By Keith Davis
My first People Smuggling trip will be on Sunday 28th June and I fully intend to smuggle a Kombi load of people, plus my old dog, from Brisbane to Gympie. Once there we will take a happy stroll up Mary St, do the important march thing, and then desperately hope that there will be a coffee shop open somewhere afterwards (we locals know what Gympie is like on a Sunday).
I’ve sent out a few invitations to prospective smuggle-ees and I sure hope that they are available to pile in the Kombi for this inaugural test of Operation Kombi Borders.
I hope an Indigenous Person can come. As we all know the Indigenous People of Australia have been here for over 60,000 years or so which is an awful long time, and our lot have been here for a tad over 200 years, which does not in comparison even qualify as an eye blink in time. During the journey I’ll try and convince this Indigenous Person that I do understand that it is not a case of whether I should Recognise them, but that it is in truth a case of whether, given everything that has been done to their people over the last two centuries, they still have enough grace and patience left to Recognise me.
I hope an Asylum Seeker can come. I will try and convince this person who is fleeing for their life that not all Australians are bereft of compassion. I’ll let them know that since my ancestors were of solid convict stock I’m a descendant of Australia’s original Boat People. Engraved on my very DNA is the historical memory of how it feels to be banished to an isolated hell hole and forced to endure a regime of unremitting mental torture. I’ll do my best to assure this Asylum Seeker that not every Australian is a heartless bastard.
I hope GillianTriggs can come. I’ll let her sit in the front passenger seat and I’ll even supply the megaphone. I’ll assure her that free speech is allowed in the Kombi and that I will personally guarantee that she will not be viciously attacked for simply having the courage to stand up and say publicly what a hell of a lot of the rest of us are thinking as well.
I hope Rosie Batty can come. I will let her know that I agree with her assertion that Domestic Violence is nothing less than flat out Domestic Terrorism. I’ll also let her know that I understand that far more Australian women are killed each year by Domestic Terrorists, about 84 each and every year, than are killed by International Terrorists. No doubt I can share my confusion with her as to why we spend billions chasing International Terrorists but only spend a pittance on the far bigger problem of Domestic Terrorism.
I hope a Welfare Recipient can come. Since I am one too we can compare our enforced poverty scars and rue the fact that our Politicians get $270 per night to stay at their wive’s places while we get a roughly on par amount to try and survive for a whole week. At the same time we can muse over the fact that for every available job there are five people hoping to get it yet people are out there strongly condemning us as bludgers and leaners because we can’t find a job. The Kombi will rock with that one I can tell you.
I hope a Muslim Person can come. Stuck to the ceiling above their seat will be a little sign saying ‘You live in a free country. You are free to worship whoever you like, or not, as you wish. You have a right to live free of vilification and demonisation. You have a right not to be blamed for all the horrible things that happen in this world that are totally beyond your control’. This same little sign will be stuck above the Christian passenger’s seat, the Atheist passenger’s seat, the Buddhist passenger’s seat, and the spare back seat in case we spot a hopeful hitch-hiker. We’ll all be in the Kombi together and we can all read the little sign together.
So there you have it. On Sunday 28th June I’m about to test the capability boundaries of Operation Kombi Borders. I sincerely hope that the relevant authorities catch me as I smuggle people, and a dog, from Brisbane to Gympie. Since my BSB and Account details are on a sticker on the front windscreen they should have no trouble knowing where to deposit the $5,000.
If the first trip is successful I fully intend, as long as the Kombi doesn’t do its usual break down thing again, to then do three trips a month and end my welfare-ee state of enforced poverty forever.
I hope you can all join me on this first road trip!
Rallying point for the Gympie Civil Rights March on Sunday 28 June is Memorial Park at 1pm.
March commences at 1pm.
