The rebel spokeswoman of the aborigines finds it in her heart to relent; perhaps after her stint as Poet-in-Residence at Bloomsburg State College in Pennsylvania, during 1978-79...
Ne soyons pas rancuniers - Translation of Oodgeroo Noonuccal's Let us not bear grudges by T Wignesan
(Note : The fiery fearless rebel of "Where we going" (1964) and "The Dawn is at Hand" (1966) – Oodgeroo’s first two collections – soon finds appeasement and forgiveness in "My People" (3rd edn.). The overwhelming consensus of the Referendum of May 27, 1967 conferring citizenship and voting rights to the estimated 400,000 aboriginals, together with her own projection on the international stage, must have contributed towards the thawing of her heart though Oodgeroo continued to rage against the Federal Labour Government’s refusal to enact the promised National Land Rights laws. Oodgeroo’s conciliatory tone in some later poems must attest to her own maturity as a poet – she had had to become a domestic servant again as a single parent earlier on when her husband deserted her. The International Acting Award she received for the film based on her life: Shadow Sister (1977) and the year she spent as Poet-in-Residence at Bloomsburg State College, Pennsylvania, during 1978-79, may have helped to ease the pain of not belonging anywhere in particular and paved the way towards adopting an enlightened attitude vis-à-vis her nemeses:
“European Australians must let go of England. (… ) American universities are the leaders in providing cultural role models for students.(...) …our universities must acknowledge and recognise the fact that their domineering and entrenched elitism still implements the mid-Victorian attitude of the ‘survival of the white tribe at any cost’ and is counter productive to the racial equality of the future.” (My People, 1990) – T. Wignesan, November 27, 2016
Finissons-en avec l’amertume, Mon propre Peuple basané,
Venez, prenez position avec moi, avec le regard tourné vers l’avant et non derrière soi,
Car un nouveau monde s’ouvre à nous tous.
Il est temps que nous changions. Pour une éternité
Le Temps s’était arrêté pour nous ; nous le savons maintenant
Que la Vie n’est que changement, la Vie est progrès,
La Vie signifie l’apprentissage, la Vie continue.
Les hommes blancs auraient dû apprendre à vivre selon les exigences de leurs civilisations,
Maintenant c’est notre tour.
Finissons avec l’amertume et la mémoire du passé insupportable ;
Faisons un effort pour comprendre le comportement de l’homme blanc
Et acceptons-les de la même manière qu’eux nous acceptent ;
Essayons de juger les blancs par le comportement des meilleurs parmi eux.
Ceux qui sont racistes sont moins nombreux que nous,
Nous ne nous voulons pas du mal, pas plus qu’eux à notre encontre,
Ne soyons pas amer, c’est une attitude négative,
Un vers de terre dans l’esprit.
Le passé a disparu exactement comme nos jours d’enfance au bon vieux temps,
Le futur arrive comme le lever du jour après la nuit,
Tout en emportant sa récompense.
Until reading of her through your translations, I had never heard of Oodgeroo. Perhaps because during that time there was a lot going on here in the United States with our own racial struggles and the war in Vietnam, overshadowing other protests in other parts of the world.
It is interesting how aboriginals were treated by the invasive race from England. Similarly to the way American blacks, brought here against their will as slaves, were treated here in the United States. But there was the added idea of nationalism, referring to the ties between the Australians and their mother country, England. While the aboriginals, like American Indian tribes, were forced from their lands and not given compensation for it. Many similarities, there as well.
I met Jerome on a busy city street in Baltimore, Maryland, when he was forty-five years old. On that particular day, I was out and about, enjoying a much-needed day off from work.
I wanted to purchase a sukiyaki sub. I parked my car in an area of
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It is interesting how aboriginals were treated by the invasive race from England. Similarly to the way American blacks, brought here against their will as slaves, were treated here in the United States. But there was the added idea of nationalism, referring to the ties between the Australians and their mother country, England. While the aboriginals, like American Indian tribes, were forced from their lands and not given compensation for it. Many similarities, there as well.
Ron