What is an Aboriginal view concerning asylum seekers? Ironically, while mainstream Australia quakes at the prospect of the “great invasion” by leaky boats, our first peoples (who have an outstanding and legitimate claim to having been invaded by “boat people”) are more accommodating. Here is a brilliant speech by Lowitja O’Donoghue: Return to Afghanistan: resettlementContinue reading “First & Last Peoples”
Category Archives: Personal
Indigenous Australians taking the next step – Eureka Street
Indigenous Australians taking the next step – Eureka Street. Continuing reflections on NAIDOC week, this article describes a personal odyssey that reminds me very much of the ‘listening journey’ myself and some others undertook in the same region three years ago. Resilience and optimism against the background of the challenges of cultural deprivation and restorationContinue reading “Indigenous Australians taking the next step – Eureka Street”
Sinner and Saint
Well we got stuck into Romans 7:15-25 this morning. It prompted Ken (second row on the right) to rise and recite something he knew by heart from G. A. Studdert Kennedy, a WWI army padre: Sinner and Saint A Sermon in a Billet OUR Padre, ‘e says I’m a sinner, And John Bull says I’mContinue reading “Sinner and Saint”
Time for something light…
Lawyers for the Department of Transport were busily preparing their case in defense of the charge relating to the station owner’s lost prize Brahman bull. It had gone missing around the same time that the weekly train had gone through and, as far as the squatter was concerned, there was only one conclusion. The government’sContinue reading “Time for something light…”
A Thousand Splendid Suns – a book review
This morning brings the news of a Taliban raid on an international hotel in Kabul. Innocent lives lost have added to the growing tally that amounts to the tortuous agony of Afghanistan. It takes a book like A Thousand Splendid Suns, however, to reveal the complexities of a society that lives with violence almost everyContinue reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns – a book review”
Toiling against the spin…
There is an unsound mythology surrounding Australia-bound asylum seekers that is taking a few hits this week. Tonight SBS will screen the final episode of its three part series, Go back to where you came from. There has been much conversation around my neck of the woods as folk from all walks of life have beenContinue reading “Toiling against the spin…”
Grim statistics
CSIRO scientists have established a raw data page to counter accusations that their work is “not real science” – see it at aptly named Cape Grim Data. I guess it is very difficult to communicate objective, uninterpreted information when the population is caught up in an emotive and political ideological storm surrounding the proposed carbon emissionsContinue reading “Grim statistics”
Going back to “where they came from”…
This looks like a “must see” for all who have minds made up about “fake asylum seekers”, “queue jumpers” and “economic refugees.’ Six Aussies take the reverse journey, starting with a leaky boat, transiting through refugee staging areas to lands of origin, in order to see for themselves…
Pacifism: things they never taught me…
Ken is a very thorough theologian and historian in our congregation. He is also notching up a few years as an octogenarian and is carefully archiving his records for posterity. He has maintained a strong interest in pacifism throughout his life. This morning he presented me with a tattered copy of a pamphlet, The NewContinue reading “Pacifism: things they never taught me…”
Asylum seeker smoke and mirrors coming undone
Maybe the checks and balances in our current political machinery will eventually prevent the execution of this heinous scheme. Hope springs eternal, for I don’t see how UNHCR guidelines can support what our government has in mind. Asylum-seeker swap deal must have UNHCR approval: Doug Cameron | The Australian.
Wondering Pilgrim 