It's peculiar how we form memories. Do you remember where you were when you heard - or saw - the news?
I do.
What's additionally peculiar about it for me, is that it reminds me that's it's twenty five years since I started working in libraries.
My first library job was as a library assistant at the Baillieu Library at The University of Melbourne. I started in April, 1989. I worked in the 'orders' section. As my desk-mate so eloquently put it, we stuck the barcodes on the books.
I moved to Melbourne from country Victoria and stayed with friends of friends while looking for a flat. The place I stayed at was at the end of Kokaribb Road Carnegie. I used to catch the train to work from Carnegie station. There was a "hot bread shop" on the shopping strip on Koornang Road. Exciting, exotic stuff for a kid from the country. The things you remember!
We used to play the news on TV while we made dinner. One day there was the iconic image of the man who stood in front of the tanks. June 4 (or possibly 5, given the time zones), 1989.
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| Photo: AP/Jeff Widener via SMH |
I didn't know what it was all about really. I was 19 years old, on my first grand adventure in life. But I knew it was bad and it was serious.
I was immensely proud of the Australian Government's decision to let the Chinese students stay. Even if I didn't really understand all the issues, I knew enough to know they were not safe in their own country.
Today, twenty five years on, I followed a link from a Facebook page I follow and really like. A Mighty Girl is also a website and posts articles about inspiring women and books for girls who want a different perspective.
Today's article was about the Mother's of Tiananmen Square.
"Zhang Xianling, 76, co-founded the Tiananmen Mothers after her son, Wang Nan, was shot and killed outside Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989." "Wang Nan, was just 19 years old when he was killed by a single bullet to the head."
My 19-year old self had no notion that the people killed that day were 'like me'. I knew they were students... but I did not realise how many died and how young they were. It seems Wang Nan was typical... but there were younger students too.
For my 25 years in libraries, there is Zhang Xianling spending 25 years mourning and fighting for justice.
Related links:
Lim, Louisa. (20 May 2014). 25 Years On, Mothers Of Tiananmen Square Dead Seek Answers. http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/05/20/313961978/25-years-on-mothers-of-tiananmen-square-dead-seek-answers
Chan, Minnie. (5 June 2014). Age shall not weary the Tiananmen Mothers in their search for answers. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1525579/age-shall-not-weary-tiananmen-mothers-their-search-answers
Rayman, Noah. (4 June 2014). 5 Things You Should Know About the Tiananmen Square Massacre: TIME looks back in history on the 25th anniversary. http://time.com/2822290/tiananmen-square-massacre-anniversary/
[Warning, graphic pictures]
Iyer, Pico. (13 Apr 1998). The Unknown Rebel: With a single act of defiance, a lone Chinese hero revived the world's image of courage. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988169,00.html
Witty, Patrick. (3 June 2009). Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen. http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/behind-the-scenes-tank-man-of-tiananmen/
AAP. (4 June 2014). Hawke reflects on Tiananmen massacre. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-2648076/Hawke-reflects-Tiananmen-massacre.html
Really fascinating article about how the Chinese migration changed Sydney.
Banham, Cynthia. (26 Dec 2003). Children of the revolution. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/25/1072308628745.html
Makinen, Julie. (5 June 2014). Tiananmen Square mystery: who was 'Tank Man'? http://www.smh.com.au/world/tiananmen-square-mystery-who-was-tank-man-20140605-zryf7.html
#blogjune
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