Stop Uranium: Reclaim the Future (SURF)
Pilgrims SURF to Canberra August - September 1997. A project of the Gaia Foundation, Perth, Western Australia
The Idea
We are a group of West Australian activists who have decided to make a pilgrimage to Stop Uranium: Reclaim the Future (SURF). Our pilgrimage is inspired by the healing work of Joanna Macy, by the stories of Chernobyl affected people, by the Atomic Mirror Pilgrimages in the US (1995) and UK (1996).
Our aim is to connect the issues about the legacy of poison fire, which are already accumulating for future generations, with the prospects of more uranium mines opening up, mostly on Aboriginal lands in this country.
Under the guidance of the Gaia Foundation which has supported numerous community social justice and ecological projects, the Pilgrimage Project is now under way.
The facts alone are not going to convince this Government to change policy. We want to engage the hearts and minds of ordinary Australians to take a fresh look at this issue. Our pilgrimage will be a spiritual one, journeying to sites from which the nuclear menace emanates, as well as visiting places of special spiritual and cultural significance. SURF juxtaposes the dark and the light.
We will listen to stories of people who have experienced the aftermath of the accident at Chernobyl, linking them with Traditional Aboriginal Custodians, visiting the most likely uranium mine sites. We will be guided by our Aboriginal sisters and brothers about appropriate healing rituals to ensure that their land does not become further contaminated by uranium mining.
These are the times, we are the people!
The Journey
We will visit many proposed uranium mine sites, and sacred places along the way, starting in Perth on Hiroshima Day, culminating in Canberra in September. The entire pilgrimage will take forty days (into the wilderness) and will include public meetings, media interviews, consultations with Aboriginal and environment groups. We will create sacred rituals and do the spiritual Elm Dance in solidarity with people whose forests have died due to radiation poisoning.
The tentative timetable:
Aug 1Russian visitors arrive in Perth
6-7 Public sendoff and Pilgrimage heads for Port Headland
8-9 Kintyre
10-11 Darwin
12-13 Jabiluka
14-15 Westmoreland
16-18 Alice Springs
19 Angela deposit
20-22 Uluru
23-24 Olympic Dam/Roxby Downs
25-27 Adelaide
28-30 Melbourne
Aug 31-Sep 2Sydney/Lucas Heights
Sep 3-5 Canberra
Declaration of the Traditional Custodians of Uranium Sites, Alice Springs 1997
"The aboriginal experience with uranium mining continues to result in genocide of our community and destruction of our homelands. We share concerns about local, national, international impact of present and proposed uranium mines. We don't want uranium from our country to be used to hurt other peoples."
The People
The Pilgrimage will bring together Russian visitors, other pilgrims and Aboriginal communities we meet along the way. Because of the huge distances and costs involved, it is envisaged that the pilgrims will join the core group in their own areas, at their own expense. Of course, it would be wonderful to have lots of people attending public meetings in large centres, and being there for the Grande Finale in Canberra. Our visitors from Novozybkov, Bryansk (about 300 kms south west of Moscow, the city on which a great deal of highly radiated rain fell after the Chernobyl explosion) have fascinating stories to tell. They are:
Natalia Dicun. 42 years old, an educator and psychologist, mother of a fifteen year old daughter. She is strongly anti-nuclear, an active environmental warrior, heading the organisation "Temple of Nature", and is fluent in English.
Andrei Krychtop, 26 years old, an environmental activist, recently awarded a prestigious prize for his project on "Chernobyl with the Children's Eyes". He will bring with him a large collection of photographs, plus children's pictures and stories about the radiation pollution which has ruined their lives.
Other pilgrims will be several Gaia Foundation members who will travel throughout the Pilgrimage, to ensure the community and care of our visitors, and to hold the energy strong. We also intend to video the journey, so there will be a filmmaker included. The core group will probably be about eight to ten people.
Your Help
Wherever you live, you can help! You can:
· send for copies of the Elm Dance (sound cassette and story) and the video Sacred Fire.
· form a local support group to host the pilgrimage in your area, assisting with transport and accommodation.
· find out more about proposed uranium mining from your local environment centre.
· write letters to newspapers, and Parliamentarians, stating your views about the proposed expansion of this dangerous industry.
· phone radio stations and tell them what you think.
· join the pilgrimage when it comes near your area.
· help us with fund-raising.
· Give us your suggestions.
Send to: The Gaia Foundation - Pilgrimage Project, P.O. Box 1417, East Victoria Park, 6981
Contacts: Gaia Foundation: John Croft and Vivienne Elanta (08) 9470 5334
Sofia: (08) 9271 1767
Jo Vallentine: (08) 9272 4252
Email: jovall@perth.dialix.oz.au
URL: http://www.wt.com.au
Thank you for your support! It is really appreciated.