26 January.
This day is hard to swallow. Period.
Australia is the only nation that places the beginning of its own colonisation as the central day of national celebration. Quoting proud Wakka Wakka woman, Bizzi Lavelle: ‘The pride of Australia is rooted in its bloodied history. Violence seen in every corner of the nation from its national sporting codes, music, politics and day-to-day life. The foundation of this nation was genocide, colonisation, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that’s what the national pride stands on today’.
We need more truth-telling to dispel the lunacy of nationalism.
I hold the words of Rembarrnga artist, Wainburranga, extremely close today: ‘All over the world nobody different family, all the same family. One sun, one moon’.
Wainburranga’s words have been my mantra since I first read them some 17 years ago. One sun, one moon. It's as simple as that. Sadly, Australia has a long, long way (and a lot of work to do) to get to that realisation and truly understand that we are stronger together.
Photography by Jongsun Lee.
