For those who’ve come across the seas
We’ve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.
Alright, I'm going political this week. Well to some it may seem political, to me it just seems human. I have found myself in many debates over the last fifteen years. Perhaps going as far back as Year 9 at school. I remember debating with classmates that Australia is a country that has grown in its ideologies of freedom, democracy and a nation that has been built on being a refuge for those who needed new starts. In Year 9 I witnessed the emergence of the One Nation party. Of course my knowledge of what this party was about was limited and really my head was filled with the one liners that the media decided to put on repeat. However, the general message was "we don't want immigrants". I remember hearing my classmates argue this and I found it quite disturbing how many felt the same as the One Nation supposed political agenda. It made me sad. In my naivety I just thought that anyone who decided to migrate to Australia would be welcomed, I thought that being a nation that had sent men and women overseas to fight for the injustices of the world that we would be a nation who would allow those subjected to such injustices to resettle here. But I became very aware, that this was not the case. But I had to laugh at my class mates eruption at immigrants taking Australian jobs when I remember the surnames of these classmates. Many of them were of an immigrant background. But then to be VERY politically correct, unless you can trace your ancestors to being in Australia prior to 1788 we are all first, second, third, fourth etc generation immigrants.
But my disillusion in my country did not cease when I went to university. I thought being amongst a thinking culture I may be amongst people more aware of the logic that we are generally all sons and daughters of immigrants, but then the term "Illegal" immigrant started to be thrown about. The media, government, political parties were now twisting previous statements about immigration to speak with more clarity and accuracy. Where immigration was okay but not illegal immigration. Well of course no country is happy with illegal immigration. Then came the term "queue" jumping illegal immigrants who should go through the right processes. Tell me what these "correct" processes are when you have children to protect and if you tried the "correct" processes you would be a red target at the airport leaving a country that wanted you dead, in gaol or used to capture an associate.
Then the phrasing morphed again to create further fear in the Australian Public, asylum seekers, became refugees, became illegal immigrants. In one statement the Australian Government at the time, avoided all responsibility of their UN agreement to recognise asylum seekers and provide refugee status for them. I remember in 2001 watching images on television of children in a sea of water next to a boat (if you could call it that). Straight away we were told by government reports that mothers had thrown their children in the water to force the Australian Border patrol to rescue them from the boat rather than turn them away. I was mortified that a mother would do this. Words such as cruel, barbaric, monstrous came to my mind. These people did not deserve to live if they had thrown their children in the water. I was ashamed of myself when I realised I had become victim to government propaganda. I had been played, I had allowed my fears to win over my heart, logic and reason. I was not a mother at the time, but I remember my own mother becoming enraged at the Australian publics "stupidity" to believe such propaganda.
This Art work is a depiction of the SIEV X drowning of 400 asylum seekers. A boat of children, women and men trying to make a new life for themselves away from persecution, war torn countries, dictatorships etc and all they found was the depths of the ocean. This is not the first boat for it to happen to and nor has it been the last.
Once again Australian Government Propaganda has been at work in foreign countries, where posters and billboards are depicted telling anyone who is even thinking of being smuggled into Australia that they will not make it. That's right, the land of bountiful plains is not for you. We are fooled once again. We continue to call them Illegal Immigrants coming by boat. But now...more fear has struck our nation and the word is once again morphing as we hear people now calling them terrorists. Soon the original term asylum seeker will be but a small line in a record book no one ever has access to. In upcoming elections both state and federal we will not hear about those forgotten children who share a grave in the ocean, we will now hear governments promise us about how they will "Stop the Boats" and this time instead of using the word "Illegal Immigrant" we will hear the word "Terrorist". Please do not think that I am trying to trivialise terrorism. I just think as intelligent beings that we need to stop allowing the media and government to define it and that we need to see it for what it is. As a public of voters and people who but for no other reason were given the "luck" of being in Australia, we need to not value the lives of others less, but value their lives more. For we have the opportunity that they don't to live in a country free from religious persecution, where governments are elected by the people, where children are taught to be free thinkers and receive an education. Of course we are country that still has people who need help and assistance, no we are not perfect. But we owe it to this country on which we have benefitted from to share our resources, land and hope with those who have experienced very little.
Now to a BIG issue that has weighed on my heart. Children in detention. In years to come we are going to be ashamed that we even did such a thing as a nation. But come the next state election and federal election this issue will once again be swept under the carpet. The reason being is that it does not directly impact us and in fact for many of us it would be nice not to be reminded of such distressing things in our world. But we have a choice to make it an issue. We need to challenge politicians and the media to bring this issue front and centre. We need to make sure that no child is left in detention. No it is not as appealing as government benefits, tax relief, paid maternity leave, GST, work choices, unions etc. But I believe that this is an issue that we will end up paying for in the future if we don't do something about it now. Write to your local members expressing your disgust, do not let the media dictate what you should think and be aware of the propaganda that will permeate all aspects of the media.
Remember the forgotten children, the children of now and the children we know are still yet to come, but may join those in the past in depths of the ocean if we sit and say nothing. Each one a child deserving a better life. Jesus told his disciples to let the children come to him, that no one was to hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belonged to them. He didn't just mean the children already living in Australia, he meant all children.
Each One a Mother, or a Child by Kate Durham
We’ve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.
