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‘We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.’ As we reflect on the hope of Easter, Martin Luther King challenges us to a realistic perspective of the weaknesses and failures that are an inseparable part of our journey. This newsletter invites you to consider some of these dark times. Peta Anne Molloy, Anne Shay

Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea

Autumn 2018

Volume 11, Issue 1

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we live. We

acknowledge their deep spiritual connections to this land and we thank

them for the care they have shown to Earth over thousands of years.

Inside this issue: Merchants of Death 1 The Cry of the Poor 2 The Cry of the Earth 3 Voices for the First Peoples 4

We see something of the paschal rhythm in the papacy of Pope Francis and the way he challenges us to follow the direction of the kingdom. The Church, he insists, must be the Church of the poor and for the poor. We must abandon our culture of comfort and go to the periphery. He has eschewed the trappings and privileges of his office. He has championed a leadership that fosters relationships rather than clerical status and power. Bishop Vincent Long OFM

Parramatta NSW

It is a matter of great concern and sorrow that Australia's overseas aid has dropped to its lowest level ever, while at the same time plans are underway to increase the sale of weapons. We call on the Australian government to prioritise education, health and good governance initiatives among the deprived peoples and nations of the world, rather than spending billions of Australian people's dollars on producing and exporting the means of destruction. cf Sisters of St Joseph Media Release, January 2018

Beyond politics, this is above all an ethical issue

It is an absurd contradiction to speak of peace, to negotiate peace, and at the same time, promote or permit the arms trade. Is this war or that war really a war to solve problems or is it a commercial war for selling weapons in illegal trade, so that the merchants of death get rich? Let us put an end to this situation. Let us pray all together that national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade which victimizes so many innocent people.’ Pope Francis

ARMS or AID?

At a time when we wish to export arms, we have decided to cut overseas aid to the lowest level it has been as a percentage of GDP, since the Second World War. The morality of this should deeply shame all Australians. Not only do we refuse aid to those whose circumstances have become perilous; in addition to this lack of care we are prepared to potentially add to their pain through the sale of arms. Bishop George Browning

Merchants of Death

Recently Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the ‘Defence Export Strategy’, an initiative designed to make Australia one of the world’s 10 largest weapons exporters within a decade.

This proposal was met with horror from religious leaders, international charities and aid groups. Many Australians have expressed their shock and opposition to this proposal. Here are some of their views:

What can we do?

Write to one or more members of Parliament:

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister

The Hon Bill Shorten, Leader of the Opposition

Your local Federal Member

Address: Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600

We are called to speak out against every aspect of violence - poverty, war, racism, police brutality, gun violence, nuclear weapons and environmental destruction - and at the same time call for a new culture of peace. John Dear

Jobs and Growth - At What Cost The arms trade is not just another form of manufacturing industry. The cost of trading in arms manufacture is to facilitate suffering, bloodshed and destruction in so many ways. Claude Mostowik msc

Page 2 Just ice Jott ings Volume 11, Issue 1

Small town rallies after dawn raid on asylum seeker family

Pope Francis has challenged all of us with his action plan for Asylum Seekers and Refugees: to Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate. Unfortunately Australia’s sad treatment of Asylum Seekers continues.

The Cry of the Poor

Early in March, the close-knit community of Biloela in central Queensland was shocked by a 5 a.m. Australian Border Force raid on a Sri Lankan asylum

seeker family, including two Australian-born children, over a visa that had expired by a single day. Although Priya had been told she would be receiving a new visa from the Department of Home Affairs, the family were given 10 minutes to leave for the Melbourne detention centre.

Fatemeh, 55, has been living on Nauru at “high and imminent risk of heart attack or sudden death”, according to doctors.

The Australian Border Force had approved her medical transfer overseas, but said she could not take her son with her. Fatemeh refused to leave her son unsupervised and alone on the island. He has suffered from acute mental health issues on Nauru, where unaccompanied minor refugees have faced significant violence.

They were driven in separate vans to the Gladstone airport.

