We are a group of mothers, many of us from migrant, visibly Muslim and refugee backgrounds. Our very existence on this land is political. We are raising our children on stolen land, land where Indigenous families have carried the deep wounds of colonisation, of their babies being torn from their arms. We can never forget this truth. We must listen to First Nations voices, centre them and their experiences. They know this land, and we have much to learn from them.

We are appalled by the violence we have witnessed: Nazis, white supremacists, and racists attacking Camp Sovereignty in Naarm, brutalising First Nations people who are protecting Country.

After the August 31st national Nazi and white supremacist marches, many of us are hurting, angry, exhausted, and afraid. We stayed away from the city and instead chose to pour our energy into care and solidarity: a mutual aid market and a meeting that was confronting for some but necessary within the Palestinian movement, organised by APAN, joined by Blak Caucus members. And yet, the images of violent thugs parading their hatred still cut deep. They triggered memories, reopened wounds, and left us wrestling with how to explain this hatred to our children – just as we’ve struggled to explain genocide.

So we teach them:

*Name racism, white supremacy, and Nazism* – give them the language to make sense of what they see.

*Affirm them* – remind them daily that they are strong, worthy, and deeply loved.

*Model resistance* – show them that courage and dignity are our answer to hatred.

We parent fiercely. We seek solidarity. We fight bias. We lift each other up. Mothers of colour have always carried the work of mending what others have broken.

To white parents: check on us. Educate yourselves. Step up – not just as “allies,” but as people willing to take action for a shared future, for all our children.

And to our fellow migrant and refugee mothers…While you are seen, valued, and not alone, we must hold close that we are on stolen land. Our struggle is deeply tied to the struggle of First Nations mothers and kin.

Learn their stories. Educate yourself. Stand beside them by amplifying their voices, answering their call-outs for mutual aid or actions, and calling out racism whenever you see it. We must acknowledge the biases and racism within our own communities. We have a responsibility to dismantle racism wherever it shows up and remind our communities, always, that we live on stolen land. This is a reminder to ourselves, first and foremost.

Our love is resistance. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.

If you are wondering where to start, here are First Nations voices you should be listening to on Instagram:
@blakcaucus
@blackpeoplesunion
@keiran_stewart_assheton
@treatybeforesports
@little_miss_watego
@senatorthorpe
@amymcquire_

We thank Mums4Refugees NSW for the inspiration for this statement. We couldn’t find the right words to put our feelings into words.