Original subtitles

No one has asked me what can I do for my country.

I've never seen so much comittment,

so deep.

But it happened.

I saw it with my own eyes.

The day Andrea took the plane to come to me,

I was seated on the rocks of Colombo's seafront to once again enjoy the colors of the sunset.

With three hours of time difference in anticipation of him and a month of preparations here on site,

I waited for him, following the traffic updates on the stretch of highway from Bologna to Milano.

I had one bite after another of the cookies with honey given to me by Udaya's mom.

I knew that flavor, so familiar, soon would become part of him too.

- As you can see, Iím at the airport. Iím a little late because of traffic.

I just spoke with Antonio and he has prepared everything for the 220 kids at Ambewela.

Weíll reach them and get the delivery done in the next few days.

Keep following us on our Facebook page Take Me Back where youíll find our daily updates.

The appointment was for six o'clock at Guanasinghepura bus Station. Colombo. Sri Lanka.

- How are you? Are you guys well?

- Yeah, we're all good.

- Hey, Dad.

- So, tomorrow I'll see about a good time to call so I can say hi to Grandpa as well, is that ok?

- Sure, lunchtime is fine.

- Okay, talk to you later.

- Okay. - Bye.

- May God bless you.

- I think I'm pretty close, it says "Central Bus Terminal"

- There's a market on the right where we're going in on the bus

- There's a market.

- I can't read what is says.

- Hey!

- Hey, Andrea!

- Come over here

We're in rush hour traffic in Colombo. We couldn't find a better time to get here.

We'll see you about further updates later if we're still alive.

- Hello! - Nice to meet you.

- She's the owner. - Nice to meet you, I am Andrea. - Nice to meet you.

- Thanks for everything. - No problem.

- This is the staff. - I am Andrea.

- She's the driver.

- This is the team that helped me organize everything.

- How are you? - Thank you for everything.

- We are ready now.

- Well done!

- Last week I went to the school and the teachers gave me hand to double check the details of each student.

So we divided them by class. So we have the list of boys and girls for each class.

Every column shows the measurements of each of them,

the measurement of shoes, backpacks and uniforms.

Weíre having everything in place so we can be sure that each kid will get his backpack with the school supplies inside.

Itís 196 kids for eleven classes all together.

It hasnít been simple because itís a lot of kids and the measurements were all different, but we did it.

- You did it.

- We did it.

- Guide me, Antonio.

- As low as possible...

- That's great!

- My friend! Thank you so much for everything.

- Thanks a lot.

- Beauty!

- Hi everyone. Weíre in the van. This is all the stuff we loaded.

- The van is packed! As you can see, we have backpacks, balls and toys for the kids.

- One, two, three, four, five...

Seven and eight are practically the same.

Thereís a tiny ìhuhhî, that makes a huge difference.

Nine and ten.

With the 220 backpacks, at 11:15, we leave in the direction of Pattipola,

where Udaya (the teacher at Ambewela's school) will host us.

The landscape changes slowly and steadily.

We head first toward Kandy to then continue south entering Hills County.

Left the city, we also leave those foreigners' forks and spoons,

to feel the true flavor of the earth between our fingers, spice after spice.

- Good? - Yes, good.

- Hello? - Hello, Udaya!

- Can we see inside the school?

- Yes, yes, yes.

- Nice to meet you.

- Can you show us?

- Yes, yes, yes.

- Hello.

- Hello.

- Ok Udaya, thank you!

- See you later.

We continue to climb in altitude.

There's a strange and pleasurable sensation of getting closer to home.

- It's okay, it's okay.

- Taste it.

- What is it? - It's milk, cheese.

- Like the cheese of your country.

- We like it a lot, we like everything.

- Taste it, it's only milk.

- This is very good!

- Very very spicy.

- This is a little sweet. - Sweet but tasty.

- One of the best things of this project

is that we meet a lot of people like us,

with the same mentality.

