Dear Paul,

My parents were not economic migrants.
They were refugees who fled the Soviet Regime's
occupation of their country. Arthur Calwell
invited them to help solve Australia's labour
shortage.

Here is a poem that I wrote.

FROM WAR TO PEACE?

So many remember World War Two
Of families fleeing a terror that grew
Where murder, starvation, was a daily routine
People trying to escape from a blood-stained regime

There were those who managed to survive
Some fought back, but so many died
Others fled far away in fear
Losing everything that to them was dear

And then we came to Australia
An unknown land with its odd regalia
It needed workers to succeed
So it opened its doors to many in need

People had to be White and Christian
Australia was picky in its mission
Work for two years to repay
Then you and your family were allowed to stay

Silver-cities were camps that mushroomed
Scheyville, Greta, and Bonegilla bloomed
That's where the newcomers learned their lessons
And their old times became entombed

Pre-fabricated army sheds
With little space and smaller beds
In summer these tin-sheds were hot
Reminiscent of bubbling boiling pots

Things would often become unravelled
Around cities it was hard
"Speak English," was the catch-phrase
That echoed through each and every yard

Words like "wogs" and "dagos" became common
They were meant to insult and hurt
These words later became endearments
And for most, a lesson learnt

People didn't realise the pain they inflicted
Or the social contacts they tore apart
Most newcomers pulled their sleeves up
Re-building their lives shard by shard

This country grew from a backwater
Becoming rich in diversity
Others began to acknowledge its potential
And see the nation for what it oughta be

Here we are in a new century
Trying hard to make history
Teaching our children that they do belong
That the Aussie Anthem is also their song

But that it comes with an obligation
Working hard as their folks did to create a nation
Where we can be one and free
Sharing its wealth with all equally!

Thanks Indyvidual for the support- I think that those who engage with Paul1405 will always put their sanity in danger- perhaps he is paid by the Chinese Government. O Sung Wu is the ex-police officer. And Is Mise is the ex-armourer from Lithgow NSW. But I'm fairly familiar with the armed services as well as Engineering, Maths, Economics and Philosophy etc at an advanced amateur level and sometimes higher. But as they say what's the point of being a black dog if everyone can see you.

It looks like this may not be the only referendum that the Labor Party tries to push through- maybe there could be three or more over the next few years. 1. The Voice, 2. The Republic, 3. Maybe another- as the Labor Party works with other groups around the world to turn it into "a modern communism".

ABC News (AU)
Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum vote

Women doorknock in their neighbourhood in surburban Perth for the Yes campaign. (ABC News: Zathia Bazeer)
Women doorknock in their neighbourhood in surburban Perth for the Yes campaign. (ABC News: Zathia Bazeer)
© Provided by ABC News (AU)


"This campaign will be won by having those quiet conversations with your friends and your family around the kitchen table or from one of us coming to knock on your door and say hi."

Doorknocking around his neighbourhood in Perth, Mr Sercombe said he'd come across many undecided voters, as well as people who simply didn't know how the referendum process worked.

It's something Fatima Faquiri a Belmont Counsellor and Muslim woman has also been doing in her community.

The Hazara woman has visited hundreds of homes in Perth's south-eastern suburbs doorknocking for the Yes campaign.

Ms Faquiri said she could empathise with Indigenous Australians due to her community's experience of being persecuted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

She said many people she had spoken to didn't understand what the Voice was, but were on board once educated about it.

"If people are unsure, they either are going to not put anything [on the poll] or they're going to put a No," Ms Faquiri said.

She said misinformation was running rife in the community and much more needed to be done to get through to multicultural communities.

Fester,

Celeste Liddie implored people - "All I find myself
wishing for is that the Australian public vote
according to knowledge rather than half-truths and
apathy."

Sadly the coverage by News Corp and other Murdoch
media outlets keep on working in favour of the NO
campaign. We've seen the recent attempted cruxification
of Professor Marcia Langton. And also Linda Burney
to name just a few.

It's all getting really ugly.

Whereas:

History is calling
So we are told
By our current government
That's prepared to be bold

That's prepared to admit
The wrongs of the past
To ensure that those wrongs
Don't continue to last

A new start is something
They now want to be made
So our Indigenous folk
Don't continue to fade

They're having a vote
For a voice to be heard
Directly by government
One that doesn't get blurred

We need to give
Our First People a chance
To advise the government
How they can advance

It's up to us all
To do what is right
And ensure that we fix
Our historical blight

Let's not continue
To make our Indigenous plead
And allow their communities
To thrive and not bleed

Hi Foxy,

Thanks for the poem, with your permission I will share it with friends.

Dear Paul,

Thank you for liking my poem. Of course you can
share it.

There are so many distortions of the Voice.
Such heartless responses to a call for reconciliation.
Such a simple request is being made out to be something
it is not. All we can do is keep trying to set the record
straight:

http://theconversation.com/the-voice-isnt-apartheid-or-a-veto-over-parliament-this-misinformation-is-undermining-democratic-debate-205474