ALISON THOMPSON RESPONDS WITH HEART

Occupation:

First responder

Interviewer:

Hugh Bohane

Location:

Miami, FL, USA

Date:

May 2022

I first met Dr Alison Thompson in Sri Lanka in 2005, when we were both involved in Sri Lanka's tsunami recovery effort. She immediately struck me as someone downto-earth and highly motivated to get real, practical work done. Alison wasn't attached to a famous aid organisation, let alone staying in a five-star hotel or shuttled around in a huge Land Rover. She wasn't someone interested in having meetings about meetings. She is a doer, not a talker: a people-mover who mobilises her people to get the job done. Alison is a full-time trailblazing humanitarian, a first responder. Her Australian passport reads like an atlas. Alison founded Third Wave Volunteers, which has grown into a network of more than 30,000 humanitarian volunteers worldwide. In 2001, she rollerbladed into Ground Zero at the New York World Trade Center, to offer first aid to survivors. This was her moment for an epiphany: Alison would dedicate her life to helping others.

Alison helped oversee the construction of Sri Lanka's first Tsunami Early Warning System, following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In 2010, after a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, she recruited Hollywood actor and humanitarian Sean Penn to assist in the recovery effort. Alison has been at the scene of major natural disasters including cyclones, earthquakes and hurricanes in the Philippines, Nepal and the United States, and was in Greece during the Syrian refugee crisis. In 2010, she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her volunteerism, bravery and contribution to mankind. Her award-winning documentary The Third Wave chronicles her volunteer experience in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami and was screened at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. She followed up with a book, The Third Wave: A Volunteer Story.

This year, Alison has been in Ukraine, where she trains Ukrainian civilians and soldiers in First Aid and helps to evacuate orphans from the country. We spoke during a break from her work in Ukraine, when she was at her home in Miami. Her humanity and deep compassion shine a light on service that is both humbling and inspiring.

Hugh Bohane: I know you've only just returned from Ukraine recently so I really appreciate your time.

Dr. Alison Thompson: Well thank you for keeping the story alive. This is a civilian war and these are just everyday people that are sent to the front lines.

I haven't felt this feeling around the world, in comradeship, since September 11th in 2001. Sure, there's been disasters and events around the world, but I never felt the world get behind it like this. Every little kid in school, kids in Europe and in America and I'm sure in Australia, have been raising money and baking cookies and all sorts