- You come from another country offering something to us,

to donate to our country, our people.

We have to support you.

We appreciate your effort, you're doing well.

It's a good thing.

God will give us more to keep doing these things.

- We have the same goal.

- We are the same.

- It's beautiful.

- Udaya!

- Come in! - How are you?

- Nice to meet you.

One afternoon I was headed to Kandy.

Having gotten of the train for who knows what reason,

around me a feeling of emptiness and little more than a dozen small houses.

In front of the red one there was a distinct man who invited me inside.

A few moments later his mother arrived offering me a newly prepared plate of coconut-roti.

She didn't speak a word of English,

but immediately I was already in love with her and that scent.

That was the beginning of my bond with Udaya.

- Milk tea. Exquisite. Really awesome.

Udayaís mom made it. Nectar of the gods.

- The train will arrive shortly.

Now we need to see if itís a red or blue train.

- What does it matter?

- Basically, the blue train is faster of two really slow trains.

The red one basically has a really old engine and when it rains

it slips on the rails. So it stops and gets mad late.

- So it doesnít move. What do they do?

- I donít know. They dry the rails, find a way to move on again.

But they tell me that itís always late,

and they canít upgrade the engine.

So, thereís a red train and a blue train.

- Given that it rains eight times a year... - Yes, exactly.

I always fought the idea of finding myself living a banal life,

of goals reached too soon,

and of living with the conviction of knowing all there is to know about myself,

as if there were nothing more to conquer.

When I was little and they asked me what do you want to do when you grow up, I answered: "fly".

I have the same name as my grandfather Antonio,

a visionary, a man who gave everything for his true passion, without compromise.

After years of trying to be like him,

I figured out what I had to do.

I learned to fly.

- Ryan!

- How are you? - Oh, I'm fine!

- Welcome back.

- Welcome back, Take Me Back!

- We're very tired.

- It's so hot today. - Yeah.

- The pope is from Rome.

- Yes.

- You could visit the pope,

and tell him about your project here in Sri Lanka.

- Let's go visit the pope.

- You're strong, Antonio.

Honestly, I believe in you.

It's a bit complicated in real life. I understood that.

- Now you understand everything.

You understand better than us.

- Why? - Because you are here, you are Sri Lankan.

- I'm only a guide. Don't give up, Antonio.

I'll give you an example.

There are some people that don't believe in what are you doing, right? Unfortunately.

"The spider web"

It breaks, but you can build it again.

You kill the web only if you kill the spider.

For the future.

- It's a good example for Sri Lanka, also. - And for you all.

- You are like my children. Honestly. - I know, thank you.

- Hey, Dad.

How is Grandpapa, is he good?

- Yeah, he doesnít even need to take the medicine.

- And tomorrow weíre going to Ella's Rock, a little mountain near here,

together with Ryan, whoís going to be our guide.

- Alright.

Say hi to Antonio.

- Say hi to Grandma and Grandpa and everyone, okay?

Building bridges, that was my life.

My grandfather was dutch, irish, portugues and english.

I married a Buddhist woman, being a Christian,

which it wasn't easy, but I built a bridge.

She gave me five daughters.

Four are married, one is still studying.

One of them married a Muslim, which was surprising for me.

But we are all humans in this world.

Sometimes it's not easy.

It's heartbreaking.

I would never thought that my daughter could do something like that...

But she's still my daughter

and we are humans.

That's what we need:

unity in diversity.

That brings us together.

It takes me back...

I worked in a hotel, I worked on a ship, I worked in many countries.

I worked as a guide for the last 35 years.

But this is the first time in my life that I meet a person like you.

I'm thankful I met you.

I appreciate it from the heart.

I saw what you're trying to do.

I didn't believe it in the first place.

Then when I saw what you're trying to achieve,

it was strange to me.

Because I've taken many guests up Ella's Rock...

But no one has this concept of my country.

