In shadows deep, where hope seems lost,
Lie stories untold, a heavy cost,
Where souls in plight, with courage tread,
In lands torn by strife, by fear they’re led.
In Africa’s embrace, where hues alight,
LGBTIQ+ souls, in silence fight,
Seeking refuge, a shelter to find,
‘Midst trials of hearts, a plight confined.
For love in colors, they face disdain,
A world unkind, they strive to regain
Their dignity, their rights to be,
In a home where they can be free.
And in the Middle East, a conflict’s roar,
Israel and Palestine, history’s score,
A battleground etched with tears and cries,
Where dreams dissolve ‘neath sorrow’s skies.
In Gaza’s streets, and Jerusalem’s call,
Lives torn apart, hopes rise and fall,
Families fractured, futures in doubt,
Echoes of despair, within and without.
Both places, diverse, in struggle they bind,
Yearning for peace, the tranquil find,
Aching for solace, a haven’s embrace,
Yearning for harmony, a gentle grace.
Yet in the midst of trials, courage thrives,
Resilient souls, in hope, revive,
Seeking a world where differences blend,
Where love and acceptance transcend.
May empathy bridge the rifts, unite hearts,
Kindness as balm, where healing starts,
A world where all, despite creed or name,
Find solace and peace, their spirits reclaim.
Let us stand, voices raised as one,
For those in shadows, their tales undone,
May compassion guide, may love’s light shine,
For LGBTIQ+ refugees and a land’s divide to intertwine.
The Australian Voice referendum was held two Saturdays ago, and in response, a gay refugee speaks from the heart of Africa – the objective voice of someone who lives daily with his own experiences of stigma and disempowerment and discrimination, a voice from the margins. This young man, from another continent and culture, speaks with genuine empathy, affection and solidarity towards indigenous and other Australians.
As his words demonstrate, the outcome of this referendum has impacted the human family around the world.
Whatever the Vote comes to the next few days
THIS IS THE BEGINNING NOT THE END.
If there is need to create another way to make an Indigenous Voice that will be listened to, respected, valued, and contribute towards closing the gap, you will make this way happen.
Whatever happens you now know there are millions of Australians out there who care deeply.
If you end up being a minority, it will be a huge minority. It can become a unified voice with power.
Love and listening and unity bring greater power than violence and fear and hate.
Maybe you don’t need the ignorant, the gullible the fearful, the mistaken, the racists, the uncaring, those who have no imagination to walk in different shoes than their own. Maybe we can even show them the way eventually.
The respect and care you hold for our first nations peoples, the truth we know of the damage of our colonial history and the intergenerational damage that still haunts us, is strong and sure. We have seen that in our friends these past months.
The love you have for Australia will not let you see your nation sink to the depths in unkindness & fear.
Take heart. If you have to do it the hard way, we are up for it. Love will make a way.
The list of causalities is a long one and all our names are on it, the outcome of the referendum was horrible and saddening.
With heavy heart and tears, I edit and rewrite what I wrote last week.
We are all losers today.
Every Australian is a loser.
Probably the biggest losers are those now celebrating who do not realise what they have revealed about themselves.
However
THIS IS THE BEGINNING NOT THE END.
We now need to create another way to call forth and empower an Indigenous Voice that will be listened to, respected, valued, and contribute towards closing the gap.
We now need to create a way to unite and empower Australia’s indigenous and non-indigenous caring minority so we can speak and work as one.
We need to rescue Australia’s humanity.
We can make this happen.
We now know there are millions of fellow Australians out there who care deeply.
Caring decent Australia is a minority but a significant and committed minority.
We can become a unified force with power.
Love and listening and unity bring greater power than violence and fear and hate.
(I commit myself to this even though I don’t feel it right now).
We don’t need the ignorant, the gullible, the fearful, the selfish, the mistaken, the racists, the uncaring, those who have no imagination to walk in different shoes than their own.
We can do this in spite of them.
The love we have for Australia will not let us see our nation stay sunk to these depths of unkindness, gullibility, hatred and fear.
Take heart.
I say this firstly to myself right now,
feeling gutted, unforgiving, angry, grieving, wanting to be anything but Australian.
Tasting what our indigenous have experienced for so long.
We will have to do it the hard way.
We need to be up for it.
We may need time to grieve and heal.
On 19 August 2003, we lost 22 colleagues in an attack on the United Nations in Baghdad, Iraq. The tragedy profoundly changed the way in which humanitarians operate – from being respected, to being targeted – and led to the creation of World Humanitarian Day (WHD).
Today, 20 years on, our work has grown in scale and complexity. We aim to help almost 250 million people – 10 times more people than in 2003.
2005
Out of tragedy, good things can emerge.
It is my privilege to know many people who do their bit to help others: women, refugees, detainees, children, convalescents, palliative care, disempowered and dispossessed others.
Thank you to them all. I draw inspiration from their example, and I hope that others do as well.
“Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” (Schindler’s List, 1982).
Today, and every day, let’s do something to help our fellow humans (and other living/sentient beings), and to make the world a better place for our having been a part of it. Our personal journey is finite, but we can contribute to a larger story.
Leaving a legacy of having saved or helped others, increasing the sum total of love and compassion in the Universe – surely there is no greater legacy or form of immortality.
My own recent work includes being a volunteer Board member of Humanity in Need – Rainbow Refugees – please donate here to save a life or alleviate suffering.
I also invite people to inform me of their own efforts and noble causes. Let’s make every day a World Humanitarian Day.
