KAYA ORTIZ

No Justice, No Peace

It seems like everywhere I look lately, I see injustice. Fear. Misuse of power. Oppression. Outrage.

Living in Boorloo/Perth, it is easy to feel separated from the rest of the world in our own little bubble. It is a privilege to be able to shut off or turn away when everything becomes too much – climate change, COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and now, the Anti Terror Bill in the Philippines, just to name a few.

Over the last few days especially, I have been grieved and angry. I have not known what to say or what to do. It is my tendency to remain silent and listen to others speak, others more educated and qualified than I am. But as I’ve become more critically and politically conscious, it is becoming more difficult to remain silent. The fight for justice cannot be won from the shadows.

So I am adding my voice to the noise, though it feels like a drop in the ocean. But it is an outrage that people are losing their lives, whether from the mismanagement of a pandemic or from police brutality. It is an outrage that black and Indigenous peoples are disproportionately and systematically oppressed by a rotten system that was built on violence and genocide. It is an outrage that still, there are people who refuse to see this injustice. It is an outrage that so-called leaders blatantly enact or enable violence on the citizens they are supposed to be serving, to the point of taking away basic human rights.

I am angry. Now is the time to be angry. Now is the time to be uncomfortable with the state of the world. Change starts when we acknowledge our unearned privilege, privilege that comes at the cost of somebody else. Change starts when recognise that the status quo is unacceptable, and has been unacceptable for far too long. Change starts when we speak up about injustice and oppression, and keep speaking up, and showing up, and doing the work. Yes, it’s hard work. Yes, it’s tiring work. But joining the fight now is nothing compared to the hundreds of years that black and Indigenous peoples have spent fighting for their rights, their lives, their humanity.

Where do we go from here?
I don’t have all the answers. I am still educating myself, and that is an ongoing process. I read, I listen, I attend protests, sign petitions, I donate when I can. This is the least I can do, and it still feels like not enough. I encourage everyone to register to vote. Amplify marginalised voices. Educate the people close to you. Listen to the stories and experiences of those less privileged, and believe them. Let it reach you, affect you, change you. We need people to join this fight for a different world, a better world. And we must, we MUST, follow the lead of First Nations people.

The road to revolution feels long, and too often impossible. But I am comforted by this quote, whose source is unknown to me:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

If you feel pressed to do something right now, here is a small list of links to some petitions, donation funds and other resources:

Petitions:

Donate:

Educate:

 

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