- We'd like to change how richness is perceived,

because now people base it on material things.

Not with the heart.

- But what is money?

- It's nothing. - Nothing.

- It's only in the mind.

- There are only few in the world that will try to respond to the call of human nature.

We have to help each other.

That's human nature.

I hope it will happen. I know you'll do that.

I trust you.

In my country there are

maybe 50.000 that are illiterate.

According to the population, it's one third of the country.

In India there are more than 15 millions of people, the entire population.

But maybe 450.000 are illiterate.

They don't study, they don't have a chance.

You gave life to those children.

Out of 200, maybe 50 will go somewhere.

I saw that.

Thank you very much.

- Hello, everyone. Weíre on Ellaís Rock.

As you can see, behind me are Antonio and Ryan contemplating the tea plants. They say hi.

This afternoon weíre going to Mahiyanganaya to meet a real Vedda tribe.

So keep following us. Bye, everyone.

Raveena has one of those smiles that remain indelible,

of those who know how to make you happy before anyone else.

Like a mother with his own child.

- Thank you. Bye.

- How are you?

Do you remember me?

The first time I met Udara he was stuck in the middle of the road.

He stopped the tuk-tuk that was taking me to Damban and he approached.

I thought he wanted to devour me.

I found in the little Akile my alter ego, just as had happened with Ryan.

It's as if step after step I met parts of me I had never allowed to live, grow, and mature.

- One, two, three, four, five...

six, seven, eight, nine, ten...

- Very good!

The potential that he recognized in my smartphone,

I knew for the first time in the force of the club, of the river and of the bees.

- Our tribe already existed before prince Vijaya came to Sri Lanka.

We are descendants of Kiriamilatho (the Great Mother) known as Kuweni.

Srilankans were born from the union between Veddas and Indians.

We are one blood, one flesh.

Only our customs and beliefs are different.

- Wow, bull's eye!

- Kalu Bardara Deyio is our God, protector of trees. - Of nature?

- Yes, plants and animals ask him for protection against wild beasts

and before taking anything from nature, they ask him for permission.

- Are there some Veddas that decide to go studying in Colombo or in Kandy,

or every Vedda stays in the jungle?

- The members of this tribe never leave the jungle.

Cities have no room for anyone,

wherever you go they are crowded with vehicles,

ready to honk at you.

We'd end up leaping off one side and go the other.

Forests and jungles are our home, they're peaceful and quiet.

- Then Akile is very lucky.

In our country, if you're father is a doctor, probably you will be a doctor.

if you're father is a police man, probably you will be a police man.

- In Kalu Bandera Deyio's tribe no one is allowed to leave the jungle,

for me there is no restriction though, if Akile wants to move to the city

and become doctor, lawyer, he will be free to do so.

- When I play they laugh, because I canít get it right.

Goddamn, Akile!

"I don't have time...you have time", he answered me when I asked him what time I would have to leave.

I felt smaller for the first time. Less evolved.

I went from there with the rhythm of Udara,

marked by the vigorous "Ondemai" with his strong handshake,

of a day enjoyed without useless deadlines.

- Hi, guys, weíre leaving Ella. Weíre off to the old town of Iengheregadue.

I know, itís a tough name. Say hi, guys.

- Hi - Hi!

- Now weíre going to eat some fresh mango!

Udaya has five sisters.

With his mother and brother, as soon as they've collected the necessary money,

they travel the same route every month to bring rice from Pattipola

and some support to those most far away from them.

Four hours by bus, thirty minutes by tuk-tuk and then thirty minutes by foot.

- What's Sewandhi doing now? - Studying for her exams.

- Exams? Does she go to class? Does she follow the repetitions?

- Yeah, she goes to the repetitions in Wellawaya.

- Does she have any idea what she wants to do when she's finished studying?

- She would like to go to college and become a bank manager.

She just passed her exams studying by the light of a kerosene lamp.

