David's Desk - RCS Bulletin 22nd August 2022 (Aug 22, 2022)

Empathy and common decency...

Insights from Afghanistan

Erfan Abidi’s Escape from Afghanistan talk at last Tuesday’s club meeting certainly hit the mark. By turns harrowing, moving and uplifting he gave us an insight into the trauma of those forced by conflict from their homes, hoping to find safety elsewhere.

Erfan’s description of three days of chaos at Kabul airport where he and his young family, along with tens of thousands of others, in unrelenting heat, endured the crush of the crowd with little food or water and no amenities, will stay with us. So, too, will his account of how a thousand frightened people huddled on the floor of the military transport plane all cried together as it finally took off into the night sky – with the Australian soldiers who rescued them crying along with them.

And we all took a collective breath when he described how after eventually arriving in Adelaide crowds met them at the airport holding signs saying, “Welcome to Australia” and “Welcome home”.

Empathy is as important ingredient for a successful multicultural society. It begins with open-hearted listening. This was on gratifying display from all of us who attended last week’s meeting.

A few weeks ago the Prime Minister also appealed to our capacity for empathy in his speech at the Garma Festival.

Ensuring the Indigenous Voice is listened to by future parliaments, he said, was a matter of fairness, respect and decency, values that we share and honour as Australians.

It is no great leap to recognise that these unifying principles of common decency – to seek and speak the truth and deal with others fairly and respectfully – are those that underpin Rotary’s Four Way Test. Abiding by these in all we think, say, and do creates an environment where empathy is paramount and our mission to create a more decent and peaceful world can be realised.

Let's talk about education

September is Basic Education and Literacy month in the Rotary calendar. On that theme, we are privileged to have David Gonski AC as guest speaker at our luncheon meeting on Tuesday 6 September. As Chancellor of the University of NSW and author of the 2012 Gonski Review into school funding David is well placed to share his insights into the state of our education system. What went wrong? What can be done to put it right?

Chinese Moon Festival Banquet

Culturally themed dinners were highest on the list of preferred social events in the Members Survey done in June. Phoebe Alexander and her social committee have responded by organising a 10-course Chinese banquet to celebrate the 2022 Chinese Moon Festival.

Join us on Saturday 10 September for an evening of fellowship and learn more about this 3,000-year-old tradition. Expand your cultural awareness and enjoy the diversity that makes Sydney so special. Places are limited so please book early.

See below to register for these and other upcoming events.

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