- I'm allowed to grieve that I don't have the language of this place on my tongue, and I'm allowed to be devastated by all of the ways that I've been recruited into perpetuating this harm and maintaining the [colonial] invasion, it's okay for me to say those things out loud. And also, that's not an end point. That's the beginning of the enormous work of of healing, individually and collectively.
Leah reflects on the slow process of healing from settler colonial injuries caused by assimilation when she moved from Tuvalu to Wadawurrung Country as a child. In discussing narrative technology, decompressing white fragility, and the role of the moon in understanding cyclical concepts of time, Leah details how systemic oppression operates and offers pathways to get free through multi-directional repair.
Leah Manaema Avene is a mother, musician, broadcaster, facilitator and educator of Irish and Tuvaluan ancestry whose work focuses on personal, relational, collective and systemic repair, healing and transformation. Leah’s work aims to scrutinise and dismantle colonial systems whilst celebrating the inter-generational resilience, resistance and strength of marginalised communities.