George Purdy
My Name is George, I am 40 years old and I come from the Stoneybatter area of Dublin, Ireland. If you find any broken links on this page I would appreciate it if you could contact me.I would also appreciate it if you would sign my guestbook.
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I was born in Dublin, Ireland on April fools day, 1959 along with my twin Brother (incidentally, It is also my Mothers date of birth!). I work for a firm that produces multi-media upgrade kit’s, I am unmarried, have many interests including environmental issues, Travel, Computers and the possibilities of the Internet bringing people from around the world together. I enjoy designing websites and operate under the name Cedarwood Web Design.
I like to get out of the City as often as I can and generally head to my favourite place in Ireland- County Donegal – a couple of times a year. If you are lucky enough ever to visit Donegal take the time to visit Bunglass, the highest sea cliffs in Europe, it is truly breathtaking and some of the most spectacular scenery you are likely to see anywhere in the world.
I enjoy living in Dublin, a rapidly changing city - although this was not always the case! Dublin is a city that has changed much over the last 10-15 years. It is young and vibrant, a metropolis that is currently going through the stage of re-discovering and re-inventing itself. It is now a diverse and confident city that can take it’s place among the great cities of the world, a far cry from the insular, inward-looking, parochial town it was in the past. It now looks forward with enthusiasm and vitality, celebrating its historical significance rather than dwelling on the more negative aspects of its relatively recent past. It has in recent years become a hugely popular destination for mainland European visitors and remains the most popular starting-off point for visitors from the United States visiting Ireland. There is much to see and do with it’s famous Pub’s and the wit of the locals often charming many visitors into planning return trips. It’s geographical position on the coast and it’s proximity to the mountains also affords visitors the opportunity to take short trips to many popular destinations while maintaining a base in a thriving Capital city with all of its attractions and night-life.
In the early 80’s I developed an interest in environmental issues after a number of man-made disasters brought such concerns to the forefront of media attention on a scale never witnessed before. One day while watching T.V. I came across an interview with Petra Kelly, one of the leading lights at the time in the German Green Party. The passion and commitment she displayed in discussing the topics which concerned her hugely impressed me, and I subsequently became involved with a number of environmentally aware organizations. Sadly, she is no longer with us, as her life ended prematurely and tragically at her home outside Bonn, Germany. I hope she is remembered for many years to come and her passion inspires many people to continue to fight the causes she believed in.
Another passion of mine is travel, having visited a number of European countries, the U.S., Canada, Singapore and Australia. I have developed an interest in Australia and all things Australian, particularly the plight and continuing treatment of the Aboriginal people. Their treatment and near genocide since European settlement truly appall's me.
The continuing search for a solution to the "Aboriginal question" and the endemic Alcoholism and apallingly high young mortality rate which these people suffer only skirts the root causes of their troubles and ignores very important issues. Many "solutions" are are based on the preceptions of current White middle class thinking and tend to ignore completly the needs and views of a culture in deep trouble. However, I believe to suggest that the solution to the problem lies purely in the present and the future is the big mistake white Australia is making regarding this issue.
Aboriginal culture and identity draws heavily upon the past--from the Dreamtime legends to the totemic nature of traditional aboriginal tribal structures, as well as their relationship with the land. This has been taken away from them. Modern western culture is driven by a relentless drive to push ever onward which is at loggerheads with many Aboriginal spiritual "understandings". Their belief that they are "of the land" has led to many misunderstandings regarding land-rights issues, with traditional western thinking often superimposing it's own concept of "ownership" upon land-rights claims--many of which are nothing more than legal appeals for access to traditional tribal lands and sacred sites. There are exceptions to this however, I must agree.
I would equate the drinking problem with (apart from a very low tolerance to a substance to which they have very recently been exposed) the horrendous heroin problem in very underprivileged areas of our own capital city. This is nothing more than a symptom of a depressed culture--a sub society which is not (and probably never can be) fully integrated into a world which has an overwhelming impact on how they live and can operate on a day-to-day basis. I know a major cause of the drug problem in Dublin is a huge element of opportunism and profiteering on the part of the dealers but I have also been in towns in Western Queensland where it was not unusual to see bottles of metholated spirits in the drinks coolers......
In the very recent past Australia had a record where more Aboriginals died in Police custody every year than blacks in South Africa at the height of apartheid, where arsenic-laced blankets were distributed to them by "missionaries", where a government program attempted to steal a whole generation of children from their parents--some of these children are my age today. If anyone in our western society was subjected to such treatment they would be entitled (and justifiably encouraged) to legal redress, an action which has been opposed by successive Australian Governments. Even Paul Keating's ground-breaking Mabo legislation was all but overturned and rendered inoperable by the Howard government's opposition to it.
I feel that the situation is currently being handled very badly and that there are very few people with sufficient vision and motivation within Australian politics to address the problem. But I must say that I firmly believe to forget the past is a mistake. After all that is where you, I and everyone else on this planet of ours have learned our most important lessons.
If anyone has any views or information on the subject, particularly with historical reference, please feel free to contact me.
I have visited Australia on three occasions and intend to go again sometime in 2000, if anyone out there has any advice or tips on where to get cheap flights on the web (or anywhere!) I would really appreciate it if you could E-mail me with any information you have:
My favourite place in Australia is Fraser Island, off of the coast of Queensland; about four hours drive north of Brisbane. It is the largest Sand Island in the world and supports a rain forest and a variety of wild life. It is a truly beautiful place and I intend to return
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