17/12/2025
Before anything else, my thoughts are with the victims of the shooting and their loved ones.
In The Little Prince, he carefully & lovingly pulled up the baobab seedlings before they grew too large. He knew the danger: they start small and look harmless, but if left unattended, they can split his planet apart.
A few weeks ago, I sent an email to the government about my concerns around the immigration process. The first time I wrote such an email was only a year after my arrival in Australia, after reading news about a visa case for a group that shocked me, especially as I personally knew some absolutely lovely people whose visas were rejected.
What worries me is the lack of space for calm, honest conversations about what we value within this border. When that space disappears, the extreme sides get into loud fights, creating a landscape the rest of society doesn’t like to step into. And if they do, their voices are often not heard among the shouting.
Every country has an ecosystem worth protecting, not just from what people carry in their luggage, but from what is in their hearts. Again this is not meant to be read as anti diversity, anti migration, or anti anything. It means thoughtful, case by case decisions based on values rather than black and white rules.
Those of us who have lived through displacement & the traumatic news of our motherlands know that when destructive forces are enabled, everyone pays the price. The Middle East is terribly bruised, and my people in Iran think of history as a disappointing whirlpool of events that laid darkness on our country about fifty years ago, enabled & legitimised through shortsighted international political games.
Jews, Palestinians, Syrians, Afghans, Iranians have been paying a heavy price, and will continue to do so as long as dark forces are enabled. You are mistaken if you think they only have themselves to blame. Regardless of political games, this darkness does not harm them alone; it spreads wherever it is allowed.
Let’s try to do better, with love, care & responsibility, starting here in Australia. It will benefit us down under & everywhere else, immensely.
Image made in photoshop with help of Gemini
