Two Marches in March

Today I found myself at the March in March. It was amazing to see so many people out on the streets of Melbourne, all with different complaints and concerns. The effectiveness of social media networking to bring people together and advertise events is quite mindblowing.


On Twitter later today I found out that there was another march, on the wonderful Sydney Road. In fact earlier today I had been near the Sydney Road Baptist Church, from where the march started. Tri Nguyen, who had arrived in Australia after a horrendous boat trip from Vietnam and shocking experiences in a refugee camp in a third country, is setting out on a 35 day walk from Brunswick to Canberra, hauling a wooden replica of the boat which carried them through the monsoon. The boat had "thank you" written on the side, thanking the Australian community for the kindness and welcome he and his family had received.

What a wonderful odyssey, back up the trapdoor to Melbourne, to the seat of power in Canberra, via those small towns which are perhaps not as multicultural as Brunswick but with a great diversity of opinions and personalities. I will be following his journey, and gaining inspiration from it.