34 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Year in Review 2020 IDENTITY & COMMUNITY Fires Of Black Summer As they watched the sun set behind Mount Mitta Mitta for the last time in 2019, people in the Corryong valley did not think they would wake the following morning to be ambushed by fire. On New Year’s Day, instead of celebrating, they were putting out spot-fires on the outskirts of their towns, confident their townships would be protected. As the situation became apparently more dire, people took refuge at designated community refuges. By afternoon, Victorian Police told people in Corryong to evacuate or risk being isolated in a town without official assistance, electricity, or water. That evening, two convoys of evacuees were escorted by the CFA to either Wodonga or Tallangatta. Whether they chose to stay or chose to leave, the people of the Upper Murray were tested. Stories of resilience and solidarity spread from the streets to social media and throughout the world. Stories of people who had lost their homes and livestock, helping others to save theirs, the CFA volunteers working relentlessly throughout New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Principal of Sacred Heart Primary School, Corryong, Ms Zoe Nugent, wrote of the experience on 10 January This town and its surrounds have taken a beating. We have been hit hard, but the Upper Murray people are known for their determination and spirit. It will take time. But with the grace of God, we will get through it. The fires in the Upper Murray were part of what we now know as the Black Summer of 2019-2020; Australia’s costliest ‘natural’ disaster to date. Across the east of Australia 186,000 square kilometres of land was burnt, three billion animals were killed, and 34 people lost their lives. The air quality dropped to hazardous levels with smoke blanketing most of south-east Australia and moving as far as South America. The smoke was not the only thing that spread. The eyes of all the world seemed focused on the crisis; images of fleeing kangaroos silhouetted against lurid orange skies; charred livestock and razed homes fed their horror. Sandhurst seminarian Jackson Saunders, who was studying in Rome at the time wrote in his ‘View from Rome’ column, “As I watched the bushfire situation unfold in Australia, … I was inspired by the way that we cared for each other.” Principal of Borinya Wangaratta Community Partnership, Genevieve O’Reilly, who was holidaying in Ireland at the time, wrote in an email, “Everywhere we go, as soon as people hear our accents, they convey to us their deep sorrow for what is happening in Australia.” The Catholic Women’s League (CWL) of England and Wales donated funds to CWL Australia, to distribute to communities in need, one being Sacred Heart Primary School, Corryong. Principal Zoe Nugent wrote in her letter of thanks, “It is with much gratitude that we receive this generous donation … we have never experienced such a fierce, uncontrolled fire with frontage extending for hundreds of kilometres on all sides. The fast-moving front approached us during the night, so you can imagine the chaos …” As the fires joined to create ‘megafires’, the situation was consistently described as apocalyptic; there was apparently no other word for it. Even the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), in their statement announcing a national response to the bushfire crisis and a national Australia Day Appeal, referred, albeit metaphorically, to the fires as ‘apocalyptic’. Released on 3 January the ACBC wrote in their statement, “There is no end in sight to the horror which confronts us with our powerlessness before the devastating force of nature. ...With broad and deep roots across the nation, the Church stands ready to walk alongside people throughout their journey of recovery.” The bishops asked for “insistent prayer for those stricken by drought and fire, for those who have lost their lives in the fires and their families, for rain to quench the parched land and extinguish the fires, and for urgent action to care for our common home so we can prevent such calamities in the future.” Bishop Shane Mackinlay wrote to parishes and schools We remember the great suffering of the Black Saturday fires, and know well that the effects of such trauma will be felt for many months, and even years to come. Our support of the St Vincent de Paul Bushfire Appeal ensures that our brothers and sisters have assistance in rebuilding their lives after the devastation of these fires. In late January, Director of the Catholic Education Office (CEO), Mr Paul Desmond, and the Episcopal Vicar for Education, Rev. Dr Brian Boyle, visted schools in fire-affected towns. We felt a great deal of admiration for the resilience of the Corryong community wrote Mr Desmond in a letter to the Sacred Heart Primary School community. “We took the opportunity to assure Zoe (principal) and the staff of Sacred Heart Primary School of the full support of all in the CEO. We offer you, the primary educators of the child, the same commitment,” he wrote. Indeed, the staff of CEO had been offering support to each other and their respective school communities throughout the course of the fires. Mr Paul Desmond, Director of the CEO emailed a regular ‘Fire bulletin’. As preparation for the new school year commenced, the CEO worked closely with CatholicCare Sandhurst to identify the best ways to assist children once they returned to school, using evidenced-based recovery programs and appropriate therapeutic support. CatholicCare Sandhurst Director, Ms Rhonda Lawson-Street wrote at the time, “For CatholicCare Sandhurst, our response includes cross-border collaboration with other Catholic agencies to ensure that those who need timely and intensive emotional and psychological assistance can receive skilled support for as long as needed.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ0MTI=