Civilians in war

This latest story about an Iraqi woman suing the federal government for negligence over injuries she suffered as a result of Australian fire in Bagdhad has preoccupied me all day. So much so, I’m sitting here with a nuisance of a stabbing bellyache and yet insist on setting down some thoughts before they will undoubtedly escape me as I later writhe in my pain. That piece of melodrama aside, familiarise yourself with the situation a little and excrucitating empathy aside, I think it’s relatively clear her likelihood of success is slim if anything. Besides the fact that she’s lodging in the state supreme court what I would have thought should have been an IHL jurisdiction (and someone more legally-qualified correct me), I’m unsure how they plan on establishing duty of care among the other gray legal issues with which I’m completely unfamiliar.

I lost you at ‘Iraqi’ you say? Crazy media stunt perhaps?

Alright, if all you wish to muster is a sigh of pity and maybe an amused chuckle (I’m looking at you, pa), fine. But I think its raised a whole range of moral questions, a number of which I’d been tossing around since reading this piece about Hugo Slim’s Killing Civilians from the Economist earlier this month.

Citing Kenya’s current disintegration, endless Afghan warfare and Sudan’s genocide campaign(s) alone make it hard to argue a blanket definition of civilian as innocent bistander. But then there are also the obvious ideals – my mother winces everytime she sees a photo of a 5 year-old Iraqi boy that I have in my journal; he’s sitting on the steps in his Mickey Mouse jumper staring blankly up at the camera as the blood and brains of his father and brother lay splattered beside him. And of course child soldiers, that horrific grey. There are obvious inadequacies of international humanitarian law in dealing with civilian trauma (and culpability) but why have we avoided building protections for (and against) them simply because it’s too hard?

The only response I’ve gotten from people I’ve quizzed for an opinion on the subject has been just that – it’s too complicated and cumbersome, how do you even establish who you’re trying to claim against, law isn’t much of a deterent when you’re amongst chaos and my personal favourite, “to be honest Naomi, I’m just happy to be here with my … life” (a friend from the DRC). I can’t say I have any answers but I thought at least to leave it on a good note.

Never been prouder of this country

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

EDIT: hear it here