MELBOURNE: Thousands of people joined Invasion Day protests in cities across Australia on Sunday to mark the beginning of British colonisation of the vast continent.
January 26 is officially recognised as Australia Day, a public holiday to celebrate the origins of the modern nation and is commemorated with fireworks, concerts and citizenship ceremonies. However, the date is a time of mourning for indigenous Australians, who have inhabited the land for 65,000 years and view the arrival of British settlers in 1788 as heralding two centuries years of pain and suffering.
Annual rallies have steadily grown in size as protesters bring attention to injustices faced by indigenous people and call on the government to change the date of Australia Day. It was only formally established as a nation-wide celebration in 1994. This year, non-indigenous Australians were asked to give reparations in the form of a donation to the #PayTheRent campaign.
Melbourne rally organiser Lidia Thorpe, a former Victoria state government politician, drew attention to the plight of Aboriginal families who had to pay for the funerals of relatives who died in custody.
"It’s 2020 and we’re still trying to raise money to bury our people. So we’re asking people to pay the rent, you’re on stolen land," she said.
"It’s time to reparate for the mass injustice that we’ve had as first people of this country." Chants of "Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land" rang out as large crowds marched through the city.
Some waved the Aboriginal flag while others held aloft signs with slogans such as "No Pride in Genocide" and "Sovereignty Was Never Ceded".
One protester, who gave her name only as Sophie, said she believed Australia Day should be abolished entirely rather than simply moved to another date.
"I think any day that has these barbeques and celebrating Aussie pride, I think that’s absolutely inappropriate," she told AFP. "I don’t think there’s any day that you can celebrate Australia Day without also celebrating a genocide."
Harvey Weinstein. — AFP FileNEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was...
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan on Sept. 13, 2016. — Slate website WASHINGTON: U.S. Supreme Court justices, wading back...
A representational image of inmates behind jail bars. — Unsplash/FileMOSCOW: A Russian court on Wednesday ordered...
Sudanese soldiers guard the surrounding area of the UNMIS compound in El-Fasher, the administrative capital of North...
US quietly shipped ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. — Report news agencyWASHINGTON: The United States in recent weeks...
US President Joe Biden during his address in California. — AFP FileWASHINGTON: President Joe Biden signed a...