International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding
Abstract
Australians and New Zealanders commemorated Anzac Day on 25 April 2013, paying tribute to diggers (soldiers) who lost their lives at the Turkish front 98 years ago. The tribute commenced with dawn services and marches across Australia and New Zealand. Those who lost their lives in subsequent wars were also remembered. A resident of the Blue Mountains, Sydney, Michael Adams, said, ‘My father was in World War II in New Guinea and my great grandfather was killed over in France in 1917 so I come here every year to honour them, as well as remember those who have been left behind.’ South Australian Veterans director Bill Denny said that about 300,000 Australians have died in 51 conflicts from 1863 to the present day. Tim Barrett, Commander Australian Fleet, remembered the 3000 veterans who are ‘currently serving with great distinction overseas from South Sudan, Egypt to the Middle East, Afghanistan, in the Southeast Asian region and the South Pacific’. Overseas, at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli, Turkey, many Australians also gathered (as they do every year on Anzac Day) to pay their respects to their lost loved ones.
As I reflected on the Anzac Day commemorations, I envisaged the complexities of war. I returned to my previous research, which has touched on three relevant dimensions of Australian history: Australian soldiers’ sacrifice for their country; the question of enemy subjects; and the loyal voices of minorities.
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Dr Nahid Afrose Kabir is a Senior Research Fellow in the International Centre for Muslim and non- Muslim Understanding, University of South Australia