The children travelled with Priya but were not allowed to sit with her, despite their distress and her pleas. She describes the scene:

“I asked the guards, ‘If it were your children would you treat them this way, or is it only because we are refugees?’ I was humiliated. I was made to feel worthless. I will never forget that experience.’

cf B. Doherty The Guardian , A. Hamilton Eureka Street

In speaking about white South African farmers, Minister Peter Dutton said 'They work hard, they integrate well into Australian society, they contribute

to make us a better country and they're the sorts of migrants that we want to bring into our country.’ smh 15/3/18

The same thing could be said about Priya, Nades and their Australian born daughters. Nades, as well as holding down a job at the meatworks, is a volunteer

for St Vincent de Paul. They are obviously 'the very kind of migrants that we want in this country.'

Nauru refugee flown to Taiwan for critical heart surgery

In a recent medical assessment, Prof

Maria Fiatarone Singh reported: “Her

health status, over the past four years

since her detention began, has been

noted to have deteriorated significantly.

Her psychological distress has also

increased markedly over time, in

concert with the distress and poor

condition of her son, who has become

depressed, withdrawn, hostile and has

twice displayed suicidal gestures.”

“I feel I have been heard.” Fatemah said. “Now I have renewed energy to think about life alongside my only hope, my son. I truly hope that my story … to heal my wounds will inspire all women who feel silenced, who can be encouraged to speak out for their rights, to strive for happiness, for hope and for

health.” Ben Doherty & Saba Vasefi The Guardian 13/3/18

In March, Fatemeh and her son were flown by a chartered jet to Taipei at Australian government expense. It is believed that she was admitted to Taiwan Adventist Hospital for heart surgery, while her son will receive psychological care.

Taiwan is not a member of the UN General Assembly, so refugees cannot claim protection there under the Refugee Convention.

Senisim

Screening the film ‘Senisim Pasin’ was very powerful –

many hundreds of people came. This was a big step in

demonstrating our commitment to combatting gender

based violence. The film shows strong emotions and

the need to share feelings. This is part of the change

process.

We Presentation Sisters are grateful to have had this training experience. We now begin to take the campaign of ‘senisim pasin’ forward to the people.

Bernadina Telemai pbvm PNG

More information at http://senisimpasin.org/

Last October in Aitape, the Presentation Sisters invited the Tribal Foundation to conduct the Domestic Violence training workshop for Church/Parish Leaders and other interested people.

The training was enriching and practical. We know that these issues are happening and at times we have been helpless to know what to do. We are now more confident to speak for the ‘voiceless’.

One of the highlights was the discussion about ‘Gender Appreciation’. Melanesians have always thought that the male is the important one, but Ruth, our presenter really challenged us to think differently about this. Appreciating all people will help us…..and village life and families too.

Page 3 Just ice Jott ings Volume 11, Issue 1

The Cry of the Earth

Jo Dodds says her home near Tathra was threatened on three sides by recent fires, as she watched black plumes of smoke rising from houses of friends and heard gas bottles exploding one after another.

But what angered Ms Dodds was to hear Malcolm Turnbull's comments a day earlier at an evacuation hall that the fire had nothing to do with climate change. Mr Turnbull may have picked the wrong community to be dismissive about climate change, when he told an interviewer at an evacuation hall that "bushfires are part of Australia, as indeed are droughts and floods".

The Turnbull Government has just announced its plans for Australia’s marine sanctuaries, proposing to cut back an area twice the size of Victoria.

These cutbacks ignore the decades of science, the advice of the Government’s own independent review, the wishes of local communities, and the voices of hundreds of thousands of Australians who have been consulted over the years.

Many of Australia’s marine icons have been slashed. Worst hit is the Coral Sea – the cradle to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the last wild places on Earth where ocean giants still thrive.

The plans will now be accepted or rejected by the Australian Parliament. There are many champions of marine parks in both houses, spread across party lines, who will assess the plans against what the science says and the results of the many rounds of community consultation. Labor has already committed to rejecting the plans.