- They are going to give you electric current soon, right? - Still nothing...

Not counting the three kilometers she travels to school every day.

- Right...

You haven't even finished the roof in time for the rainy season.

- The repetitions she goes to are Saturdays and Sundays.

We pay 600 rupees a month for one class. For the other, we pay 700. For the bus we have to pay 200.

- There's no other way, right? To study you have to make sacrifices.

- Would she be able to do it taking a tuk-tuk?

- My husband says let's get a tuk-tuk,

but we'd have to pay 3000 rupees for all 3 of us, we can't send Sewandhi alone.

They're looking to skip school because they're frustrated and exhausted walking like this every day.

- If I had the money, I'd help you take the tuk-tuk.

- Doing side jobs isn't enough because with what I gain I have to think about everything.

- And you go to meet them every time? - Yes, I go half way.

They put the slippers back on when they get out because to enter the school they make them take them off.

Then we walk for an hour and a half to come back here.

We walk slow and steady, sitting once or twice to rest from the sun beating down... It's not always easy.

- "All members are coming"

It's a meeting.

"13th of June 2017,

at 2pm,

come here."

- Here? Will they meet here? In this place? - No, it says "in the main hall"

- Ah, the main hall.

- "Come and we will discuss"

- So, what's it about?

- Basically itís a convocation for a condominium association meeting.

- Damn, the milk tea they make here is good. Mamma mia.

- Thank you, thanks so much.

The swaying of our heads, as they do around here,

filled the voids left by those words of farewell that I did not want to utter.

- Did you get everything? Everything?

- Hello?

Yes.

Today, tonight and tomorrow night.

From today.

For two nights.

Yes, two nights.

- Tell me something. Isnít that Buddha? - Yes, thatís Buddha.

- And isnít the one on the left Ganesh? - Yes, thatís Ganesh.

- So?

- From what I understood, all the divinities are mixed.

- One and the other, one and the other.

- Yeah, there are four Buddhist and three Hindu.

- Four to three? Like Italyís four World Cups to Germanyís three.

A mix of cultures and religions all living together, wow.

- Hey guys. Weíve left the mountains for the beach, towards Mirissa.

We are also leaving the curry rice for a terrific plate of grilled fish.

I start to feel the size of all the stories told up 'til now,

one by one slipped into the backpack.

I feel covered in faces, tales, experiences that I will still be covered in when I walk through the front door of my house.

I'm both vulnerable and invincible.

Andrea has for one moment stopped with the public speeches for a dialogue that only he can hear.

I witness the change, I watch him approaching the person he wanted to be.

The person I wanted to be.

I guy who grows into a vehicle for others.

A solidarity courier.

- Hi guys. Weíre guests of Pushpa e Abev and this evening weíre having a lovely plate of spaghetti.

- Two minutes.

- Next time you come to Sri Lanka,

keep in mind that the best season is january, february and march.

It's very good. - I know, I know.

- Are you a fisherman also?

- When I started with this job, I put everything else on hold.

There's no room for anything else.

- And now you are the tuk-tuk man.

- Hello!

- Nilanga, it's nice to see you again!

- Will you stay here today? - Yes, but this afternoon we have to take the train.

Today is our last day.

- In 2004, the day of tsunami, we were sleeping, it was a holiday.

The first wave in this area was tall about 1 meter.

We only had time to have a look around.

We are well aware that the ocean is a threat for us.

With my father and my children we ran to the mountains,

there was a scary sound,

the water was black and brown, very dirty.

In 20 minutes there were 2 meters of water everywhere.

When the water receded, we came back to see the damage.

A lot of this houses weren't there anymore, or they were damaged.

Many people died, it was really sad.

- I was a small child when I saw for the first time a baby turtle.

I was 6 years old, my brother was 8. One morning we went to the beach,

we saw the baby turtle and we took it home.

The turtle stayed with us for 3, 4 hours.

Then my father took us to release it in the ocean.

