Sydney Invasion Day march against genocide

Written by: (Contributed) on 27 January 2025

Voices quiet and roaring, young and old, female and male, marked the January 26 Invasion Day speeches in Sydney.

The younger generations are rising and organising They began threads echoed by others, that struggle must be every day of the year, not just one, that genocide continues. They spoke of intergenerational trauma, but say, ‘We’re still here!’

One young woman’s tiny daughter, spoke in language to the crowd. Unlike her mother, English is her second language. That cultural rebirth, that underpinning strength, was also a thread.

Wangan and Jagalingou have been fighting the Adani mine for a decade. Their representative, Adrian Burragubba, spoke of his and other First Peoples arising ‘from our rivers, from our water’.

‘Don’t worry about Dutton,’ he said. ‘He’s a nobody. He’s not a patriot.’ The real patriots are those who’ve fought for their lands since British invaders came ashore.

Corporations came under attack as inheritors and beneficiaries of invasion.

Dunghutti man Paul Silva grew up in the struggle for justice, after his uncle David Dungay Jr, was crushed and suffocated to death at Long Bay Jail Hospital.

Paul Silva spoke of ‘fallen heroes.’

‘People said it happened 237 years ago. But it happened yesterday.’

‘We are still exposed, by this government, by this system. We are under attack.’

‘Whatever happens, we’ll still rise up. It’s what we do.’

!0,000 plus people marched in Sydney. Though it was smaller than last year, Yabun festival near Redfern, where the march finished, was booming with people and cultural strength.