From 18th to the 20th July, just over 600 people gathered from all across so-called Australia for the Shut Down Pine Gap Sacred Land Back Convergence. Many Northern Rivers Activists embarked upon the pilgrimage.
The convergence took place on the beautiful unceded country of the Arrernte people, just outside of Mparntwe; so-called Alice Springs.
Never had the water stayed in the river so long after the rain, so the landscape was luscious, green, vibrant, alive with the whisperings and the walkings of the desert.
There was such interconnectivity between the striking red earth and soil and the luminous outstretched sky, with metallic flecks of light emanating from Mother Earth’s insides.
Mparntwe was one of the most warm and beautiful towns, alive with culture and connection to country. However, there is also an apartheid that is still continuing as a result of colonial injustice.
The Northern Territory has an extremely conservative government, and the injustice that is continuing against First Nations peoples is unacceptable, and an absolute breach of human rights.
I was blessed to travel with a convoy of over 50 individuals; there were vehicles that came from all across the country in solidarity against the US Military Surveillance Base at Pine Gap.
This was in collaboration with the Art of Resistance Tour which opened the Alice Springs Fringe Festival and performed throughout town, and at the convergence which had acts coming all the way from the Northern Rivers! It was a blossoming of kindred souls and beings all united in solidarity for sovereignty.
Since Pine Gap has been in operation, traditional custodians have not been allowed to access their sacred sites. This is unacceptable. It was built without consent of traditional owners and under the false pretence as a ‘space research facility’; which is what the public were told. In reality it has always been a US Military satellite surveillance base.
Activists, artists, traditional owners, people of all walks of life and country called for the immediate shut down of the 60-year old facility. This was the 43rd annual protest, and the second largest since 1987! The Rainbow Region has a strong history of peoples helping with these peace actions.
A convoy of 100 cars and around 500 activists joined senior Arrente Traditional Owners of the Kuyunba (that the base sits upon) to deliver a formal written letter delivered with senior custodian Felicity Hayes and Greens Senator David Shoebridge, which was also taken back to parliament by Shoebridge.
Key points of the letter included the deep pain of custodians being locked out of their own sacred sites for almost 60 years, the inhumane injustice of the nearby town camps; often without running water, reliable power or sewage systems, while a multi-billion dollar US base operates without paying any dues to the local peoples.
This is combined with the complicity in global warfare, especially that directly linked to the genocide occurring in Palestine was highlighted, as well as the deep burden of guilt from traditional custodians who do not want their sacred country being used to intercept data in foreign wars. It also highlighted that the land was taken without consent or consultation.
The immediate closure, unconditional return of land as well as financial compensation and reparations for 60 years of unauthorised occupation to be used to build basic housing and infrastructure for the community was demanded.
It is unacceptable the living conditions of these town camps. Everybody deserves access to water, power, and basic infrastructure. The fact that so called Australia is defined as a ‘first world nation’ whilst our traditional custodians are being subject to abject poverty is unacceptable.
It is so important that we remember to shine light in these dark circumstances and create pathways of interconnectivity and awareness in these times.
The convergence was also a coming together and sharing of First Nations struggles and advocacy, which you can get involved with supporting and learn more about by looking into ‘Close Pine Gap.’
It was special to have so many from sacred Bundjalung country (the land of the pretty butterfly) to go where the caterpillars bloom in the central desert.
We too can be like caterpillars and help stories like this bloom into transformative butterflies with solidarity and support from the rainbow region and beyond.