The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by proposed marine park cutbacks

Now is the time to talk climate

Tathra on the New South Wales far south coast has been left devastated after a fast-moving bushfire ripped through dozens of homes and businesses. The fire, fanned by very strong winds and high temperatures in the state’s east, burned through several kilometres of bushland and crossed a river before it reached the picturesque township. The Guardian 9/3/18

Matthew Nott, president of Clean Energy For Eternity and an orthopaedic surgeon in Bega who lives in Tathra, said “I’m actually disgusted. It’s important the public understand science has been making great advances to identify the climate change signal behind extreme weather. In a world that's warming, it's very clear that the frequency and severity of bushfires is going to increase, and you can attribute that to climate change. We're very well aware of the risks of climate change, from rising sea levels and changing rainfall. But we're equally aware of the benefits that renewable energy can bring to the community." Peter Hannam smh 20/3/18

Marine sanctuaries help protect crucial feeding and breeding areas, build resilience in the face of climate change and pollution, and bring a wealth of benefits to local communities. They are essential for our marine life and our way of life. Michelle Grady, Save Our Marine Life

Adani Mine During the February Melbourne Sustainable Living Festival, Barbara Daniel, along with other members of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), were involved in a successful activity. They moved through the crowd carrying a sign, indicating that they were against the proposed ADANI mine. Barbara discussed this issue with several people, before inviting them to sign a petition. Joan Kennedy pbvm Victoria

Photo: ARRCC

Photo: The Echo

Photo: Deans Lewins

4F/9 Redmyre Road

Strathfield NSW 2135

Phone: (02) 9737 5600

Fax: (02) 9739 5656

Email: society@pbvm.org.au seo@pbvm.org.au Web: http:/resentationsociety.org.au/

Presentation Society of Australia

and Papua New Guinea

The land is in our blood, in our being.

Remove us from our land, destroy our land and we die from within.

Elizabeth Pike

Traditional Owners Challenge Adani

ACTION

Go to http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/ to watch a

short video the country Adani would destroy.

Go to http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/our-fight/

to sign a petition.

Five members of the Wangan and Jagalingou native title claimant group had sought to extend an interim

injunction granted in December, but their application was dismissed on 2 March. They are appealing the

decision; their crucial Federal Court case commenced on 12 March but it will be several months before

they get a judgement.

Voice from South Africa

The Binnap (Manna Gum) produces pellets that nourished

both Kooris and white settlers. Binnap Partners is the

name chosen for the support group at Aboriginal

Catholic Ministry Melbourne (ACMM). The two hands

clasped around the manna gum leaf symbolise the

partnership of ACMM with non-Aboriginal co-workers

and support groups.

As a member of Binnap, I volunteered to sell the new

Aboriginal Stations of the Cross Prayer Cards. This

project enabled me to engage in productive conversations

at the Catholic Social Services Conference and later at a

number of other events.

The Stations of the Cross prayer cards were produced by

John Dunn whose story is one of dislocation and huge

challenges, beginning with his discovery at 10 years of age

that he was one of the stolen generation. Through his

paintings he parallels his own story with the steps that

Jesus took along the way to the Cross.

Using John’s story, I was able to have a conversation on

the many issues that affect the lives of Aboriginal people

today. This has led to a number of practical actions in

support of Aboriginal people.

These Stations of the Cross Prayer Cards can be

purchased on www.cam.org.au/acmv Joan Kennedy pbvm Victoria

South African writer Sisonke Msimang divides her time

between Johannesburg and Perth. She writes: Over the

last three decades, Australia has become a symbol of

racism to many South Africans. The country has come

to be known as a site of racist fantasy — a place where

black people have an insignificant physical and political

presence.

As I have learned over the last few years, race matters

in Australia just as much as it does in the United States,

or in South Africa where I come from. Indigenous

Australians are the most incarcerated people in the

world.

Though the United States has the in the world, data

from the World Prison Brief and the Australian Bureau

of Statistics suggest the proportion of Indigenous

Australians behind bars is the highest in the world —

higher than that of African Americans. Sisonke Msimay Washington Post 16/3/18

Binnup Partnership

For the last 6 years the Wangan and Jagalingou Family Council

have been staunchly fighting to protect their country from

Adani’s dangerous coal mine in central Queensland. Adani

pushed through a sham land use agreement that the Family

Council is challenging in the courts. This agreement would

permanently extinguish the Wangan and Jagalingou native title

rights over a portion of their land. Photo: http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/

Photo: Aotearoa Indymedia