Australia with all her beauty is now burning with so much at stake. A place in this world so loved by those who live and have the pleasure of taking in her allure, is now in complete ashes with potentially 1 billion, and counting, of her animal population burned alive. Here the kangaroos were plentiful with their joeys as they’d freely hop by out in the open or just lay under a tree for protection from the warm sun during another hot Australian day. Flocks of various intelligent and colorful parrots, cockatoos, and even a Kookaburra here and there who would proudly sing their morning song, are now falling victim to the blaze of the wild Australian bushfires that are more out of control today than ever in her history. The koalas, who I rarely saw in the wild, and when I spotted one it was always with her baby clinging to her like all sweet babies do, now charred together as one. You see, majority of Australia isn’t built up in the way the United States or other first world countries are. You don’t peer outside to see cement, stores, or other giant buildings in most of this country. The human population is far less per area of land. This country is still very much beloved, rugged country. The animals and people live amongst each other, together.
This brings me to an uncertainty of how to write about this tragedy that is continuing, but I find myself naturally gravitating towards her natural exquisiteness, and what was once sprawling bush filled land with all the beloved animals that call her home. It is a country filled with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, mountain ranges with great diversity in character, and a vast array of climates, flora, and fauna.
The south coast of New South Wales, which is now in flames or threatened, Nowra, Shoalhaven, Bateman’s Bay, and the endless drive down the scenic Princes Highway to Ulladula, Mollymook, and Pebbly Beach, is where I captured my first experience of hanging out with a troop of kangaroos on a local the beach. It’s where I first crossed paths with a lethal brown snake that continued to slither by unbothered by my existence. Then, far north to the hotter drier lands of Queensland where salt water crocs, that can measure 15 feet, are roaming some of the salt water beaches while the smaller “freshies” are in the creeks and rivers; both are ready for their next meal. Where snakes are plentiful along with wallabies, kangaroos, brushtail possums, and even some platypus here and there. These are the animals who are in dire need of help.
Neighborhoods that house people with homes they’ve grown families in, loved in, fought in, cried in, and forgave in, now engulfed of these unruly flames. Thousands upon thousands of people displaced will go back to see their lives amongst the ashes, and possible their loved ones too.
Through tragedy arises hope. Hope that people will unify for a common goal. Hope that in a world of constant need and disparity, these needs and disparities have not caused us to become calloused. Sometimes it is easier to read or listen to the news, feel a moment of compassion, and then look away isn’t it? I am a big proponent that compassion needs to lead to action. It is unchanging unless coupled with movement. Let compassion lead us to feel the calling and the responsibility to one another when tragedy strikes. Let’s grasp onto the hope that in this world infiltrated by loss and brokenness, there is still so much more that is worth the fight to save and the effort to heal.
“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” Howard Zinn
There are several charities you can donate directly to: Red Cross Australia, Australia Wildlife Fund, Salvation Army Australia, St. Vincent de Paul Society (Australia), New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Authority, World Wildlife Fund Australia, RSPCA New South Wales, WIRES (rescuing thousands of animals), and many more.
Please take action in any way you can.
A Well Dunn Life 