Today is Anzac Day. At the Newcastle Gerald we remember the tragedy of war, which has left so many widows and widowers, orphans and grieving parents, friends and relatives. Over 100,000 Australians have died in conflicts around the globe around over 100 million people have died around the world in the past century. Today we remember the victims of both World Wars, the Boer War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Sudan War and other conflicts. We stand with our sisters and brothers currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and think particularly of the friends and family of Andrew Russell, David Pearce, Mathew Locke and Luke Worsley who have died in Afghanistan in recent years. We also think of the victims of ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Philippines and West Papua.
We stand with all those across the globe who use non-violence to pursue justice and call on our leaders to reject the use of armed conflict for economic or political gain.
Never again should thousands die in national struggle.
"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." - John Donne, 1624
Lest We Forget
