Antinuclear

Launched before the G20 summit last November, WAR is a coalition of “young Aboriginal people committed to the cause of decolonization and Aboriginal Nationalism,” as stated in its manifesto. Their #Genocidal20 protests last year saw 5,000 people marching through the streets of Brisbane before burning half a dozen Australian flags. We caught up with two of their members yesterday to ask about their provocative approach.

VICE: WAR is a powerful name. Can you tell me why you chose it? Meriki: It’s no accident. We are Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance. Without resistance the white man succeeds in taking our land and country so our purpose is not to attack but defend and protect. We want to revive the warrior spirit in our people by facilitating a culture of resistance.

Can you explain how the group came about?
My grandmother alerted me to the amazing work that my co-founders were doing up north, primarily in Queensland. We got in touch, bonded, and WAR was born. Then we traveled to Canada together last August where we met like-minded groups. It was so inspiring that we came home and WAR launched before the G20 summit.

Something I’m wondering is how WAR is different from other activist groups. After all, this isn’t a brand new movement.
Yes but Australian militant Aboriginal activism has been dormant since the 70s. The 1990s were dire in terms of organizations for and by black Australians. So we’re here to change that. And unlike other groups we’re not here to dance with other existing enslaving power structures. We are young and ready to fight for everything our ancestors had taken from them.

Okay so what does fighting look like? What is WAR’s mission?
Decolonization. We want to inform our people and inspire them, particularly our youth, to take action in the anti-colonial struggle, because that’s the only way. Decolonization encompasses all aspects of life. It’s the food you eat, it’s the things you buy. Food and health are high on our agenda, but we’re also helping our own communities to learn their languages, their dances, the traditions. We want people to study and be informed of their true history.

How do you feel about indigenous leaders who cooperate with our government?
I don’t think it’s helpful, but I’m not interested in naming names because we share a solidarity as Aboriginal Australians. I think these persons tend to be used as puppets by the white man. You know nothing really changes except they can say, Look we have this black person at the table, oh look how progressive we are ……….http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/interview-with-the-warriors-of-aboriginal-resistance