aquí, ahora:here and now

I’ve been rereading Ariel Dorfman’s collection In Case of Fire in a Foreign Land. This poem just grabs me, I’ll have more to say about it (and a new project) later in the year.

Community Dot Com

So here we go again

the haves and have dots

the have and have nots

the have and have coms

…

el que come y no convida

tiene un sapo en la barriga

…

if you eat and do not share

a toad will grow inside       inside

a toad will grow

…

here we go again

who eatswho eats who                             eats

who eats who eats who

whoeatswho dot com

Getup’s latest campaign is to get a rewriting of Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s classic From Little Things, Big Things Grow to #1. It’s a good track, laying spoken word over spoken and purred lyrics, and those around samples from Rudd’s Sorry speech and Keating’s address at Redfern (a far superior oration).

Politics and music is one of my favourite combinations, and this song is ripe for reworking to tell new stories. There’s something about it that I’m just a tiny bit unsure of, though. I think it’s that although a lot of indigenous artists were involved in the singing of it, the peaks of the song are focused on Rudd and Keating. It sort of seems pollie-centric, or something.

After seeing the video clip and having a bit more of a think about it… perhaps I’m just being hypersensitive. It’s not like there are no indigenous voices present, and really, the Apology was about white Australians, and white men in power in particular, taking responsibility for what’s happened.

Rudd: As Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry.
On behalf of the Government of Australia, I am sorry.
On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I am sorry.
And I offer you this apology without qualification.

To say sorry means to give respect
It’s long overdue
Now you failed to imagine
What if it happened to you

Now they’re not only words now it’s not just a symbol
Accepting the past, well it’s not always simple
When thinking of yesterday
We live for tomorrow
We can’t face the future now
Till we face the sorrow

Now under the colours
Of red, yellow, and black
We say “Never again”
We’re saying “No turning back”

From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow

Lighting up the path
With good in our heart
See the more that you love
The better for all
So he sang as he walked
And together we stand
For us all to stand tall
We must all play our part
[Rudd: “indigenous and non indigenous”]
Tears within our grasp
Yes forward we struggle and all we’ve achieved
Would be nothing if greed was the only motivation of man
So we can love one another, and with respect for each other
Rudd: Reconcile
[Moving?] Forward, together

From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow

There are moments in the lives of nations
Where hope and history rhyme
and now’s one of those times
Let’s close the gap and if we truly mean it
we can stare down our future and find
we can see through those eyes
And let us not stand with those who deny

Keating, from the Redfern Address: It seems to me that if we can imagine the injustice
Then we can imagine its opposite
And we can have justice

From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow
From little things, big things grow

[repeat]

Indigenous man: All of us are one, because we are human
And if I cut you, you cut me, what comes out?
Red blood, not different colour blood, only red blood. Yes.

I haven’t been writing much. I’ve been very busy since I got back from Mexico. Most of my activity has been focused on my next adventure. I’m delighted and a bit freaked out by turns. After a year of preparation and a nine month long application process, only this has made me feel like it’s really happening.So for the last month I’ve been immersing myself so much in where I’m going and what I’m going to do there that I kind of forgot why I came back to Australia — to spend time with my family, watch the leaves turn red, eat my favourite and familiar foods and have a few moments of quiet before life gets all exciting again.

Lately I’ve been having these little pangs of what I’m calling homesickness-in-advance. The yellow hills dotted with greyish gum trees on the drive back from Sydney, call of a kurrawong, and crunch of acorn caps under my feet at the bus stop are provoking a wistfulness that I’ve never experienced before.I’ve never really been homesick. I do sigh with relief when the plane lands and I step out into home, but I’ve never wanted to go back early.  I hope that how I’m feeling about where I am now isn’t a sign that’s going to change!

I just got back from the 9810 District Conference. It was fantastic! I had no idea what to expect and was a bit nervous about speaking to 600 people, but everyone was so lovely and supportive, and I had a great time. Thanks to all at Glen Waverley, the club that sponsored my trip to Mexico and took me along to the conference, DG Dick Garner, Scholarships Chair Peter Murie, and the rest of 9810.

Never want to see anyone in a mini-tunic and red pantyhose again, though…

I’m sorry for the countless injustices perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. I’m sorry for the policies and actions that stole tens of thousands of children from their families and country. I’m sorry that my opportunities and privilege result from dispossession, violence, racism and slavery. I’m sorry also that I have not done more to counter the culture of denial that has been dominant throughout the last decade, and have not devoted enough energy to supporting  Indigenous Australians.

Today I’m proud to stand on the lawns of parliament house with Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and hear our PM say what we’ve waited so long for.