Zoey (00:00):
My name's Zoey and this is my story. I've been here for the 18 years of my life in Pembula. I was born in Pembula Hospital and yeah, so I've always been around the area in the Bega Valley. So at the start, about three days before I was actually down in Mallacoota with some friends and we were having a good time down there. And then we came back up and then three days later, they said pretty much all of around Mallacoota was on fire. And I was like, "No way, I've just been there." So, yeah, that was pretty frightening. And then it just kept burning and burning and burning. Then the most terrifying, scary part was when the sky turned black in the middle of the day. Because that was just terrifying.

Zoey (00:53):
There was so much chaos happening within so many people I knew. So many people were so upset about everything that was happening. It was really, really terrible. I've had friends who have lost their houses. I've had people who have lost their animals, their pets. And then there's, not only that, there's people who are upset about the forest and the animals there as well. So it was just like, yeah, really impacting on your mental health and that sort of thing. Because it was like, you couldn't really see the light at the end of the tunnel in some ways, because it was so upsetting. Then you kind of have to look on the bright side and think, "Well, how are we going to work together to rebuild the community and the communities around us to help and assist each other?"

Zoey (01:53):
So after the bush fires, it was great to see community groups getting back together and building back up again. We had the rain after the fires, which was kind of like growth happening again and that sort of thing, which was really refreshing for everybody. Everything was starting back up a bit. So like soccer, getting out in the surf, and that sort of thing. And then we were hit again with this coronavirus, but then, I don't know, you just got to try and do things for yourself that please you, getting out in the environment and going for walks and being out in nature, I think really helps a lot.

Zoey (02:38):
So what gives me hope is knowing that eventually things will go back to some sort of normality, even though it might not be the normal we knew.