Sacred Site Buried Under New KFC Restaurant in Australia!
The destruction of sacred aboriginal sites in Sydney has been branded cultural genocide by an indigenous activist.
The comments by Greens MP David Shoebridge come amid the revelation that one of the country's most significant heritage sites has been buried under a fast food restaurant.
The site in New South Wales has been lost under the concrete foundations of Australia's biggest KFC restaurant.
There was no legal obligation for the developers to preserve the site and Shoebridge is describing the situation asa crime.
"If these sites were in Rome or Paris or London they would be given parks, extraordinary levels of protection and national respect but in Australia we have sites that are 10 and 20,000 years old being destroyed for fast food sites," Shoebridge said.
New South Wales is rich with aboriginal history and has heritage sites that pre-date the antiquities of Egypt.
Two years ago the state government introduced tough penalties for people who destroy aboriginal heritage sites but artefacts are still being lost to a combination of ignorance and a lack of enforcement by authorities.
Paul Morris from the Aboriginal Land Council said they can't have people at every site telling people they can't develop or dig on the site.
"We just haven't got the manpower to do it," he said.
The Aboriginal Land Council wants more money spent on enforcement and protecting sites and archivists say the government is merely paying lip service to preserving indigenous culture.
But the state government says it's handling all the legal and development issues appropriately.
"The message is that we are saying oh we like your culture, we will do the acknowledgement and the welcome to country, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty of making sure we look after, document and make sure those stories are backed up with real evidence, and that's what you find with real archaeological work then we are involved in a form of cultural genocide," Gionni di Gravio, an archivist at Newcastle University, said.
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I totally agree!!! your right if this were Paris or Egypt they would be shrines.......saddens me!!!
Save the Sacred Sites !!! Here in California we also have our sacred sites of our native peoples. Condo apartments, department stores, universities are built on our sacred lands with no thought of it. Four years ago a Tower Mart Corporation decided to expand their store and make it into a super tower mart. Hey had a side lot that was vacant and decided to encorporate that piece of land to make a bigger store. They ask Archeologists to excavate...because they knew something was there. Sure the Archs found a couple of burials and Tower mart told them they will rebury them in a site close by. They consulted the tribe in charge and told them they only want a little piece of it excavated to accommodate some water pipes. The tirbe argeed to take the ancestors out (which was a big mistake)..to make a long story short, they found 312 ancestors 3000 years old. Tower Mart wanted that land...they agreed to rebury them and pay for it and even paid the Archs to take them out...even paid the tribe. It is sad... I regret seeing them taken out. I will never forget them. They told their story to us and now a local college of Native students are not going to let them forget that that particular land was SACRED GROUND. Yeah, the ancestors are not there anymore...but we don't care...THAT WAS Sacred ground and most likely more are still buried beneath the parking lot. Sooo I say let KFC know every year that they are on top of Sacred ground...dont let them forget.
Save the Sacred Sites !!! Here in California we also have our sacred sites of our native peoples. Condo apartments, department stores, universities are built on our sacred lands with no thought of it. Four years ago a Tower Mart Corporation decided to expand their store and make it into a super tower mart. Hey had a side lot that was vacant and decided to encorporate that piece of land to make a bigger store. They ask Archeologists to excavate...because they knew something was there. Sure the Archs found a couple of burials and Tower mart told them they will rebury them in a site close by. They consulted the tribe in charge and told them they only want a little piece of it excavated to accommodate some water pipes. The tirbe argeed to take the ancestors out (which was a big mistake)..to make a long story short, they found 312 ancestors 3000 years old. Tower Mart wanted that land...they agreed to rebury them and pay for it and even paid the Archs to take them out...even paid the tribe. It is sad... I regret seeing them taken out. I will never forget them. They told their story to us and now a local college of Native students are not going to let them forget that that particular land was SACRED GROUND. Yeah, the ancestors are not there anymore...but we don't care...THAT WAS Sacred ground and most likely more are still buried beneath the parking lot. Sooo I say let KFC know every year that they are on top of Sacred ground...dont let them forget.
What really irks me is that these corporation know they have the native peoples over a barrel and since they know there isn't enough manpower to go around they take over and bully their way in with absolutely no regard for the sanctity of the land or the important history they are destroying. They are so eaten up with Greed and the power of the almighty dollar that they allow it to consume their own souls.
This is a knife to the heart and soul of the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia as well as all other Native People in other lands that have had to suffer the same disrespect and desecration to your sacred lands.
May Grandfather Great Spirit be with you and help heal your wounds and strengthen your resolve to stop further desecration.
You are absolutely right Rebecca...corporations are eaten up with Greed and the power of money involved in these property investments. Yeah...no regard of the sanctity of land nor the history involved. All Respect for the Aboriginal People of Australia and the Native Americans of the Americas whose lands were taken away and now their sacred lands are being desecrated. People must stand for what is right...we must be idle no more.
How would these people like to have their relatives dug-up from their resting place?
I wonder why there are so many people wanting to eradicate the ancient past? We have similar problems with this here in America towards the indigenous peoples, or Native Americans, who to this very day are treated as though we are less than human. Halloween parties have taken place on our burial sites. My people were arrested when we tried to stop it. A four-lane highway was paved over one of our cemetaries in Oklahoma, without relocating the graves. Our ancient art has also been defaced, stolen, or destroyed. Well, there's no doubt that money talks, but I think it more than money speaking here, and I know what color it is...
It is time for Tribal people to start running bulldozers and 4x4's over the grave sites of those doing it to us.
if only the tribal people could afford such ground raping equipment.
unfortunately the devil looks after its own and KFC and other wicked companies will carry on . even worse I think are the customers those who encourage these companies.
we have to get rid of the time is money calendar greed will bring the end thanks to the catholic church and there total disrespect of indigenous people around the world.