Tonight I visited North Brisbane Greens branch to have a chat about refugee issues and show them the newly completely Greens DVD called Baxter 05: A Greens Perspective. It went down a treat and I’m feeling very proud of the result and response.
Thee branch presented me with a gift at a day spa for all the work I’ve been doing in the area of refugee activism. Isn’t that lovely? I think I might just take advantage of that and give me some ‘me’ time. Yay! Massage here I come!!
Hi Melissa
You deserve a break for the work you did. Parts of the video verged on Surrealism. Those guys in black Starship Trooper costumes popping balloons and confiscating kites would have been performance art if it were’nt for the fact they were paid by the community to do it in the interests of “national security”. And all that huff to maintain an atrocity. If you want a long view of these events I recommend you read a book by one of our oldest and still active social theorists and social work educators: Adam Jamrozik: “The Chains of Colonial Inheritance: National Identity in a Subservient Society.” Look it up on the web. Jamrozik arrived in Australia as a displaced person after WW2 and worked in the deserts of South Australia after his arrival. He regularly writes papers, to meet the demand of his former and current students, colleagues and as much of the community as he can reach. Ironically his books are more widely read overseas. He was a colleague of Jim Ife, a leading social work educator and specialist in Human Rights & community development. They were both teachers of mine (I was a mediocre pupil) in a former life. End of plug. Greetings from a Social Worker & Greens Branch Convenor. Cheers, Col