The Northern Rivers Times
July 6, 2023
14 NEWS
Hanging out at East Coraki: desperate koalas looking for trees By Maria Matthes & Ina Egermann Friends of the Koala Friends of the Koala is excited to have received a grant from the Australian Government to support its “Hanging out at East Coraki: koalas thriving in an agricultural landscape” project. The area is being overpopulated with so many koalas living in the East Coraki area, and not enough koala food trees to sustain the local sub-population. It is an area where Friends of the Koala rescued several koalas with extremely poor body condition, often as a result of not enough quality leaf available. The project includes weed control in koala habitat along the river and tree planting koala habitat on several properties, as well as koala habitat assessment and monitoring of the koalas. Many of the favourite food trees suffered during the drought, and then many of the smaller trees were hammered by the flood. These riparian areas are critically important to the koalas during dry times, with more koalas moving for
water. FOK will be doing all it can to create an environment where the koalas will be able to not just survive but thrive. FOK has been doing the habitat assessments and has been quite shocked at seeing trees regenerating after being affected by the flood, and the koalas are eating all the reshooting leaves they can reach, over and over. We can’t get more trees in the ground quick enough. We are so appreciative of the great support from the landholders to having more koala trees and koalas on their properties. If anyone in East Coraki or elsewhere would like to help our koalas by supporting our project, including planting some trees, controlling weeds, or assisting with health checks, habitat assessment and monitoring, we would love to hear from you. Keep an eye out on our social media for our future community planting days. For more information contact Maria (0467 855 990) or Ina (0413 710 917) at Friends of the Koala or email ina@friendsofthekoala. org
40 years since the hanging of a young woman BY SAMANTHA ELLEY
could be equal,” said Dr Saberi.
Lennox Head resident Dr Vahid Saberi remembers his aunt Simin Saberi as a vibrant, ever smiling and joyful young girl. “Everyone in the family loved being around her because of her fun loving and witty personality,” he said. “She was also known for her calm resolve and courage.
“The 10 Bahá’í women, one of whom was Simin Saberi, were taken to a square in Shiraz, Iran, under the cloak of night.
“She was firm in what she believed and resolute.” It was this courage and calm resolve that saw Simin, along with nine other young women from Shiraz in Iran, executed by hanging because of their Bahai faith on June 18, 1983. On this date, members of the Bahai faith gathered to remember these brave women who died 40 years ago, as part of the #OurStoryIsOne campaign. “They sacrificed their lives willingly so that women could be free, so that the girl child could be educated, so that people could have the freedom to believe, so that women and men
“After months of torture and imprisonment, they were hanged without the knowledge of their families and in front of each other. “Each forced to watch the next woman’s death in a harrowing attempt to coerce them into renouncing their belief. None did.” The youngest was 17 and most were in their 20s. Simin was 24. “Their crime was their belief in a faith that promoted gender equality, justice and truthfulness,” said Dr Saberi. “I had left Iran when the news of her execution reached us. “Before execution, Simin had suffered much torture and persecution. “This is in addition to what the Bahá’ís in Iran routinely suffered
- confiscation of their homes and belongings, being sacked from their jobs, deprived of education and imprisonment.” Simin was the youngest child in her family and due to the challenges the Bahá’ís faced, the family often relocated and earning a comfortable life was tough. In 1977, after graduating from high school, Simin secured a good job. But shortly after, the Islamic Revolution applied what it called the “Purification Law”. “This meant that Bahá’ís, including Simin, were dismissed from their jobs,” said Dr Saberi. “The family was in financial difficulty and so Simin started sewing at home and working as a salesperson to support the family.” A book entitled ‘Flowers of Shiraz’ about the martyred women, contains some of the recollections from Simin’s mother. Simin, my daughter, displayed remarkable patience, resilience and energy. One night, some people came to our house. The electricity was cut, and stones rained down upon us. The room’s windows shattered. Fear gripped us deeply. I had two young daughters and a newlywed bride in the house. Finally, with the help of my son, we managed to reach
Fighting for flood recovery The NSW Government has agreed to review a proposal to cut funding to the Resilient Homes Program for flood affected homes across the region, following representations I made to the Premier in conjunction with the Northern Rivers’ other three state MPs and the seven Mayors. This bipartisan approach includes elected representatives at State and Local Government level from the Nationals, the Labor Party, the Greens and Independents. All of us are committed to representing locals first and we are more than happy to put party political differences aside for the benefit of locals.
Richie Williamson MP clarence@parliament.nsw.gov.au Tel: 6643 1244 Authorised by Richie Williamson. Funded using parliamentary entitlements.
his car and flee the area. When we were a significant distance from the city, we stopped … We were all in our pyjamas and barefoot, and it was cold. After finding some respite, we discovered that Simin’s legs were covered in shards of glass. We sat there, meticulously removing the glass from her feet, astounded by her endurance and patience. Eventually, we arrived in Tehran under the same circumstances and returned home after a month. Upon our return, we had to rebuild our lives from scratch, as we didn’t even possess basic necessities. With Simin’s assistance, we sewed and knitted for others until late at night, earning meagre wages. Dr Saberi picks up the rest of the story: During all these difficulties, Simin continued to teach children’s classes. Focusing on virtues of kindness, patience, confirmation, contentment and so forth. Qualities which were needed to give resilience during those challenging times. For this reason, the Revolutionary Guards were looking to arrest her. The news had come that they had visited the home of a Bahá’í in Shiraz, inquiring about a person named Simin Saberi. At the time, Simin was in another town. The family got in touch with her and informed her that the Revolutionary guards were out to arrest her. They told Simin to go to