CHIP HENRISS-ANDERSSEN
"What did your protests achieve?" asked the taxi driver, his frustration showing through his Tanzanian accent. "Nothing! No-one listened — they voted for Howard and Bush, it was all for nothing", he said.
His response came after I began to tell him about the photographic exhibition, When the World Said No to War, a collection of photos from anti-war protests around the world in February 2003.
For a moment I began to believe him. I had no answer. It really did seem hopeless after the crushing defeats in the Australian and US elections. Perhaps he was right and the "bewildered herd" had completely capitulated to the power elites of our society. Perhaps there is no way people will put other human beings before their interest rates.
Unfortunately it was only after the taxi driver dropped me off that it came to me. What if Nelson Mandela had given up when he was imprisoned? What if those who struggled for women's rights had given up? What if the abolitionists in the US had quit after John Brown was hanged following his unsuccessful attempt to lead a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry, Virginia?
It's not true that no-one listened. Only those who didn't want to hear didn't listen.
When The World Said No To War is more than a display of interesting pictures. This exhibition continues the struggle and is part of a worldwide voice shouting for compassion, reason and an end to the violent abuse of power called war.
The exhibition needs your support to make that voice louder and to maintain the momentum for the majority of the earth's population that have no power to speak on their own behalf.
Organisers are calling for volunteers — anyone who would like to donate their time and energy to help make this project something that'll really get up PM John Howard's nose. Email <karenadler@iprimus.com.au>.
[When The World Said No To War opens at the Pine Street Gallery, Chippendale, Sydney, on February 2.]
From Green Left Weekly, January 26, 2005.
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