About Andy
Welcome!
I’m Andy Alcock from Adelaide, South Australia. Throughout my life, I have been involved in struggles for peace, social justice, international solidarity and environmental responsibility.
I was born into a conservative, working class family. My mother was a trained nurse and my father a factory worker and later a house painter. My outlook on life changed in my early years because of the disadvantages suffered by Australia’s Aboriginal people and when Australian political leaders involved us in the US criminal war in Vietnam.
During my working life, I have been a secondary school teacher, a union organiser (the Australian Education Union/AEU), an occupational health and safety officer for a state government department and two unions (the AEU and the Public Service Association/Community & Public Service Union or PSA/CPSU). I’ve also worked as a factory hand, storeperson, driver, cook, painter, pharmaceutical dispenser, a federal public servant and as an Australian Volunteer teacher in Malaysia for 2 years.
I have been involved in solidarity movements in many places – South Africa during the apartheid regime, the Philippines, Chile during the Pinochet regime, the Middle East etc. I have been involved in justice issues with East Timor and West Papua for over 30 years.
One of my life’s highlights was to be in Dili, Timor Leste, on 20 May 2002 with my wife Cathy and several friends to celebrate the independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor from the tyrranny and barbarity of the Indonesian military. Others included the liberation of Vietnam on 30 April 1975 and the release of Nelson Mandela and Xanana Gusmao from prison.
Hopefully, it will be Aung San Suu Kyi’s turn very soon.
I believe that socialism is a necessity for human beings today. The neoliberal / economic rationalist approach to administering the world’s nations with the promotion of extreme greed and extreme selfishness has led to the situation where ordinary working people are exploited (especially in the developing world), two-thirds of the world’s population starves and the exploitation of our planet’s resources and unchecked pollution is threatening the earth’s health.
I do not and never have subscribed to Stalinist socialism. In my view, socialism means that all people have the basic necessities in life plus those mentioned in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. My type of socialism has a respect for human rights and the earth’s environment. It means free education and health services for all (as in present day Cuba) including effective prevention programs (especially for workers occupational, health, safety and welfare). It has a vision of the world as one big family and opposes exploitation of all – no matter of their race, personal philosophy (provided it is not aimed to harm others), gender, gender preference etc.
To build a better world for all, I believe we must support human rights groups like Amnesty International (to resist discrimination of all forms), solidarity groups that support those living under repressive regimes, unions (to prevent exploitation of working people), aid organisations (“to help make life fair everywhere” *) and environmental groups that are working to ensure that the human species and others can survive by improving the health of the planet.
[* the motto of APHEDA (Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad/Union Aid Abroad) the aid group of the Australian Council of Trade Unions]
I invite you to comment on the contributions to this site and to make your own.
December 27th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Hi Andy.
I was really pleased to see your defence of Julian Asange in the Reply section of the Guardian weekly 17.12.2010.
And then glad also to then find your blog here, including links to Chris White, who I made contact with by phone earlier this year.
I hope you and Kathy and family are all happy and well, and that we meet up again some time in the future.
best regards, rick davies, currently in Mt Martha Victoria, but normally resident in Cambridge, UK. – Mo(my partner)and I try to get to mt Martha/Melbourne around January each year)
January 31st, 2011 at 11:57 am
Hi Rick
Thanks for your message. How great to hear from you after all this time!
You know that if you ever come to SA, you and Mo are welcome to stay with us (and for very reasonable tariffs!)
We would love to see you.
Do you ever come across Geoff harcourt in Cambridge. He is a good friend of mine from Adelaide Uni days (and is Professor emeritus of economics at Cambridge Uni).
Anyway thanks for your message.
Warm regards from a very hot SA (42 degrees C today & yesterday)
Andy
September 3rd, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Hi Andrew! (Can’t think of you as an Andy!)
Often think of you especially around January as we get another year older! Interested in your doings around human rights etc.
Max & I still live in Ringwood (Vic) and recently ‘downsized’ to a new, smaller house just 3Kms from our large family home. So much easier to manage & continue to be in the area where friends & even some family are.
Both of us are still in the workforce (crazy at 71 & 67!). I have 2 jobs – both in nursing -Gynae Oncology at the Royal Women’s & in a secondary school in health promotion, education & counseling in a very multicultural & low socioeconomic area.
Max has his own consulting business – working with small businesses to manage things better.
Our 4 kids are well grown with 3 children each ranging from Isabelle at 13 to Indi a nearly 2!
Apart from Adrian & his tribe, all live in Melbourne. Adi is the General Manager at the Cairns Accor Pullman Reef Hotel & is about to be moved to Perth as Regional Manager. Tracy, his Canadian wife, has had to move the family approximately every 2 -4 years! Adrian is truly blessed to have such a wife!!
Cathie, our eldest, is a Social Worker working with families, David,is a Neurologist in the field of movement disorders, & Nickie trained as a Speech Pathologist but is mothering & helping Dennis to get his Urology practice up & running.
I’ve probably bored you with all this family stuff but I’d love to hear about your family situation including your siblings especially Suzanne.
Keep up your good work, keep safe & well! I remember with great warmth the care & love I received from all your family during those teenage years.
Love
Libby-Mac
(Haven’t been called that for eons!)
October 5th, 2011 at 2:05 am
Hi Andy,
it was good to catch up recently via email. I have lost the email you sent detailing work we did together and if you still have a copy would you resend it. I wish you all the best Andy and take care.
Regards
John, your old neighbour 50 years ago
December 21st, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Hi Andrew
We were teaching at Sulaiman Secondary School in Bentong in the mid 70s. Our students have formed an alumni association and many of the students remember you as the volunteer teacher who spent some time hobbling around in a leg cast and crutches! Many wondered about your whereabouts.
I am very positive they would be pleased that we managed to be in touch again.
Best wishes from Kuala Lumpur
Leo
December 21st, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Dear Leo
Yes, guilty as charged, Your Honour. I did hobble about on crutches in Bentong for a year!
How lovely to hear from you. I remember those days with great fondness (although I have preferred to not have broken my leg – bloody motorbikes!)
I learned so much about Asia from my experiences there and I still eat a lot of Malay, Chines and Indian food (also Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Mexican, African etc)
My hope is that some learned something from my teaching. Did they understand my Strine accent
I am wondering if Joe Koshy, Jaganathan and Ronald Stork (a former GB) are involved in the Alumni. I have not heard from them for some time
I kept in contact with Dr Doraimanickam for many years, but I no longer hear from him. He helped look after me when I was in plaster.I hope he is well. Actually, I did visit Bentong in 1976 and 1984 and met with a number of friends. I was in Malaysia in 1996 for the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor and I was hopeful of visiting Bentong, but fate intervened.
A number of people from the youth sections of UMNO, the MCA and MIC attacked the conference. When the police arrived, we were all arrested, detained for 36 hours under guard and then expelled. Several years later, the Malaysians who organised the conference went to the Malaysian High Court for compensation and won. They had evidently been treated very badly in the old Pudu Prison. The Court told the police that they had made the wrong decision and should have arrested those who caused injury to people and damage to the property of the hotel where the conference occurred.
I have been to East Malaysia and Jahore since then, but not to KL or Bentong.
Now East Timor is free and is re-building its shattered country and trying to shake off the trauma of the 24 years of illegal occupation and brutality.
I am hopeful that the TNI will be caused to leave West Papua to let the people there determine their own political future.
Please wish all the former students & staff Selamat Tahun Baharu from me.
Please email again
Warm regards
Andy Alcock