Cultural Warrior Philipp Zey travelled around the world on a bicycle with a trombone, a golf club and a German pasta shaper.
He shared music, his golf swing and pasta meals using locally available ingredients with hosts and new friends in the cause of peace, understanding and freedom across and up and down Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and Africa.
Martin Luther King Jr, born on this date in 1929 taught that “…… the wealth of cultural and technological progress in America is a result of the commonwealth of inpouring contributions.”
This human commonwealth exists across races, times and places.
When it is shared in freedom and justice, it can grow.
Reflecting upon American passion for freedom and the role America played in 1944 and 1945 in ending Japanese colonialism in Indonesia, Jakarta poet Maman A Majd Binfas sent me the above Indonesian words.
The profound historical insights embedded in the wonderful art of Melburnian John Lawry has lead me to the following thoughts.
The heavy weight of Penjajahan or Colonialism destroys the so called powers.
The post colonial world has not recovered yet from all of the evils which were done in the name of imperial power both to those colonised and to the colonising nations themselves.
This version of Waltzing Matilda is sung as best I can in Indonesian language. I hope a better singer will take it up. Click here for an instrumental version.
We must understand the problem of suicide to solve it and stop losing those lives. The Australian nation embraces this song about suicide in poverty. Why?
GLOSSARY
BILLABONG a small pond which used to be part of a river
BILLY a tin can for boiling water
COOLIBAH a type of outback tree
JUMBUCK a sheep
MATILDA the swag (see swagman below)
SQUATTER someone who gained possession of land by occupying it; they were rich men by the late 1800;s when the song was written.
SWAGMAN hobo, itinerant worker who carried all he owned rolled up in a swag on his back.