A 2002 interview with Carmen Guzman, who fled El Salvador for Australia, brings home the life experiences that still drive displacement today.
Radical Women
Angela Acosta, El Salvador: “Working class Australians will not tolerate injustice in their name.”
“I was born on September 19, 1972 into a politically active family in El Salvador. I grew up with my mother and part of my mother’s family. Because our lives were in danger, we were forced to escape to Costa Rica. There were thousands of women and children from El Salvador with little formal education… Read more »
Dissidents with disabilities: Overcoming capitalism’s obstacles
Sharaz Kayani’s self-immolation outside Parliament House in Canberra last year was a wake-up call — not only about the plight of refugees in this country but also the treatment of people with disabilities. An asylum seeker from Pakistan, Kayani had tried since 1996 to bring his family to Australia. His applications were rejected, because his… Read more »
Ingrid Hindell: “I live in the community, but I am not of the community.”
“I was born with a disability. I couldn’t sit up until I was five years old. I was shy as an adolescent. For most of my adult life, I have acted out of sheer bravado. I had a breakdown which I admit nearly ended my life. But I am now a new woman, more secure… Read more »
Philip Smith: “The economy is at the basis of discrimination.”
“I am unsure of how I developed my hearing disability. It was gradual. I am diagnosed as having a nerve deafness caused by bronchitis. I left school in Form 5, and I’m not sure whether the hearing deterioration had an impact on this decision. But I do know that the lack of support from disability… Read more »
Brigitte Ellery: “In societies where profit doesn’t exist, people with disabilities are respected.”
“In 1993 I was hospitalised. I had been having depression on and off. After being misdiagnosed a few times, I finally found a doctor who diagnosed Multi Personality Disorder, which can be managed through medication and counselling. Compared to many kinds of physical disability, mental disability isn’t so obvious. It can be made worse by… Read more »
We CAN organise the unorganised! Radical Women Organisers’ win shows the importance of militancy
There’s nothing like a union victory to make my day, and March 16 was one of them. When I received the news from Radical Women (RW) in Portland Oregon that RW Organiser Jordana Sardo won her job back, I was ecstatic! Like me, Sardo works in the community (social service) sector, notoriously exploitative of its… Read more »
Anti-abortion Terror re-emerges in Melbourne
Right To Life, your Name’s A Lie, goes a well-used chant against the fetus worshippers organised by a tiny band of Catholic fanatics centred on Margaret Tighe. It continues: “you don’t care if women die!” Nor ordinary workers going about their job. When, on July 16, a man of unknown identity shot and killed a… Read more »
Victory for same-sex domestic partnerships: Queers now need economic independence NOT equal dependency
On May 1, the bitter debate in the Victorian Parliament over whether same-sex relationships should have the enjoyed by heterosexuals finally concluded with an overwhelming “yes” vote. Thanks to enormous community pressure, homosexual couples are now equal in a range of matters — from medical decision making to property and state taxes such as stamp… Read more »
In and Out of Port: Workers’ power in action!
April 7, 1998. A date which is burnt into the memories of countless activists from all around the world. The day that Patrick Stevedores, at Webb Dock Port Melbourne, locked out its entire unionised workforce. The naked anti-union aggression was breathtaking. Security guards wearing balaclavas and with dogs, charged in to clear the docks. The… Read more »
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