Vale Dick Scott
Obituaries for Dick Scott, who died on New Year’s Day, have emphasized his importance as a figure changing how New Zealand history was written about, taught, and imagined, especially by Pākehā. He deserves those accolades, but we should remember too that his early, pioneering histories were written as part of a project to change the […]
Keeping the Faith – RIP Fidel
Fidel Castro has died. We mourn him from the depth of our hearts; for his victories and for his failings, for the achievements of the Cuban revolution and for its weaknesses but most of all for the achievements of his generation, for our own parents and our grandparents. Fidel Castro “invaded” Cuba, his homeland, in […]
Mourn for the dead, fight for the living!
At this time we remember and honour long time union leader Helen Kelly, a brave and compassionate person who mourned with and comforted the families of workers killed at work; Forestry workers, the Pike River miners, Charanpreet Dhaliwal, aged only 22, beaten to death on his first night on the job as a security guard. […]
A tribute to Jill Brassell
Jill Brassell, who died on November 30, was a stalwart of the Wellington left for many decades, a fine musician, a militant, a Woman’s Liberationist, an understated wit and a friend. We’re going to miss her and we’re so sad to learn of her death. On behalf of the International Socialist Organisation we send condolences […]
To Nelson Mandela
Dear Madiba, I know this letter will reach you too late. Even as I write you might be passing away from us – to Jesus or your Xhosa tupuna or simply back to the warm earth of Africa, from which we all came. In some ways, like saints in the old days, dying brings you […]
Euchred; eclipsed: Ralph Hotere (1931 – 2013)
Ralph Hotere – painter, sculptor, collaborator – is a hugely important figure in the art and culture of Aotearoa. His death, as well as being a great and personal loss to his whanau, fellow artists, and community, has historical significance for us all. He was, with his close friend and comrade Hone Tuwhare, one of […]
In memory of Alison Stoddart
We were horrified to learn of the loss of Alison Stoddart (1980 – 2012), a fighter against injustice and oppression gone much too soon. Our thoughts are with all of her family and friends.Alison came from a family with a long history of activism and campaigning in Dunedin. Her granny, Christina, travels to Palestine regularly […]
