Children at Woomera

I am going to plant peace in the desert
I am going to plant hearts and hands together
In the desert of my blank page
I am going to draw a peace dove in the sky of Woomera
I am going to draw an open gate for the detention centre.

I am going to draw a bus full of flowers and visiting friends
I am going to draw a bus to take all the people from Woomera
And welcome them into our homes
I am going to draw a tree with a Magpie and a Koala,
I am going to draw a red Kangaroo and tell its story to the children
I am going to draw a Moon playing with the Sun in my garden
I am going to draw streets full with people and neighbours
Talking and singing together
I am going to harvest my apple and orange trees
And give them the fruits on their tables.
I am going to write: Welcome
In the corner of my poem.

I will draw a barbed wire fence with the eyes of children
Colour-blind like prisoners in the desert
How can I write verses of peace for them?
When they cry so

I saw 18 drawings by the children of Woomera
Each of one of these was a drawing for our conscience,
For our stone's heart.

I saw 18 drawings by the children of Woomera
Each one of these was a drawing for our walls
Like a bird in cage without water or love

I saw 18 drawings by the children of Woomera
Each one of these was a drawing for us

They draw every day,
Every hour, every minute of every day
Within barbed wire fence

I saw 18 drawings by the children of Woomera
A drawing of sand of a broken wind in the desert

A drawing of the oblivion of a broken humanity
For each and every one of us.

Peace in Woomera is a cry
Peace in Woomera is not a place to fly
Peace in Woomera is a desert prison
Without flowers or trees or birds
Peace in Woomera is a long walk to our own hearts
To see with the eyes of compassion and dignity
For all the people on this land.

BY JUAN GARRIDO SALGADO

[Juan Garrido Salgado is a Chilean poet, solidarity activist and a former political prisoner during the Pinochet dictatorship.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 24, 2002.

Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

From GLW issue 488