Category: Peace

Requiem for a Voice

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by Anne-Marie Smith

Feel free to contact:Telling Australia’s Truth by Stephen Matthews at:
https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au 

 	[D’après François Villon’s Ballade
	 ‘Frères humains qui après nous vivez’, 1489]
	
	Sisters among whom I’ve enjoyed living,
	Those of you whose words I have read and heard,
	Women who ponder the choices we have,
	My daughters (and those later born of them),
	Sisters be aware, you are role models 
	Forget the crude jests and crass abuses
	That mocked you and your personal beliefs
	The Uluru call was a people’s cry
	Own your power and claim: kulila*!
	People, be humane: listen to the voice.

	Australians, your First Peoples have spoken
	Asking for their growth to be supported,
	Calls for survival have remained unheard
	Can’t we offer them the chance of progress?
	Ignore the put-downs rebukes and the likes
	Yesterday we closed and maintained silence,
	We switched off the news, respecting elders
	Let’s be heard again, speak for a fair go! 
	Grant the First Peoples what they ask: be just! 
	People, be humane: listen to the voice.

	And you good  reader, wishing to alleviate
	The First People’s needs in healthier days,
	You who plan ahead devising programs
	For a better life, take a step: be kind!
	People, be humane: listen to the voice.

*kulila: means ‘listen!’ in Pitjantjatjara language in the APY lands

Feel free to contact  Telling Australia's Truth by Stephen Matthews: 
https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au

Happy 2024 to Hadrian’s Wall and to You

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Happy 2024 to Hadrian's Wall and to you

The landmark Sycamore Gap Tree, at Hadrian's Wall,  was cut down 

overnight on 27 September 2023.  It had been standing there for centuries. 

The National Trust said they planned to protect the remaining stump 

to see if it grows again then legacy from the original tree could remain.

In Australia century-old structures should survive because we have so few 

of them. We respect the old gum trees and we love remarkable features like

rock engravings at Murujuga and the natural Gorges of the Karajini National 

Park but they are both affected by pollution and man-made interferences 

like mining projects.

 
Bonne Année 2024 au Mur d'Hadrian et à vous


L’arbre Sycamore emblématique du Mur de Hadrian Wall a été scindé  la 

nuit du 27 Septembre 2023.  Il y a plusieurs siècles que cet arbre était 

installé à   cet endroit. L’organisation de Trésors Nationaux  a dit qu’ils 

avaient prévu de protéger la souche restante pour voir si l’arbre pouvait 

repousser et ainsi maintenir le patrimoine.  

En Australie les structures antiques devraient survivre car nous n’en avons 

très peu. Nous respectons les vieux gommiers et les endroits remarquables 

comme les pétroglyphes de Murujuga et les gorges naturelles du Parc 

National de Karajini mais ceux-ci sont tous les deux  affectés par la pollution 

et les interférences humaines créées par les projets de mines.