1906
Aboriginal people believe that Australia Day should be called Invasion Day and the facts are hard to ignore. Jay McDonald is an activist with the Tasmania Aboriginal Centre in Launceston, and wrote this article about Australia Day which appeared in greenleft.org.
Australia Day is traditionally the most racist day of the year for Aboriginal people. When people celebrate on 26th January, there is no escaping the fact they are celebrating the day that one race of people invaded another race of people's country and took control of Aboriginal lands and tried to dominate Aboriginal people. Invasion Day, as it should be called, celebrates the dispossession of land, culture and way of life of Aborigines.
Aborigines and members of the wider community should not allow this to continue. Otherwise we are saying that it was okay to try to destroy the Aboriginal way of life, to murder Aborigines and to attempt cultural genocide. True reconciliation cannot be achieved and a just society cannot be built if we continue to celebrate the gains of one race at the expense of another.
Invasion Day is a day to remember the wrongs that were commited against Aborigines, a day to remember the injustices forced upon one race of human being by another. This is no day for celebrating, it's a day for mouring, a time to reflect, and a time to steel ourselves for the ongoing battle for a better society.
Now that's just ridiculous, Australia day is has been colloquialised if you will. From what was once a day about the convicts landing on Australia and taking it from the aboriginal people, to a day of celebration for the country, where meetings and barbecues are held in honour of the great country that we are today.
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