The State We're In, 10 April 2010: Jonathan Overfeld lost all memory of himself, and didn’t even recognise his life-partner. After playing a piano piece by Bach, his past came back to him, and it was horrifying. Also, rugby versus the Church in Ireland, what a Gandhian believer in non-violence does when his ashram is bulldozed by government troops. And taking the bus in Warsaw is hard enough at rush hour, but it gets even harder when elderly women scream at you to give up your seat for them.
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The man with no memory
Jonathan Overfeld (pictured above) lost all memory of who he was a few years ago. It turns out that he was horribly raped at a Catholic school when he was younger, and now has no desire to reconstruct any more of his life. And he’s happier that way. Jonathan explains how playing a piano piece by Bach rekindled memories of his past, a past he now wants to leave unexplored.
Link - Association of Former Children’s Home Children website (German language only)
READ MORE about Jonathan's case and his doctor's research into retrograde amnesia.
Rugby versus the Church
In Ireland, all the pubs are closed and people go to church on Good Friday. But this year was different. A rugby match was scheduled for Good Friday in Limerick, so local pubs applied for a special licence to stay open...and they got it. The Church was outraged. Reporter Louise Williams found out what happens when rugby and religion collide.
Ashram bulldozed
Maoist extremists in eastern India have reportedly killed scores of government soldiers. But some accuse the government of a militarised land grab in the troubled region. Himanshu Kumar ran an ashram based on Gandhian principles of non-violence there. He talks about the day government forces destroyed his ashram and why he still wants to return, even if it means losing his life.
Essay - Is this seat taken?
Amy Drozdowska in Warsaw, Poland was initially charmed by the way elderly women on public transport demanded that seats be given up for them. Then she saw how aggressive they could be to other passengers, including her. Yet when she started taking her baby with her on trams and buses, the feisty women badgered riders to give up their seats for her.
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When Jonathan suddenly lost his memory whilst sitting on the park bench he mentioned that he didn't know whether he was on drugs, etc. How did he know what drugs were, if he'd lost his memory in its entirety?
Jonathan lost all memory of who he was. more factual, non-biographical memories like how to smoke, drink, walk, talk, read etc. were not erased.
Greg Kelly
Editor, TSWI
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