Pushed by the increasing tensions in Palestine/Israel, the women of WIB, Melbourne spent a day, as we have always done, all the women who have worked for social change over the all these years to plan, eat, act. Alex, myself, Sue, Sandra, Marg, Geraldine, Hellen and Esme, both of whom appear below, in deep discussion of the contents of our new flyer and our banners still be to be made.
After discussing all the other issues that were consuming our hearts--like the cuts on TAFE where Alex works, ending hopes of vocational training for so many young people in need of jobs,, we moved into Marg's garage to begin the journey of our banners.
Hellen and Esme painting in our words, Sue and Marg drying one of our creations on an ancient Australian native bush.
La Professoressa stitching up the banner with the unsayable history in Israel's history books.
Today, in the beginning of the Melbourne winter, and the time for our monthly vigil, we stood in the center of Melbourne town, with our new messages of change.
A simple thing, women, many of them lesbians, some not, some Jewish, some not, meet, share a winter soup and come up with a plan. They know the forces against their dreaming are great, they know a garage and a kitchen table are seen as paltry habitats by the drone makers and the prison builders, by the wanters of pure states and the oligarchs who dig a country's wealth out of the ground and pour it into their political campaigns to silence progressive media or win for a fellow billionaire a Presidency--oh I could go on--this is what a good winter's soup and a work session in a cold garage with comrades who share a longing for another kind of Middle East, for another kind on international relations, not based on arms dealing, can do to one. Never leave this life with out such a time.
One Lebanese family paused to speak with Marg who was handing out flyers, the father with his three young daughters huddled around his legs, said, "you do not know, how deep this is for us to see. You can do this, we can't."
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