Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday evening, along with my colleagues the member for Adelaide, the Hon. Kate Ellis, and state Labor MPs Michael Atkinson and Leesa Vlahos, I attended the Kurdish Newroz Festival at Bonython Park in Adelaide. Newroz is a cultural celebration of the start of the new year and the beginning of spring for the Kurdish people. The evening commenced with the symbolic lighting of a fire. Most of the Kurdish people in Adelaide came to Australia in more recent decades, having fled the instability of their homeland. The instability continues, and they all have stories to tell about the ongoing suffering and hardships their people back home continue to endure. One person I spoke with had only just returned from his home town and told me about 17 of his townspeople who had been taken hostage by ISIS and were awaiting a horrific execution. That same day, news reports came through that three Kurdish prisoners had been executed. The hostage taking and executions have made the Kurdish people even more determined to celebrate Newroz. Whilst they clearly grieve for those killed, their message to all is that their culture will not be destroyed and that they will not submit to the demands or brutality of ISIS. Any attempts to dissuade Kurdish people from celebrating Newroz only strengthen their resolve to do so. I extend to the Kurdish people my support and my admiration for their courage and determination in the face of terrible adversity.