Global Day of Protest

The Democrats were a force to be reckoned with at the Global Day of Protest. Along with the Greens and the more radical Socialist Alliance, the Greens joined the Rally calling for Australian troops to be out of Iraq, and David Hicks to finally receive some justice and be brought home. I also attended, but unfortunately struggling on crutches slowed me down and I had to join the Rally after the march. Unfortunately, the Rally was poorly attended, and even more sadly, Muslims were noticably absent from the protest! The Muslim community must not give up hope that their opinions and attitudes can be reasonably presented and supported. It is vital that they continue to speak out about injustice in a reasonable and intelligent manner and never give up hope that their words are in vain. While listening to speeches, songs of protest and various other unintelligable loud sounds from the stage, I talked to a family of Australian Iraqi's and asked them about their family back home. They told me that one of their uncles had been murdered only 4 days ago in Northern Iraq. He had refused to be involved in an allegedly Al Qaeda based move to drive out or kill Shia Muslims from his area. They had beaten him badly a few weeks ago and he had refused to name them as they were known to him in his area. They came back and killed him in his home in front of his wife. Such brutality is becoming common in so many parts of the world. It is time for good people to step forward and not only condemn such behaviour, but begin to work on changing the conditions that lead to such barbarity. When men and women are brutalised, justice is denied, they are humiliated and driven from their work and their homes, such responses are to be expected. We cannot change the brutality that we see unless we stand against the injustices that occur around the globe.