Kulini Kulini report : Melbourne Indymedia

My hugest thanks go out to the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta, senior Aboriginal women of Coober Pedy, for their amazing generosity, spirit, strength and warmth in inviting us all here to their country and sharing their stories with us. My respect also to the Irati Wanti team and the Melbourne Kungkas for their incredible work on the campaign and for the camp.

From Sunday 28th September through Wednesday 2nd October people from around Australia and the world converged at 10 Mile Bush Camp at the invitation of the Kungka Tjuta. The Kulini Kulini ‘Are you listening?’ camp was called by the Kungka Tjuta after they attended the nuclear free gathering in Silverton earlier this year. After they have travelled far and wide in their campaign against the proposed nuclear waste dump it was the first time that they would play host to so many people on their country. The Kungkas extended the invitation for people to come Wangka irati, wangka Maralinga – talk about the poison, talk about Maralinga.

After an amazing week of setting up, collecting bbqs and chairs, tables and gas bottles from local businesses and setting up the infrastructure at 10 Mile Bush Camp people started to converge on Sunday. Amazing pit toilets (this is a mining town after all!) a huge Eco Warriors marquee, the incredible FoE kitchen, huge piles of fire wood, crate beds for the Kungkas, piles of borrowed swags and more combined to make 10 Mile one of the most decked out camps I have ever been to.

Over two hundred people made the journey to Coober Pedy to meet the Kungkas, listen to their stories and share their own. Families, friends, supporters, community groups, greenies, politicians and locals all gathered under a marquee amidst swirling dust, big winds and storms to listen to stories of the 1953 atomic bomb test and the devastating impact they had on people’s families, health and lives. Whilst these were stories of sadness and loss Kulini Kulini was also a celebration of strength and survival and of coming together and sharing.

The program was never officially organised or announced, and meeting times were completely on the Kungkas terms. I think initially people, myself included, were challenged by this fluidity and lack of (our familiar) structure, but the space that this gave the Kungkas and other Anangu people present to speak was what made Kulini Kulini so amazingly special.

Before the camp begun there was sad news of the death of a senior Coober Pedy Tjilpi and on the second day word came of a death in a Kungka’s family. This meant that camp was to coincide with sorry business. The news itself was testament to the constant presence of loss and death in these communities lives, but their choice to continue the meeting demonstrates their resilience, strength, generosity and commitment to spreading the word about the irati – the poison – and opposition to the proposed dump.

It was the first meeting that I have been lucky enough to attend that was not just a small number of articulate, accepted indigenous speakers on the mike, but an open forum, in Yankunytjatjara language with translation in to English. Some people who spoke had never publicly told people their experiences of the detonation of Totem 1 at Emu Fields 50 years ago (anniversary on 15th Oct). As well as local Anangu there were mob from Ceduna, Oak Valley, Adelaide and Darwin who were welcomed by the Kungka Tjuta to share their stories.

It was heart wrenching and devastating to hear their painful stories. but simultaneously inspirational and heartening to witness the strength, generosity and humor that people possess in spite of the loss, sickness and devastation that the poison and policy have exposed them to. Sitting down on the manta – earth – sharing stories, tea and wisdom was just beyond words.

I kept waiting to hear some hack or campaign head activisty type whine about getting around to planning the campaign, or organising an action and I was happily surprised that no-one challenged the pace and content of the meetings or the lack of traditional meeting forums.

The distribution of food, malu wipu – roo tail – and cups of tea to the Kungkas and Tjilpis was an integral part of the gathering. Initially only a small group of people were taking on looking after the elders, but after the three days more and more people overcame their shyness to spend more time with the older men and women in camp. The exchange and sharing of food in step with the sharing of stories and histories as well as visions and ideas for the future was a powerful element at Kulini Kulini. As with any meeting or conference the most powerful exchanges are often organic and occur in between any programmed sessions.

When the Kungkas went in to town for showers on Wednesday morning they suggested that we have ‘greenie time’ to talk about plans and how to support the campaign. After a bit of background from Irati Wanti and Melbourne Kungkas campaigners people broke in to groups, mainly geographically with particular emphasis on thinking of actions to do around the 50 year anniversary in two weeks. It looks like there will be a range of projects from 10,000 avant cards being launched, a public community art project in Melbourne, screenings and events in Alice Springs, Sydney and Adelaide and a big bbq in Coober Pedy! In addition there were loads of ideas thrown around with plans to work closely with the Peace Pilgrimage – a walk from Roxby Downs to Hiroshima leaving Melbourne in December - and potentially a bike ride from Lucas Heights along the proposed transport route to the proposed dump site!

Later in the afternoon the Kunkgas performed Inma - ceremony – for the whole camp. After the wati – men - had performed the Kungkas invited all the women in camp to come up to be taught one of the dances of the Seven Sisters creation story. Shyly and giggling hundreds of women of all ages danced in the dust with the Kungkas.

In the dirt out there at Ten Mile Bush Camp a remarkable coming together occurred between people of different races, languages, ages and backgrounds. We were talking about the bombs, the history and devastation, acknowledging and grieving the history and the pain, but with hope and vision to prevent the same Irati – poison – from disrupting the future.

The ripples and learning, stories, pace and respect learnt, the ideas challenged, the knowledge and feelings in my head and heart – and everyone else’s – are going to fuel so much more from here. I feel so so so lucky to have been involved in helping with this camp, I feel so privileged to have had so much shared with me.