Eileen Kampakuta Brown

Australian Aboriginal Elder
Winner of the 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize
1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005

birthdate: ?
birthplace:
Australia

QUOTES

Kungka Tju Quotes

We're worrying for the country and we're worrying for our kids. We say NO radioactive waste dump in our ngura in our country. Don't waste our country. Don't waste our future.

We know the poison from the radioactive dump will go down under the ground and leak into the water. We drink from this water. The animals drink from this water. We're worried that the animals will become poisoned, and we'll become poisoned in our turn.

My grandfather and mother looked after the land; that was their manta, their duty. Now I am talking on behalf of them, so that the kids can have it when we leave it behind. My grandsons, daughters and sons.

"We are only the caretakers of the country. If we look after it, it will look after us. Government has big money to buy their way out – but big happiness that we won against government."

People said that you cannot win against the Government. Just a few women, us. We just kept talking and telling them to get their ears out of their pockets and listen. Government has big money to buy their way out but we never gave up. We always talk straight out. In the end he did not have the power, we did. He only had money, but money does not win. We are winners because of what is in our hearts, not what is on paper. Big happiness that we won against the Government. And the family and all the grandchildren are so happy because we fought the whole way. Kids growing up, babies have been born since we started. And still we have family coming. All learning about our fight.

We are the caretakers of the country. We women have rights of this land. We protect it. We do not want money. We want life and land for the kids. Generation to generation we are thinking about the kids. When we heard about the (radioactive) waste dump we said, “Do not waste our country, do not waste our future.”

 

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