Anzac Day 2015 – A vision of a foreigner about the event
Autor: Sara Müller | Publicado: 2015-05-03T03:43:00-07:00


Since I
arrived in Australia I’d heard about Anzac Day (Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps), one of the most important holidays for Australians.&nbsp;And my
question was why every city in Australia celebrates Anzac Day with so much
passion, intensity and love? What makes them stand up in the freezing weather
at dawn without seating? Why do they celebrate in smaller places across the
country or travel to another city for the big event? And also what is the real
meaning of this sentence that is written everywhere “lest we forget”? I went
there to check.



25thApril, 2015, 3:30am. I was in the capital of Australia, Canberra, trying to get
to the “Australian War Memorial” to commemorate with them the 100th anniversary
of the landing of Anzac troops on Gallipoli in 1915. Dawn, in the morning
darkness, was the time of the original landing and nowadays is when the first
Service takes place. 



It was
freezing, packed, difficult to park. Everybody was walking to try to find a
spot to stand. There were some chairs, not enough for a huge mass of people
that was coming. There were families, young people, children, babies and
elderly people waiting for the Australian Dawn Service to start.&nbsp;The Service
began punctually at 4:30. A selection of images was projected onto the front
façade. I couldn’t believe how thousands of people could suddenly become so
silent. Seriously, it was really quiet and&nbsp;
the only noise was a baby crying or some birds.&nbsp;





Letters and
diaries of Australians who experienced war were read aloud by a member of each of
the Australian armed forces for one hour. It was impressionable, but I was
exhausted, almost sleeping, frozen and hungry. Elderly people beside me fainted
on the ground. Doctors came instantly with care and some lollies. 



In the cold
darkness, the sunrise was opening in the sky while the ceremony was being held.
Trumpet, didgeridoo (a typical Australian aboriginal instrument), hymn, prayer,
the laying of wreaths, a recitation, Anzac dedication, the playing of either
the Rouse or the Roveille, the national anthem, the last post and finally one
minute’s silence followed by “lest we forget”. And all of the people repeated:
“Lest we forget”. 



Because of
the darkness I didn’t realize how many people were there until the service
finished. After I walked around I could see the big parade suggested almost 130
thousand people. It surprised me how the people come out without comfort and
entertainment (only to compare, Canberra has 360 thousand inhabitants). 





After the
ceremony, people gathered in the Memorial’s Commemorative Area where they
honour more than 102,700 servicemen and servicewomen whose names appear on the
Roll of Honour. People place red poppies at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian
Soldier or beside the names of relatives on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour
creating an impressive curtain of flowers. 





To understand
a little bit about the origin of Anzac Day, 100 years ago, on 25th
April of 1915, Australian and New Zealand men who were volunteers, were in
Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey to help British soldiers defeat the German Army
(only to contextualize, when the war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a
federated nation for only 13 years and the new federal government was eager to
establish its reputation among the nations of the world).



In Gallipoli
the Anzacs headed ashore after jumping out of their boats and quickly find
shelter under the steep hills confronting them. They were on the wrong beach.
Soon the Turks had rushed up and the fighting in the hills became wild and
bloody. At the end of the day the order came – “dig, dig, dig, until you are
safe”. A line was made, and there the Anzacs held on. Troops were constantly
digging trenches and tunnelling for the rest of the desperate eight-month
campaign.&nbsp; They suffered many types of
injuries, sicknesses and also orders to run from the trenches uphill in the direction
of the enemies. A huge homicide and a failed campaign, from the beginning:
difficulty in navigation, wrong beach, beach landing in darkness, combined
obstacles, towering cliffs, dead-end gullies, dense low scrub on land,
vulnerability to enemy fire and terrible command from the monarchy. A truly
disaster.&nbsp; 



Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the
Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left them all a powerful
legacy. Anzac infuses their sense of who they are, how they
relate to one another, and how they see their place in the world. The national
spirit revealed in the courage, doggedness, and sacrifice of the troops on
Gallipoli, and in their egalitarianism and support for each other. These men
had given their young nation a story to be proud of. 



In other
words, Anzac Day is a time at which Australians reflect on the many different
meanings of war. Is was touching to see people taking part in the dawn service,
giving respect and acknowledgement to all soldiers and those who have served,
suffered and died in all wars and conflicts.



To finalize,
when a mortally wounded Australian asked: “Will they remember me in Australia?”
The answer was: “Yes, Australia has been remembering since that day”. Lest we
forget. 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/australianwarmemorial/sets/72157651746619249/