Yesterday morning I was lucky enough to hear an amazing program on Radio National's 360 documentary's called Aphrodite's tears - crying for Kryeniac about a group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots who returned to their homes after being forced to leave them 30 years ago as a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
It was a very moving documentary however I couldn't help but hear it in the light of my project. One man, close to tears, refused to accept the invitation to visit his former home now occupied by someone else. He said that he wasn't going to have tea in his home and then leave. He would want to stay and take it back from the new occupier. He asked how they had got his home and they replied they had bought it, to which he responded, 'bought it from who!' Later saying that they had bought stolen property.
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| Joseph Banks collection - photographed by me at the British Museum in London |
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| Banksia |
The gentleman in the documentary asks painfully 'what about human rights!' His statement echoes loudly if you have the courage to develop the ears to hear.
We do not all sit comfortably in this land with a notion of our own entitlement. Be careful of the generalisations (Yes, I confess, I went to an NLP workshop last week!). I look at the new housing developments around Albury and Wodonga, set in beautiful country but shrink wrapped in colour bond fences, a window in every wall but not one view in any window. Constitutionally, Australia is different to America. We have no right to bear arms to protect our property. Land "rights" can be removed and re-alocated at any time with a stroke from the government pen. Back in the 90's I went to the supreme court with a group of farmers who were protesting the farm dams legislation, which effectively separated land from water and commodified water under an artificial construct. We were laughed at by the judge and the lawyers on the government pay roll. My spirit/instinct told me that land and water are the same and a divisive law could only lead to more degradation. Of course it has. "Stealing" land and power is something that humans always have done. Criminally mismanaging the gifts country has to offer is the new thing. The thing that brings my tears. And what drives my attempts to make contact with the people who know better.
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