It's a Worry

Another letter came from George in Peru last week. I copied some of his March letter in a post on 21 July. This time I'll copy my letter to him. I haven't written till now. I'm not really being lazy. It's just a way of killing two birds with the one stone as it's hard to find the time to blog regularly.

Dear George,
Elvie’s letter writing days are behind her now. Her macular degeneration has diminished her eyesight to a degree that makes writing arduous, and she has many things to struggle with daily. We thank you for your last letter. Your letters give us a boost and our memories of Pat are part of that.
I particularly like reading your news of the economy and politics of Peru. I think I told you when you were last at the farm that Lib and I had toured there in 2005. It was an experience we won’t forget in a hurry. The riots in the north that killed over 400 police and indigenous people didn’t make the news here; I didn’t see it in any case. The road blockages and boycott of the Inti Raymi festival you described around Cusco brought a strong flashback to our trip when on the first day of our tour, about an hour or so south of Lima near Ica, the farmers blocked the road with rocks and logs preventing us reaching our first night’s destination. Large numbers of police in full riot gear and rifles cleared the road briefly and we got through in the early dawn but it was an anxious time we spent holed up in makeshift accommodation with gunfire splitting the night air at regular interval. The strike, caused by farmer revolt at trade agreements with the U.S, went on for weeks after we got through and we were lucky our trip wasn’t ruined then and there.
Not that we have been without our own dramas. I doubt you get much of the daily news from here over there. Last week the front page of the papers had photographs of federal police in full military gear including automatic rifles standing boldly in the street at road blocks in Melbourne. Raids overnight involving more than 400 Federal, Victorian, and NSW police in several locations took place simultaneously as terrorist cells were routed and plans to attack military bases were smashed after many weeks of sustained intelligence. Four men, two with links to Somalia, appeared in court soon after. Their intentions, allegedly, were to obtain automatic weapons and storm the Holdsworthy Army base and kill as many soldiers as possible before they were killed or captured. Controversy followed as the Australian newspaper published the story of the raid on the front page that morning, on sale before the raid took place, in a touch of the bizarre. It was a pity, I thought, that the police pictured in the newspaper had such military bearing and appearance, right down to their tin hats that resembled those of Germans in the old WW2 footage.
Even more disturbing to me, ‘The Australian’ weekend magazine carried the story of ‘Tyler Cassidy’, who was shot dead by police at a suburban skate park in February. At 15 years old, Tyler was the youngest of 48 people to be shot dead in Victoria since 1987. He was disturbed and threatening police with two knives. Four police officers present fired 10 shots in total, five of which hit Tyler, one going through a lung causing him to drown in his blood. The story was distressing as it was written sympathetically to the boy’s mother.
There’s been a spate of street violence in Melbourne lately. The front page of the Herald Sun on Monday had the headline “NEW BLITZ ON SREET THUGS”, subheading, “Cops Get Tougher Search Powers”. It makes you wonder where we’re headed.
Despite all that, life is treating us well. We enjoy our work at the farm and try to keep life simple. Elvie, Meredith and Jod give their best regards, as I do. And thanks again. Keep up the good work in Peru.

Carey