On the 25th April, old, young and new Australians remember the price we pay for living in a free and peaceful society. On this day we remember the servicemen and women who risk and at times sacrifice their lives for us, when our individual and sovereign democratic rights are threatened.
ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) is the special focus of remembrance for Australia and New Zealand citizens, thinking back to the beginning of our fighting common enemies together.

Our international students all have their own national histories of struggle for freedom and independence, with their own national days to commemorate the sacrifices made by their compatriots. I invite you all to use this special day to reflect on ‘War and Peace’ in general. Let’s pray that the international community will one day abandon the need for armed conflict. Let’s work towards a better way to co-exist, without the need to sacrifice human life.

This year we all share the same global enemy: Covid-19. Right now we are learning to fight this common threat by putting people’s health first. Not one Ideology over another, not one Religion over another, not one Economy over another, as we were so used to doing. We now all fight for our very survival. We find that our excessive weaponry and our vast armed forces are quite useless in this fight. What will get us through is our valuing of our humanity and the re-asserting of our moral code. Let’s use the armies for keeping peace, not making war, for helping wounded, not wounding them.

The best way to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice is to end all wars, while always remembering their hopes for a better, more civilized world.

“At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We shall remember them. Lest we forget”