira, which is broken because she's ashamed and he cuts him off and he never sees her again. But Olivia eventually married. She married three times in Kalapapa, all to patients. And she married John Bretha, who was her third husband. They were really in love and they had a chicken and egg farm in Kalapapa that had a prosperous business. Her parents later went to Kalapapa and ran the bakery so they could be close to her. But they still couldn't go in her house. They would talk from across the yard. So there's a lot of sadness there, but Olivia would probably say she was maybe more fortunate than others, but she still suffered a lot. So I know Richard Marks and Gloria, because we camped in Kalapapa during my first year of college. So I'm pretty familiar with that special place. So I can relate and just appreciate the beauty and serenity of that place. We just saw Gloria a few weeks ago. We were in Kalapapa. I wanted cool. She had not been. And I hadn't been in five years. So I wanted to take her there so she could, as an actor, as well as a Hawaiian person, to feel what it was like to be in this holy place. And so we got to meet Gloria and many of the other patients that were there. And we can talk to her about what that meant to her. I'm sure it was a unique experience. Tell us a little bit about your meeting, Kuli. Well, honestly, going to Kalapapa was such a treat. I mean, as an actor, especially playing a character who was real and who experienced a lot of devastating circumstances, to go and walk where she walked and see where she lived. Did you feel her presence? Yeah. A lot of people come back to him. There's definitely a very strong presence there still of not just her, but so many of the other patients. And then they also, the patients who are no longer there, they're still alive in the museum curator and anyone else who works there. They talk very passionately about the patients and what their wishes are and how they're all fighters and activists in their own right. And then meeting them was very special. They're ready to tell their story. They all remember Olivia, which was very nice. She was the star of the town. She was, you know, I finally just started asking people, so were you a friend or a foe to Olivia because she was really feisty and you knew if she didn't like you and you knew if she liked you. But no one had anything negative to say. Everyone remembered the chicken farm and her parents being there, running the bakery. And I think because most people, they were ripped from their homes and they never, a lot of them never saw any of their family members again. So even when reading her book, you can clearly see that she was so lucky to have two parents who loved her so much that they would move there just to be near her, even if they couldn't hold her hand or, you know, spend a lot of time with her. But she was, she never gave up her power. No. And she was always in charge. No, yeah. So Lorenzo, could anybody go there and visit or is it something that has to be specially arranged? Well it is a national park now, but it's because there are residents there and they're still, it's the state of Hawaii, Department of Health is still in charge. Right. I believe it's about 10 people living there full time. They often come to Honolulu for treatment, but they want to stay there. So I think the operational rule is that as long as there's a patient alive, the state will continue to fund the workers in the hospital and various other services involved. At some point, it's getting closer and closer, you know, when I was visiting Olivia, there were 100 something, then there were 16, then there were 35. So it is a matter of time, you know, before the last patient dies or chooses to live in Honolulu or whatever. There's some patients at Leahi Hospital too that are not able to travel anymore. And that's a facility there that's called Halimohalo, which is where they often stay. Okay. It stays or it's going to change, you know, but it's difficult to stay overnight, but tourists can go for a day trip, I think, through the National Park Service. So good to know that they are maintaining for the safety of the patients or the residents there and then they have the option to stay there or to remove themselves. Let's go back to the play because we want to certainly let everyone know and promote it and encourage all to come. What else could you tell us? How could we get tickets or what's the proper channel? Well, the play opens at Manoa Valley Theater, East Manoa Road. It's the 50th anniversary of the theater and we're proud to be part of this season. This is the first original play they've done in almost 30 years. Yes. So ManoaValleyTheater.com, theater, T-H-E-A-T-R-E, dot com. And the play opens Thursday, November 8th, it runs through the 25th. Some performances are already sold out, but if they go to that or if they call 988-6131, they can get information about tickets. Okay. The number again is 988-6131. 6131. Or go directly to Manoa Valley Theater. Theater. Okay. Let's refer to the other remaining slides. Tell us a little bit more about the... She loved her margaritas. Oh, I would too. Yeah. I think this is in LA. It's certainly not Calapapa. They didn't make those there. So you're sharing the straw to let people know that it's okay? Well, it wasn't really for that reason. I mean, you know, maybe we're too cheap Portuguese to buy more than one. But you have a special bar. More than one margarita. But yeah. I mean, it looks kind of like that, but there was no fear on my part, you know. Definitely not, you know. And I think we have a slide of the other actors too that are involved. This is Kule as Olivia, and in the background you have William Hau, a very distinguished actor here in Hawaii, playing Manuel Rubello. And Karen Colana. She's a little bit in the shadow there, but Karen Colana playing Mary Fernandez is Rubello. So Karen, she represents all the good things about her show, which is part of our empowerment. They're both great assets to the production, and you know, the acting pool in Hawaii is growing. A lot of it is musical theater and dances. In terms of dramas, you know, it's harder to find actors who are willing to be vulnerable and to expose themselves in a drama like this. So I feel lucky that we got a good cast together. You've got the right actress here, and I'm sure this opens up more bigger roles for Kule. I mean, she's not only talented, beautiful and charming as well, so congratulations on that. Thank you. And we will encourage our listeners to come out and support. So again, if you would like tickets to the performance, you may call 988-6131. And also go to Manoa Valley Box Office. ManoaValleyTheatre.com. Theater. Okay. ManoaValleyTheatre.com for tickets. I understand that some of the performances are sold out, but it will go on till November 25th. November 25th, and then they'll announce later in the run if it extends. For an extension. We hope it will extend till around December 9th at this point. That's not for sure yet, but we hope it will happen. We hope for an extension. So please support us in this cause. This is a big part of Hawaii's history. And I got enriched, enlightened, educated, entertained, and empowered. And that's within our mission here on Pinoy Power, Hawaii. Again, I want to say, Maraming Salamat Po, Justiagina, Aloha, Mabuhay, Lorenzo, and Kule. We say Mabuhay, Agbiyag, more power to you. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Thank you. Mabuhay. Until next time, thank you again. Much Mahalo.