Letter to Woomera2002 participants from Eileen Wingfield, Kokatha Elder.

Dear Greenies,

The Government don't bother about Aboriginal People. They still don't realise that Aboriginal people belong to the country. We have nothing against the refugees. We don't mind people from far away coming here, but the Government hasn't even asked us Aboriginal people. They never have.

It makes me upset to see those people locked up in cages, like animals. On our country. Being punished and hurting themselves, sewing their lips up. It's terrible. And the children, we feel really sad about them being in there.

We are like them people, fighting for our country, our culture. White people have got full control over our country. Mining at Roxby, Woomera, doing whatever. And now they want to bury all that nuclear waste in our country. They got the cheek for all the blackfellas to vote for them and then they really don't listen.

When you mob come up to Woomera please think about how we been fighting for a long time. Against Roxby. We have been busy all these years, trying to get control over our country. We don't get anywhere with them. Everyone came here without asking Aboriginal people how they felt before they came and ripped up the country, our special places, all our sites.

Eileen Wingfield Kokatha Elder Coober Pedy, South Australia PO Box 1043 Coober Pedy SA, 5723 kungkatjuta@iratiwanti.org

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