Alright, I'm going political this week. Well to some it may seem political, to me it just seems human. I have found myself in many debates over the last fifteen years. Perhaps going as far back as Year 9 at school. I remember debating with classmates that Australia is a country that has grown in its ideologies of freedom, democracy and a nation that has been built on being a refuge for those who needed new starts. In Year 9 I witnessed the emergence of the One Nation party. Of course my knowledge of what this party was about was limited and really my head was filled with the one liners that the media decided to put on repeat. However, the general message was "we don't want immigrants". I remember hearing my classmates argue this and I found it quite disturbing how many felt the same as the One Nation supposed political agenda. It made me sad. In my naivety I just thought that anyone who decided to migrate to Australia would be welcomed, I thought that being a nation that had sent men and women overseas to fight for the injustices of the world that we would be a nation who would allow those subjected to such injustices to resettle here. But I became very aware, that this was not the case. But I had to laugh at my class mates eruption at immigrants taking Australian jobs when I remember the surnames of these classmates. Many of them were of an immigrant background. But then to be VERY politically correct, unless you can trace your ancestors to being in Australia prior to 1788 we are all first, second, third, fourth etc generation immigrants.
But my disillusion in my country did not cease when I went to university. I thought being amongst a thinking culture I may be amongst people more aware of the logic that we are generally all sons and daughters of immigrants, but then the term "Illegal" immigrant started to be thrown about. The media, government, political parties were now twisting previous statements about immigration to speak with more clarity and accuracy. Where immigration was okay but not illegal immigration. Well of course no country is happy with illegal immigration. Then came the term "queue" jumping illegal immigrants who should go through the right processes. Tell me what these "correct" processes are when you have children to protect and if you tried the "correct" processes you would be a red target at the airport leaving a country that wanted you dead, in gaol or used to capture an associate.
Then the phrasing morphed again to create further fear in the Australian Public, asylum seekers, became refugees, became illegal immigrants. In one statement the Australian Government at the time, avoided all responsibility of their UN agreement to recognise asylum seekers and provide refugee status for them. I remember in 2001 watching images on television of children in a sea of water next to a boat (if you could call it that). Straight away we were told by government reports that mothers had thrown their children in the water to force the Australian Border patrol to rescue them from the boat rather than turn them away. I was mortified that a mother would do this. Words such as cruel, barbaric, monstrous came to my mind. These people did not deserve to live if they had thrown their children in the water. I was ashamed of myself when I realised I had become victim to government propaganda. I had been played, I had allowed my fears to win over my heart, logic and reason. I was not a mother at the time, but I remember my own mother becoming enraged at the Australian publics "stupidity" to believe such propaganda.
This Art work is a depiction of the SIEV X drowning of 400 asylum seekers. A boat of children, women and men trying to make a new life for themselves away from persecution, war torn countries, dictatorships etc and all they found was the depths of the ocean. This is not the first boat for it to happen to and nor has it been the last.
Once again Australian Government Propaganda has been at work in foreign countries, where posters and billboards are depicted telling anyone who is even thinking of being smuggled into Australia that they will not make it. That's right, the land of bountiful plains is not for you. We are fooled once again. We continue to call them Illegal Immigrants coming by boat. But now...more fear has struck our nation and the word is once again morphing as we hear people now calling them terrorists. Soon the original term asylum seeker will be but a small line in a record book no one ever has access to. In upcoming elections both state and federal we will not hear about those forgotten children who share a grave in the ocean, we will now hear governments promise us about how they will "Stop the Boats" and this time instead of using the word "Illegal Immigrant" we will hear the word "Terrorist". Please do not think that I am trying to trivialise terrorism. I just think as intelligent beings that we need to stop allowing the media and government to define it and that we need to see it for what it is. As a public of voters and people who but for no other reason were given the "luck" of being in Australia, we need to not value the lives of others less, but value their lives more. For we have the opportunity that they don't to live in a country free from religious persecution, where governments are elected by the people, where children are taught to be free thinkers and receive an education. Of course we are country that still has people who need help and assistance, no we are not perfect. But we owe it to this country on which we have benefitted from to share our resources, land and hope with those who have experienced very little.
Now to a BIG issue that has weighed on my heart. Children in detention. In years to come we are going to be ashamed that we even did such a thing as a nation. But come the next state election and federal election this issue will once again be swept under the carpet. The reason being is that it does not directly impact us and in fact for many of us it would be nice not to be reminded of such distressing things in our world. But we have a choice to make it an issue. We need to challenge politicians and the media to bring this issue front and centre. We need to make sure that no child is left in detention. No it is not as appealing as government benefits, tax relief, paid maternity leave, GST, work choices, unions etc. But I believe that this is an issue that we will end up paying for in the future if we don't do something about it now. Write to your local members expressing your disgust, do not let the media dictate what you should think and be aware of the propaganda that will permeate all aspects of the media.
Remember the forgotten children, the children of now and the children we know are still yet to come, but may join those in the past in depths of the ocean if we sit and say nothing. Each one a child deserving a better life. Jesus told his disciples to let the children come to him, that no one was to hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belonged to them. He didn't just mean the children already living in Australia, he meant all children.
Each One a Mother, or a Child by Kate Durham
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