Pushing Back
Linocut and collage on paper and a page from The Australian Financial Review (2014), paper tape
Mana Kirsty
ink and watercolour
Kirsty Sword Gusmao, ‘Ruby Blade’, First Lady, Wife, Mother, Daughter, Friend, Activist, Advocate, Ambassador, President, Founder, Survivor.
I spent time with Kirsty Sword Gusmao when travelling to the remote East Timorese village of Muapitine where she championed the needs of 65 preschoolers who wanted somewhere to learn that wasn’t a burnt-out animal shelter. Her love for Timor Leste and her compassion for these impoverished, traumatized people was matched only by their love for her, ‘Mana Kirsty’.
I found her dedication and commitment to Timor Leste inspiring, her stories of Timorese suffering horrifying, her gentleness and compassion humbling, her intelligence striking and her tireless work ethic, over decades of struggle, exhausting.