In The Time of Restructuring Let's Be Human Festival

On Sunday we went a concert I had been invited to sing at and make a speech. This concert ( or In The Time of Restructuring Let's Be Human (Chitorashiku) Festival) was to raise funds for railway workers and train drivers who have been fighting against their sacking over a decade ago when the railways were privatised. Drivers and their militant union were particularly targeted in the mass sackings.

We had met them earlier this year when we were researching in Japan and presented them with a NSW train drivers tie and shirt which had come to us via friend in the mountains. They had loved the tie which was designed as a safety tie against people who grab your tie. Using a bit of velcro at the back of the neck the tie simply falls apart rather than strangling you!!!

So when they heard we were back they invited me to perform with our
friend Tetsuro at their concert. At the event we met a number of
Japanese musicians including Ikuta Manji
(http://members3.jcom.home.ne.jp/sososha/) , "Paggie" Cho
(http://fanto.org/) and of course the union men we had met back in April



The concert hall had all kinds of stalls around the edges selling everything from shoes to beer, with a good number of stalls for union literature

Tetsuro was first on stage with speech, songs and a classical guitar piece. I joined him with banjo and we set off with "Which Side Are You On" with the audience clapping along with great gusto, then I gave my short spech where I mentioned among other things the problems unions
were facing in Australia under the barrage of new laws from the government. Tetsuro translated (we had practised this the day before) We finished off with "Solidarity Forever" again to the accompaniment of audience clapping to help keep me in time.


Paggie Cho sang a number of his songs including one that complains that although he can fly around the world or even to the moon he can't take a taxi to Pyongyang beacuse the border is blocked and another peace song.

Actress, writer, former member of the Diet and activist Nakayama Chinatsu sang a women's rights song with a title which sounded like Kola Koca. I spoke to her briefly about getting a copy for the Union Songs website.

Afterwards we all had a wonderful party with the railway workers with a great feast of sashimi and other delights and draught beer and ending up with us all linking arms and singing the "Internationale" and "We Shall Overcome". We were bellowing the songs out in English competing with the Japanese versions.