It made us very happy.

20 years ago, in a small village very famous for a beach

that has a nesting area for the turtles, called Mahamodara,

there was a man among all peoples that liked turtles eggs and meat.

I saw him cut the neck of a big green sea turtle, in a box.

Very sad. It a was a great shock for me.

Nilanga would have gone on to talk for hours.

He wanted the story of how he avenged that turtle, to avenge every pain and fear experienced by his family.

His determination and courage and that of his volunteers have in fact conquered all.

- What else do we need to remember? Let's not forget anything. You have a list, right?

- Yes, I made a list, donít worry.

- Okay. There are 196 kids. And they divided them into classes within this building.

The parents all took a day off to come today.

- Wow, in Sri Lanka a day offÖ

- Yeah, itís something that they usually canít afford, but they made themselves available for today's event.

They learned a song in Italian. - That peace that you showed me? Oh, I canít wait.

- Some kids learned some phrases. Theyíll recite some English.

- See, theyíre arriving now.

- Hey, guys. Weíve unfortunately arrived at the conclusion of our voyage.

The wealth of experience that we are taking back with us is reacher than when we left.

Lots of incredible and beautiful emotions.

Now weíre on our way to Colombo by train.

And what can I say?

Thanks for taking part in this experience. See you at home.

- Bye!

- If coming back home, someone asks which moment did you like the most,

the most meaningful moment, what would you answer?

- I was actually thinking about that the other day.

The day of the school delivery, among the desks, there was a lady, one of the parents.

She had a baby girl in her arm, she must have been eight or nine months old...

She approached me with the baby and held her out to me to caress her, as if I were the Pope.

- As if you were the Pope. - Yes, as if I were the Pope.

That look gratitude... It's what touched me the most.

- Beautiful. - Iíll never forget it.

- One thing that hit me the most, among lots of things,

was Nehal, I think that was his name. - Nehal? Did I meet him?

- No, you didnít. Nehal is the person we were first in contact with to acquire the school supplies.

His reaction when I told him that we were no longer going to buy the supplies from him, because we found another channel.

And when we heard this, he didnít distance himself. On the contrary, he thanked me for having thought of him

and he said he would give me a hand anyway. ìIf you need something just ask,î thatís what he said.

Even after telling him that we no longer needed his services.

So, these people understood more than we do, as a country I mean,

how easy it is to be happy. How simple.

They really understood the heart and soul of what weíre doing.

- I absolutely agree.

The Sri Lankans, like the Indians, move the head in a way which seams to mean "No"

but is actually the exact opposite, they mean "Yes".

- Hey, little one, are you ready? Youíre moment has arrived.

You know what to do, right?

Your life begins here.

Youíll now have to face all the difficulties to win your freedom.

Weíll take you as an example.

Come on, letís do it.

You can fight for your freedom.

The wave is about to come. The wave of freedom is on itís way!

There could be predators after you,

but you know youíre going to make it.

Like we all can.

Go forward and donít let anything stop you.

I know that itís hot.

But you can do it. Youíre about to get past your first obstacle.

Like we all do when weíre children.

But then, unfortunately we get too distracted by bullshit.

Come on, you got this!

Come on!

Here it is, the good wave.

Swim now, swim!

That's it!

Come on!

Yes!

Yes!!!

Yes! Yes!

Yes!

- We did it! Weíre here. Hey, everyone.

We just attended the kidís marvelous show, with dancing, recitals, singing.

They received the backpacks that you donated

and now weíre in this field partying with Antonio jumping, as you can see.

How beautiful, guys. Truly amazing.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

Bye!

The ancient name of Sri Lanka, from the Persian Serendip, derives from Serendipity:

fortunate coincidence in the discovery of something marvelous

while searching for something else.

- (in italian) To all our Take Me Back friends,

we thank you for the help you gave us.

We'll wait for you in Sri Lanka.

Thank you! Bye.